Water leak detection device, system, and method

Abstract

To provide a technique for detecting an underground water leak with higher accuracy.SOLUTION: A water leak detection device includes: an attenuation evaluation processing unit that inputs exploration data in which a received wave signal in which a reflected wave returned after radiating an electromagnetic wave into the ground is received, position information relating to a position at which the received wave signal is received, and a reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave is radiated until when the reflected wave is received, are associated with each other, and outputs attenuation evaluation data consisting of a plurality of attenuation evaluation values calculated by evaluating the attenuation of the reflected wave from the received wave signal of the exploration data, and a plurality of attenuation evaluation values in which the position information and the reflection time are associated with each other; and a leakage place detection processing unit that at least extracts attenuation evaluation data whose reflection times are close to each other within an arbitrary standard regarding the attenuation evaluation data output from the attenuation evaluation processing unit, and outputs leakage place detection data through a process of converting the attenuation evaluation data into a normalized and calculated relative value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, system, and method for detecting underground water leakage from a water pipe using a ground penetrating radar device. [Background technology]

[0002] As underground water pipes deteriorate, it is becoming increasingly important to carry out maintenance work to detect and repair underground leaks.

[0003] Patent Document 1 lists a method of detecting leakage sounds as a method of detecting water pipe leaks. However, for example, using an acoustic listening rod to manually determine leakage sounds requires skill. In addition, electromagnetic wave exploration using a ground penetrating radar (GPR) is listed as a method of identifying the buried location of a water pipe. However, Patent Document 1 states that exploration using a ground penetrating radar can identify buried objects and cavities, but cannot detect water leaks.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes an underground exploration method for determining the underground situation by evaluating the occurrence rate of reflected wave signal strength values ​​received by an underground radar.

[0005] Non-Patent Document 1 states that when a steel pipe buried underground is detected using a ground penetrating radar, the reflection position of the steel pipe becomes deeper as the groundwater level rises, making it possible to determine the volumetric water content and groundwater depth. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-196798 [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-40615 A [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Masaru Sakata, Toshimitsu Nozu, Keiji Tokutomi, Shingo Ogabe, Toru Mino, "Estimation of volumetric water content and groundwater depth using ground penetrating radar," Journal of the Japan Society of Irrigation, Rural Engineering, Vol. 78, No. 4, 2010 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, when underground water leaks and mixes with the surrounding soil, it is difficult to see any difference in the intensity of the reflected wave signal, and therefore Patent Document 2 does not take into consideration the use of underground radar to detect underground leak points.

[0009] Furthermore, the method described in Non-Patent Document 1 has the problem that it is not possible to estimate the volumetric water content or groundwater depth in the ground for buried pipes whose materials and diameters do not show a strong reflection by the ground penetrating radar, since the reflection position cannot be determined.

[0010] A typical method for finding out the underground condition is to use a ground-penetrating radar for exploration. However, as described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem in that even if ground-penetrating radar is used, water leaks cannot be directly detected. Here, the underground radar image obtained by using the underground radar will be described in detail below.

[0011] Figure 1 shows an example of an image of the exploration data obtained by underground radar exploration. An example of a radar device is a radar device that a user pushes on the ground to perform a sweeping exploration. The radar device moves along the sweeping direction while emitting electromagnetic waves into the ground. The reflected wave signal data is acquired by continuously receiving the reflected waves while emitting the electromagnetic waves.

[0012] This radar device is not limited to a radar device that is pushed by a user to perform a sweeping survey, and any radar device that can move along the ground may be adopted. For example, a radar device mounted on a vehicle or a radar device that can move automatically on the ground may be used. Note that although it is assumed that the survey will be conducted near a buried water pipe, the extension direction of the buried pipe and the sweep direction on the ground do not have to be parallel. It is also assumed that data will be acquired in a place where no water pipe is buried underground.

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a radar image 10 of a buried water pipe with a small diameter and made of a material that does not easily reflect radar, such as resin. The horizontal axis 11 represents the sweep direction of the underground radar. The vertical axis 12 represents the reflection time, which is the time it takes from irradiating electromagnetic waves into the ground until they are reflected and received. The reflection time is longer for reflected waves from objects deeper underground, so the vertical axis 12 corresponds to the direction of depth underground.

[0014] The radar image 10 is an image in which the received signal at each measurement position and reflection time corresponds to the brightness of the pixel. Here, the stronger the received signal, the greater the brightness, which is drawn as white in Fig. 1. On the other hand, the weaker the received signal, the less the brightness, which is drawn as black in Fig. 1. The greater the black-and-white contrast, the stronger the reflection that is occurring. Incidentally, ground surface reflection 13 is reflection from the ground surface.

[0015] The hollow dotted rectangle 14 indicates the buried location of the water pipe, but because the diameter of the water pipe is small and it is made of resin, no reflected image can be confirmed at the position of the hollow dotted rectangle 14. Therefore, the volumetric water content in the ground and the depth of the groundwater cannot be estimated. Even if an underground radar is used at a location where there is a leak, the result obtained is similar to radar image 10, so the abnormal area does not appear directly and cannot be detected.

[0016] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for detecting underground water leakage with higher accuracy using an underground radar. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] A preferred aspect of the present invention is a water leakage detection device comprising an attenuation evaluation processing unit that receives exploration data and outputs attenuation evaluation data, and a water leakage location detection processing unit that has at least a horizontal comparison processing unit that outputs horizontal comparison data from the attenuation evaluation data output from the attenuation evaluation processing unit, and outputs water leakage location detection data. The exploration data is data in which a received wave signal that is a reflected wave returned from an electromagnetic wave irradiated into the ground is associated with a positional information on a position at which the received wave signal is received, and a reflection time from the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave to the reception of the reflected wave. The attenuation evaluation data is data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values, the positional information, and the reflection time are associated with each other, and the attenuation evaluation value is a value calculated by defining an arbitrary range within the exploration data and evaluating the attenuation of the reflected wave from the received wave signal by determining any one of the difference, variance, and standard deviation between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the received wave intensity within the range. The horizontal comparison data is data in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other, and the horizontal comparison values ​​are values ​​calculated by extracting and normalizing the attenuation evaluation data whose reflection times are close within a given standard. The water leakage point detection data is the horizontal comparison data or data obtained by processing the horizontal comparison data.

[0018] Another preferred aspect of the present invention includes a step of evaluating attenuation of a reflected wave from a received wave signal of exploration data in which a received wave signal obtained by irradiating an electromagnetic wave into the ground and receiving a reflected wave returning from the ground, position information relating to a position at which the received wave signal was received, and a reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave was irradiated until when the reflected wave was received are respectively associated with each other, and generating attenuation evaluation data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values, the position information, and information on the reflection time are respectively associated with each other; and generating horizontal comparison data in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values ​​calculated by extracting and normalizing attenuation evaluation data having a reflection time that is close within a reference range from the attenuation evaluation data, the position information, and information on the reflection time are respectively associated with each other. a step of dividing the horizontal comparison data into a plurality of areas, calculating an area evaluation value based on the horizontal comparison value calculated for each of the areas, and generating area evaluation data in which the plurality of area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time information are respectively associated with each other; a step of calculating a water leakage score value based on the water leakage point detection data, and generating water leakage score data in which the plurality of water leakage score values ​​are respectively associated with the position information; and a step of generating score determination data in which information determining the presence or absence of underground leakage at each point indicated by the position information based on the water leakage score data is respectively associated with the position information. Effect of the Invention

[0019] Even if it is not possible to directly determine that a water leak is occurring from an underground radar image obtained using an underground radar, it is possible to detect the location of the underground leak by evaluating the attenuation of the received signal. Also, even if it is not possible to determine the location of the reflection by the buried pipe, it is possible to detect the location of the water leak from the location where the signal attenuation is large. Furthermore, since underground leakage can be determined automatically, it is possible to detect the location of the underground leak without advanced knowledge or expertise in analyzing underground exploration data. Therefore, it is possible to provide a technology that detects underground leakage with higher accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an image diagram showing an example of a radar image acquired by a ground penetrating radar. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a water leakage detection device in a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a water leakage point detection processing unit of the water leakage detection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4A] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the correspondence when a strong received signal is represented as pixel brightness in a radar image. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the correspondence when a weak received signal is represented as pixel brightness in a radar image. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of pixels of the exploration data. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of pixels of attenuation evaluation data. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing a method for converting exploration data into attenuation assessment data. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a group of horizontal pixels with the same reflection time; [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is an image diagram showing horizontal comparison data being output as an image. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a computer system as an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing a water leakage detection device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a water leakage point detection processing unit of a water leakage detection device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is an image diagram showing the results of illustrating water leakage point detection data consisting of area evaluation values. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a computer system as an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing a water leakage detection device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing the overall configuration of a water leakage detection device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a water leakage determination processing unit of a water leakage detection device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 16]FIG. 13 is an image diagram showing an outline of a method for calculating water leakage score data from area evaluation data. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a graph plotting the determined water leakage scores. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a computer system as an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing a water leakage detection device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 19] 13 is a flow diagram showing the configuration of a water leakage determination processing unit of a water leakage detection device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a computer system as an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing a water leakage detection device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing the overall configuration of a water leakage detection device according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of areas in area evaluation data. [Figure 23] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a computer system as an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing a water leakage detection device according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing the overall configuration of a water leakage detection system according to a sixth embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing an overall configuration of a water leakage detection method according to a seventh embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings for explaining the embodiment, the same members are generally given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted as appropriate. In the following embodiment, the components (including element steps, etc.) are not necessarily essential unless otherwise specified or considered to be obviously essential in principle.

[0022] Furthermore, when it is said that "consists of A," "is made of A," "has A," or "includes A," it does not, of course, exclude other elements, unless it is specifically stated that only that element is included. Similarly, in the following examples, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc. of components, it is intended to include those that are substantially similar or similar to that shape, etc., unless it is specifically stated or is clearly considered otherwise in principle. Before describing the examples, an overview of the data surveyed by the ground penetrating radar will be provided.

[0023] One example of the embodiment is a water leakage detection device characterized by having an attenuation evaluation processing unit that takes as input exploration data in which location information regarding the position at which an electromagnetic wave is irradiated into the ground and a reflected wave is received, the reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave is irradiated until the reflected wave is received, and information on the reflected wave intensity are each associated with each other, defines an arbitrary range within the exploration data, calculates an attenuation evaluation value by obtaining one or more indicators of the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the received wave intensity within that range, the variance, and the standard deviation, and outputs attenuation evaluation data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values, the location information, and the reflection time are each associated with each other, and a water leakage location detection processing unit that extracts at least attenuation evaluation data that are close in reflection time within an arbitrary standard from the attenuation evaluation data output from the attenuation evaluation processing unit, and outputs water leakage location detection data through a process of converting the attenuation evaluation data output from the attenuation evaluation processing unit into a normalized relative value using the maximum and minimum values ​​obtained from the extracted attenuation evaluation data. EXAMPLES

[0024] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a water leakage detection device 201 according to this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a water leakage point detection processing unit S2501, which is an example of the water leakage point detection processing unit S25 in Fig. 2. First, the processing of the water leak detection device in FIG. 2 will be described.

[0025] The water leakage detection device 201 receives the exploration data 22 as an input and outputs the water leakage point detection data 2601. The exploration data 22 is data in which location information on the location where the reflected wave returned from the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave into the ground is received, the reflection time from the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave to the reception of the reflected wave, and information on the reflected wave intensity are associated with each other. The water leakage detection device 201 has an attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 and a water leakage point detection processing unit S25, receives the exploration data 22 as an input and passes it to the attenuation evaluation processing unit S23. The attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 evaluates the attenuation of the received signal from the exploration data 22, converts it into attenuation evaluation data 24, and passes it to the water leakage point detection processing unit S25. The attenuation evaluation data 24 is data in which an attenuation evaluation value is calculated by defining an arbitrary range within the exploration data and calculating one or more indexes of the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the received wave intensity within the range, the variance, and the standard deviation, and a plurality of attenuation evaluation values ​​are associated with each other, the location information, and the reflection time. The leak point detection processing unit S25 receives the attenuation evaluation data 24 as input and outputs leak point detection data 2601. The leak point detection processing unit S25 extracts at least the attenuation evaluation data having a reflection time that is close within an arbitrary standard from the attenuation evaluation data, converts the multiple horizontal comparison values ​​converted into relative values ​​normalized using the maximum and minimum values ​​obtained from the extracted attenuation evaluation data, and converts them into horizontal comparison data in which the position information and the reflection time information are associated with each other, and outputs the leak point detection data 2601.

[0026] Next, the configuration of the water leakage point detection processing unit S2501 shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

[0027] The leak point detection processing unit S2501 has a horizontal comparison processing unit S251 that performs a horizontal comparison process on the attenuation evaluation data 24 to convert it into horizontal comparison data. The horizontal comparison data is data in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values, which are obtained by extracting the attenuation evaluation data whose reflection times are close within an arbitrary standard and converting them into relative values ​​normalized using the maximum and minimum values ​​obtained from the extracted attenuation evaluation data, are associated with the position information and the reflection time information. The leak point detection processing unit S2501 is an example of the leak point detection processing unit S25 in FIG. 2, and here, S2501 is assumed to be the same as S251. Therefore, the horizontal comparison data, which is the output of the horizontal comparison processing unit S251 shown in FIG. 3, becomes the leak point detection data 2601, which corresponds to the output of the leak detection device 201 shown in FIG. 2.

[0028] The water leakage detection device 201 shown in FIG. 2 has an effect of inputting the underground radar exploration data 22, and highlighting the underground leakage point by the output leak point detection data 2601, making it easier to identify. The details of each processing unit shown in FIG. 2 will be described below. The exploration data 22 corresponds to the measurement data acquired by the radar device. This exploration data 22 includes the exploration data on an arbitrary line extracted from the data measured in advance using an array type underground radar device. The exploration data 22 is data in which position information on the position at which the reflected wave is received after irradiating the electromagnetic wave into the ground, the reflection time from the irradiation of the electromagnetic wave to the reception of the reflected wave, and the information on the reflected wave intensity are associated with each other. Note that the position information corresponds not only to absolute positions such as the coordinates of GPS (Global Positioning System) information, but also to relative positions based on a certain point. For example, information such as the sweep distance and sweep direction from the point where the exploration started corresponds to the position information. The radar image 10 shown in FIG. 1 above is an example of the exploration data 22 displayed as an image.

[0029] A method for converting the exploration data 22 into the attenuation evaluation data 24 in the attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 will be described with reference to Figs. 4A and 4B. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the correspondence between pixel brightness and received signals in the radar image 10. The horizontal axis 31 represents the magnitude of the received signal, and the vertical axis 39 represents the reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave is emitted until it is received.

[0030] The received signal 33A shown in FIG. 4A and the received signal 33B shown in FIG. 4B are signal waveforms obtained by irradiating an electromagnetic wave underground and receiving a reflected wave. The received signal 33A is a schematic representation of a strong reflected wave, i.e., a reflected wave with little attenuation. The received signal 33B is a schematic representation of a weak reflected wave, i.e., a reflected wave with large attenuation. The image pixel 34A and the image pixel 34B are schematic diagrams showing the received signal 33A and the received signal 33B as pixels of an underground radar image with corresponding brightness. Here, the parts with strong received signal strength have high brightness and are shown in white, and the parts with weak received signal strength have low brightness and are shown in black. The received signal 33B has a smaller amplitude than the received signal 33A. In this case, the brightness difference between each pixel is smaller for the image pixel 34B than for the image pixel 34A.

[0031] When the attenuation of the received signal is large, the amplitude becomes small, so the attenuation can be evaluated by calculating the brightness difference between pixels in a local range, as shown in image pixel 34A and image pixel 34B. Since the brightness of each pixel represents the magnitude of the received signal, attenuation can also be evaluated by calculating the difference in the measurement value of the received wave signal represented by each pixel instead of the brightness. In the following, the brightness corresponding to each pixel and the measurement value (strength) of the received wave signal are referred to as "pixel value", and the set of pixel values ​​is referred to as "pixel data". The exploration data 22 is pixel data, and the attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 evaluates attenuation using the local pixel data and calculates the attenuation evaluation value.

[0032] The attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 will be described below. The attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 converts the exploration data 22 into attenuation evaluation data 24. The attenuation evaluation data 24 is data having the same pixel arrangement as the exploration data 22.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a pixel group 41, which is a plurality of image pixels of the exploration data 22. The x-axis represents the sweep direction of the underground radar, and corresponds to position information relating to the position where the electromagnetic wave is emitted into the ground and the reflected wave is received. The y-axis corresponds to the reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave is emitted until it is received. Each pixel has position information on the x-axis and information on the received wave intensity corresponding to the reflection time on the y-axis. The x-axis and y-axis in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8 are similar to those described above.

[0034] Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the attenuation evaluation data 24, and pixel group 51 shows a data arrangement of the attenuation evaluation data 24 corresponding to pixel group 41 in Fig. 5. Here, a flow for calculating the attenuation evaluation value at the position of pixel 52 of the attenuation evaluation data 24 from the exploration data 22 will be described.

[0035] Fig. 7 shows a flow in which the attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 calculates the attenuation evaluation value. The attenuation evaluation value calculated in Fig. 7 becomes part of the attenuation evaluation data 24. In Fig. 7, the calculation range definition processing unit S61 extracts calculation range data 62, which is data used for calculation, from the exploration data 22 and passes it to the attenuation difference calculation processing unit S63. The attenuation difference calculation processing unit S63 converts the calculation range data 62 into a attenuation difference value 64 and passes it to the attenuation evaluation data creation processing unit S65. The attenuation evaluation data creation processing unit S65 uses the attenuation difference value 64 to convert into a attenuation evaluation value and creates part of the attenuation evaluation data 24.

[0036] 6 for which an attenuation difference value 64 is to be calculated, and a thick-line frame 43 is defined with the pixel 42 at its center as shown in FIG. 5. The pixel 42 in the exploration data 22 is a pixel that is located at the same position as the pixel 52. The thick-line frame 43 indicates the calculation range data 62 used to calculate the attenuation difference value 64 corresponding to the pixel 52.

[0037] The vertical and horizontal widths of the thick-line frame 43 are assumed to be from one pixel to several hundred pixels and can be set arbitrarily. For example, it is possible to determine the range to be set according to the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves used to acquire the data. Then, the calculation range data 62 within the thick-line frame 43 is extracted.

[0038] The attenuation difference calculation processing unit S63 quantifies and indicates the magnitude of change by calculating the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the signal strength within the range of the calculation range data 62. Instead of the attenuation difference calculation processing unit S63, a value reflecting attenuation can also be calculated using a processing unit that calculates at least one of variance, standard deviation, etc., for the calculation range data 62. Alternatively, a plurality of calculation results may be integrated to calculate a value reflecting attenuation.

[0039] The attenuation evaluation data creation processing section S65 stores the attenuation difference value 64 as a value corresponding to the position of the pixel 52 in the attenuation evaluation data 24.

[0040] Although the method of calculating the value of the pixel 52 of the attenuation evaluation data 24 has been described in the flow shown in FIG. 7, the attenuation evaluation data 24 is generated by performing the same operation for all pixels of the pixel group 41.

[0041] The attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 has the effect of finding underground water leak points from the characteristics of the extracted attenuation evaluation data 24. In other words, it identifies the position where the signal attenuation is large, not the signal strength itself. Since water has the function of attenuating electromagnetic wave signals, it is possible to detect the location of the water leak point by detecting the location showing the characteristics of attenuation from the attenuation evaluation data 24.

[0042] The horizontal comparison processing unit S251 included in the leak point detection processing unit S2501 shown in FIG. 3 normalizes the attenuation evaluation data 24 in the horizontal direction in which the reflection time is the same. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the attenuation evaluation data 24 consisting of the attenuation evaluation values ​​obtained in the processing flow of FIG. 7, and a pixel group 71 shows an arrangement of data held by the attenuation evaluation data 24 in a predetermined range. In FIG. 8, a thick frame 72 shows pixels in the horizontal direction having the same reflection time, and the attenuation evaluation values ​​in this thick frame 72 are normalized with the maximum value as the upper limit and the minimum value as the lower limit. For example, normalization in the range of 0 to 10 is assumed. This process is performed sequentially for each row of the pixel group 71, and the horizontal comparison data is obtained in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values ​​obtained by normalizing the attenuation evaluation values ​​of the same reflection time, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other. The normalization range here is set appropriately depending on the geology and distance, such as an area range of the same geology, or every 15 m. Furthermore, in addition to using the maximum and minimum values ​​in each horizontal direction as the basis, a method of normalizing in a data range that is, for example, about 3σ away from the average value based on the standard deviation σ obtained from the attenuation evaluation data 24 in each horizontal direction is considered. Also, while the thick frame 72 shown in Fig. 8 has a range of only one pixel on the y-axis, the vertical width of the thick frame may be several pixels. In that case, the thick frame 72 indicates pixels in the horizontal direction that have similar reflection times, and can be processed in the same way. The vertical width of the thick frame 72 can be set when extracting the attenuation evaluation data that have similar reflection times within an arbitrary standard.

[0043] 9 is a schematic diagram showing a horizontal comparison data image 80 obtained by visualizing the horizontal comparison data output by the horizontal comparison processing unit S251. The horizontal comparison data image 80 is an image in which each horizontal comparison value of the horizontal comparison data corresponds to the pixel brightness at each measurement position and reflection time. The horizontal axis 11 and the vertical axis 12 correspond to the horizontal axis 11 and the vertical axis 12 in FIG. 1. The ground surface reflection 83 corresponds to the ground surface reflection 13 in FIG. 1.

[0044] The black area 81 is a portion where the attenuation evaluation data 24 shows a unique value in the horizontal direction with the same reflection time, and corresponds to the location of underground water leakage. The attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 performs a calculation to compare the difference in brightness, for example, so that the area with small attenuation and the area with large attenuation shown in Fig. 4A and Fig. 4B can be distinguished. When the difference in brightness is calculated, the difference is smaller for the image pixel 34B (Fig. 4B) with large attenuation, so the attenuation evaluation value is small for the area where attenuation occurs, and the brightness is displayed low (black). However, since the attenuation is smaller closer to the ground surface and the attenuation is larger farther from the ground surface, the attenuation part is highlighted by performing a calculation to normalize in the horizontal direction, as shown in Fig. 9. The horizontal comparison processing unit S251 converts the attenuation evaluation data 24 into the horizontal comparison data, which has the effect of making it easier to find the location of underground water leakage in particular. The attenuation of the reflected wave from the received wave signal is evaluated by calculating either the difference, variance, or standard deviation between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the received wave intensity within a range such as the thick frame 43 within the exploration data, and the attenuation evaluation data 24 consisting of the calculated multiple attenuation evaluation values ​​is compared horizontally, making it possible to highlight the difference between areas with and without leaks.

[0045] Signals from shallow underground parts have small attenuation and therefore large reflected wave intensity, so the difference in reflected wave intensity appears large as shown in FIG. 4A, and the absolute value of the attenuation evaluation value becomes large. On the other hand, signals from deep underground parts have large attenuation as they propagate long distances, so the reflected wave intensity is small, so the difference in reflected wave intensity appears small as shown in FIG. 4B, and the absolute value of the attenuation evaluation value becomes small. By normalizing and evaluating in the horizontal direction, the influence of the depth dependency of the attenuation evaluation value can be mitigated. Therefore, the location of underground water leakage that could not be displayed in the radar image 10 (FIG. 1) can be identified in the horizontal comparison data image 80.

[0046] Therefore, the water leak detection device 201 has the effect of outputting the horizontal comparison data as water leak location detection data 2601 to identify underground water leak locations that cannot be identified by the input exploration data, thereby enabling the locations to be identified by a horizontal comparison data image 80 that emphasizes the difference between locations with and without water leaks.

[0047] FIG. 10 shows a computer system PPA00, which is an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the water leakage detection device 201 according to this embodiment. In the computer system PPA00, in order to generate, transmit, receive data, and perform various other processes, the processor PPP01 reads various programs stored in the memory resource PPA04, and the processor PPP01 executes processes according to the programs. The computer system PPA00 is, for example, a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, a server computer, a blade server, a cloud server, or the like, and is a system including at least one of these computers. That is, the computer system PPA00 also includes a system including, for example, a cloud server and a display computer (for example, a tablet terminal or a smartphone). In addition, a controller that controls or manages some device, including the processor PPP01 and the memory resource PPA04, is also an example of the computer system PPA00.

[0048] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 10, the computer system PPA00 has one or more processors PPP01, one or more memory resources PPA04, one or more UI (User Interface) devices PPP02, and one or more NI (Network Interface) devices PPP03. The computer system PPA00 may include components other than those described above. The processor PPP01, the UI device PPP02, the NI device PPP03, and the memory resource PPA04 are connected to each other via a bus PPP15.

[0049] The processor PPP01 is an arithmetic device that reads various programs stored in the memory resource PPA04 and executes processing corresponding to each program. An example of such a program is an OS (Operating System). The processor PPP01 is, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a quantum processor, or a semiconductor device capable of executing other operations.

[0050] The memory resource PPA04 is a storage device that stores the attenuation evaluation program PPP05, the horizontal comparison program PPP06, the exploration data PPP10, the attenuation evaluation data PPP11, and the horizontal comparison data PPP12, and is an example of a non-volatile memory or / and a volatile memory. An example of the volatile memory is a RAM (Random Access Memory). An example of the non-volatile memory may be a rewritable storage medium such as a flash memory, a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), a read only memory (ROM), or a USB (trademark) (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a memory card, and a hard disk. In addition, RAM such as MRAM (Magnetoresistive RAM), PRAM (Phase change RAM), and ReRAM (Resistive RAM) may be considered as a non-volatile memory. The processor PPP01 may perform a service of distributing various programs stored in the memory resource PPA04 to other computers.

[0051] The UI device PPP02 is an input device that inputs instructions from a user (which may be an operator) to the computer system PPA00, and an output device that outputs information generated by the computer system PPA00. Examples of input devices include pointing devices such as a keyboard, a touch panel, and a mouse, and audio input devices such as a microphone. Unless otherwise specified below, input and output of information between the computer system PPA00 and the user is performed via the UI device PPP02. The UI device PPP02 may be only an input device, or only an output device. Examples of output devices include display devices such as liquid crystal displays, projectors that project information onto a screen, AR (virtual reality) glasses, printers that print on paper, smartphones, and smartwatches.

[0052] The NI device PPP03 is a communication device that communicates information with an external device. The NI device PPP03 communicates information with an underground radar device PPP17 and underground data PPP18 that stores exploration data via a predetermined communication network PPP16 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). The underground data PPP18 is a data storage environment that includes exploration data previously measured by an underground radar and is stored on a server that can be accessed from the cloud or online.

[0053] Unless otherwise specified below, information communication between the computer system PPA00 (or the processor PPP01) and an external device such as the underground radar device PPP17 is performed via the NI device PPP03.

[0054] This computer system PPA00 executes the processes of this embodiment by executing various programs PPP05 and PPP06.

[0055] The exploration data PPP10 is acquired from the underground radar device PPP17 and the underground data PPP18 via the NI device PPP03 and the bus PPP15.

[0056] The search data PPP10 can also be input directly by the user from the UI device PPP02 or uploaded to the memory resource PPA04 via the bus PPP15.

[0057] The search data PPP10 corresponds to the search data 22, and indicates a state in which the search data 22 is stored in the memory resource PPA04.

[0058] The attenuation evaluation program PPP05 executes the processing of the attenuation evaluation processing unit S23. Similarly, the horizontal comparison program PPP06 executes the processing of the horizontal comparison processing unit S251. Also, the attenuation evaluation data PPP11 is the attenuation evaluation data 24 stored in the memory resource PPA04, and the horizontal comparison data PPP12 is the horizontal comparison data output by the horizontal comparison program PPP06 stored in the memory resource PPA04. The water leakage detection device 201 outputs the horizontal comparison data PPP12 generated by the computer system PPA00 to the user as water leakage location detection data 2601 via the UI device PPP02.

[0059] The UI device PPP02 can display, in diagrammatic form or as images, not only the search data PPP10 captured by the computer system PPA00, but also various data PPP11, PPP12 generated by executing various programs PPP05, PPP06.

[0060] Therefore, the computer system shown in FIG. 10 has the effect of automatically executing the processing of the water leakage detection device 201.

[0061] As an alternative to the output to the user using the UI device PPP02 described above, data required for output to the user may be transmitted to an external processor system via the NI device PPP03. Examples of such data include the data to be output itself, and data for generating output data in another processor system, but may also be a program describing the process of performing user output in the external processor system, or Web data.

[0062] Instead of receiving an input or operation from a user using the UI device PPP02 described above, data indicating a user input or operation may be received from an external processor system via the NI device PPP03. From another perspective, the meaning of outputting data to a user may include not only the computer system PPA00 itself outputting the data, but also having another entity other than the computer system PPA00 output the data (using it). Furthermore, the meaning of receiving an input or operation from a user may include not only direct output or reception to the user by the UI device PPP02 of the computer system PPA00, but also indirect reception by the computer system PPA00.

[0063] The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may be obtained. This embodiment is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and includes various modified examples. For example, each of the above-mentioned embodiments has been described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to an embodiment having all of the components described. In addition, a part of the configuration of a certain embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0064] In addition, each of the above configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them as an integrated circuit, for example. In addition, each of the above configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as a program, a judgment table, and a file that realizes each function can be placed in a memory, a storage device such as an HDD or SSD, or a recording medium such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) card, an SD (Secure Digital) card, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). In addition, the control lines and information lines are shown as those considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown in the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all configurations are connected to each other. EXAMPLES

[0065] In the second embodiment, a water leakage detection device 202 in which the water leakage location detection processing unit S25 of the water leakage detection device 201 in the first embodiment is replaced with the water leakage location detection processing unit S2502 shown in FIG. 11 will be described. The water leakage detection device 202 has a structure in which the water leakage location detection processing unit S25 of the water leakage detection device 201 shown in FIG. 2 is replaced with the water leakage location detection processing unit S2502 shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, an area evaluation processing unit S252 is newly present in the water leakage location detection processing unit S2502 compared to the first embodiment (FIG. 3). In this embodiment, the horizontal comparison processing unit S251 transfers the horizontal comparison data 25 to the area evaluation processing unit S252. The area evaluation processing unit S252 divides the horizontal comparison data 25 into a plurality of areas, calculates an area evaluation value for each area based on the horizontal comparison value, and generates area evaluation data consisting of the area evaluation values. The area evaluation data is data in which a plurality of area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other. The water leakage point detection processing unit S2502 outputs the area evaluation data as water leakage point detection data 2602.

[0066] The leak point detection processing unit S2502 receives the attenuation evaluation data 24 and outputs the leak point detection data 2602 calculated by the area evaluation processing unit S252. The leak detection device 202 receives the exploration data 22 and outputs the leak point detection data 2602.

[0067] The area evaluation value is calculated as the average value of the horizontal comparison data contained within each area. In addition to the average value, it is also possible to use statistical values ​​such as variance, standard deviation, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values. The size of the area can be set arbitrarily and is based on the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves to be irradiated and the resolution of the leak range to be determined. The set of divided area evaluation values ​​becomes the leak location detection data 2602.

[0068] 12 is a schematic diagram of an area evaluation data image 101 obtained by visualizing the area evaluation data 28. The area evaluation data image 101 is an example of the area evaluation data 28 visualized in five stages. A rectangular frame 102 indicates the area size. The darker the area evaluation data image 101 is, the smaller the area evaluation value is, indicating a greater possibility of underground leakage.

[0069] The area evaluation processing unit S252 has the effect of being able to evaluate the overall presence or absence of water leakage in the observation target by dividing the horizontal comparison data 25 into a plurality of areas. The water leakage detection device 202 has the effect of being able to input the exploration data and output the water leakage point detection data 2602 that can macroscopically evaluate the areas with a high possibility of water leakage.

[0070] 13 shows a computer system PPB00, which is an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the water leakage detection device 202 according to this embodiment. The memory resource PPB04 is a storage device that stores an attenuation evaluation program PPP05, a horizontal comparison program PPP06, an area evaluation program PPP07, exploration data PPP10, attenuation evaluation data PPP11, horizontal comparison data PPP12, and area evaluation data PPP13.

[0071] The computer system PPB00 shown in Fig. 13 has a configuration in which the memory resource PPA04 of the computer system PPA00 in Fig. 10 is replaced with the above-mentioned memory resource PPB04. The computer system PPB00 executes the processes of the water leakage detection device 202 by executing various programs PPP05 to PPP07.

[0072] The area evaluation program PPP07 uses the horizontal comparison data PPP12 to perform processing in the area evaluation processing unit S252. The area evaluation data PPP13 is the leak point detection data 2602 output by the area evaluation program PPP07 and stored in the memory resource PPB04. The leak detection device 202 outputs the area evaluation data PPP13 generated by the computer system PPB00 to the user via the UI device PPP02.

[0073] The UI device PPP02 can display, in addition to the survey data PPP10 imported by the computer system PPB00, various data PPP11-PPP13 generated by executing various programs PPP05-PPP07, as illustrated or imaged. Therefore, the computer system PPB00 shown in Fig. 13 has the effect of automatically executing the processing of the water leak detection device 202. EXAMPLES

[0074] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the water leakage detection device 203 in the embodiment 3. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing the configuration of a water leakage determination processing unit S2701 which is an example of the water leakage determination processing unit S27 in Fig. 14. First, the processing of the water leakage detection device in FIG. 14 will be described.

[0075] The water leakage detection device 203 in FIG. 14 is newly equipped with a water leakage determination processing unit S27 in comparison with the water leakage detection device 201 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2). The water leakage determination processing unit S27 performs processing for generating water leakage score data in which a plurality of water leakage score values ​​corresponding to each point and the position information are associated with each other based on at least the water leakage point detection data 26, and outputs water leakage determination data 2801. Note that the water leakage point detection processing unit S25 corresponds to either the water leakage point detection processing unit S2501 in the first embodiment (FIG. 3) or the water leakage point detection processing unit S2502 in the second embodiment (FIG. 11). Also, the water leakage point detection data 26 corresponds to either the water leakage point detection data 2601 in the first embodiment (FIG. 3) or the water leakage point detection data 2602 in the second embodiment (FIG. 11). Next, the configuration of the water leakage determination processing unit S2701 shown in FIG. 15 will be described.

[0076] The water leakage determination processing unit S2701 has a water leakage score processing unit S271 that receives the water leakage point detection data 26, calculates a water leakage score value at each point, and calculates water leakage score data consisting of a plurality of water leakage score values. The water leakage score data is data in which a plurality of water leakage score values ​​corresponding to each point indicated by the position information are associated with the position information based on the water leakage point detection data. The water leakage determination processing unit S2701 is an example of the water leakage determination processing unit S27 in FIG. 14, and here, S2701 is assumed to be the same as S27. Therefore, the water leakage score data that is the output of the water leakage score processing unit S271 shown in FIG. 15 becomes the water leakage determination data 2801, and corresponds to the output of the water leakage detection device 203 shown in FIG. 14.

[0077] The water leakage score data output by the water leakage score processing unit S271 is a set of water leakage score values ​​calculated at each data acquisition position, and the calculation method thereof will be described below.

[0078] Fig. 16 is an example of a water leakage point detection data image 126 obtained by imaging the water leakage point detection data 26. Here, the water leakage point detection data 26 is water leakage point detection data 2602 calculated based on the second embodiment. A method for calculating water leakage score data from the water leakage point detection data 26 will be outlined with reference to Fig. 16.

[0079] Hollow rectangular frames 121 to 124 represent a vertical row of areas divided by the area evaluation processing unit S252, and the area evaluation value included in each frame is used to calculate the leakage score at the data acquisition position directly above.

[0080] The leakage score at each point is calculated by calculating the average of the area evaluation values ​​for the vertical row directly below it. In addition to the average, it can also be calculated by calculating statistical values ​​such as variance, standard deviation, and the difference between the maximum and minimum values.

[0081] In addition, for the area evaluation value of one vertical row used when calculating the leakage score, it is possible to set a regulation regarding the depth direction, such as using the area evaluation value from the ground surface to a certain depth.

[0082] Fig. 17 is a plot of the water leakage score data obtained by the above method. The vertical axis 130 indicates the water leakage score, and the horizontal axis 11 indicates the sweep direction. Water leakage score plot points 131 to 134 are plotted points of water leakage scores calculated using the evaluation values ​​of the areas within the hollow rectangular frames 121 to 124, and the same is true for the other plot points. For example, the underground water leakage point 135 has a high water leakage score, indicating that there is a high possibility of underground water leakage.

[0083] The water leakage score processing unit S271 has the effect of quantitatively evaluating the possibility of underground leakage directly beneath each point. Therefore, the water leakage determination processing unit S2701 also has the effect of outputting the result of quantitatively evaluating the possibility of water leakage for the water leakage point detection data. A point with a high possibility of underground leakage is easier to detect because the water leakage score shows a unique value compared to other points.

[0084] 18 shows a computer system PPC00, which is an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the water leakage detection device 203 according to this embodiment. The memory resource PPC04 is a storage device that stores an attenuation evaluation program PPP05, a horizontal comparison program PPP06, an area evaluation program PPP07, a water leakage score calculation program PPP08, exploration data PPP10, attenuation evaluation data PPP11, horizontal comparison data PPP12, area evaluation data PPP13, and water leakage score data PPP14.

[0085] The computer system PPC00 shown in Fig. 18 has a configuration in which the memory resource PPB04 of the computer system PPB00 in Fig. 13 is replaced with the memory resource PPC04. The computer system PPC00 executes various programs PPP05 to PPP08 to perform the processing of the water leakage detection device 203 shown in the third embodiment (Fig. 14).

[0086] The water leakage score calculation program PPP08 performs processing in the water leakage score processing unit S271 using the area evaluation data PPP13. The water leakage score data PPP14 is the water leakage score data output by the water leakage score calculation program PPP08 and stored in the memory resource PPC04.

[0087] The UI device PPP02 can display, in addition to the search data PPP10 captured by the computer system PPC00, various data PPP11 to PPP14 generated by executing various programs PPP05 to PPP08, as illustrated or imaged.

[0088] Therefore, the computer system shown in FIG. 18 has the effect of automatically executing the processing of the water leakage detection device 203 shown in the third embodiment. EXAMPLES

[0089] In the fourth embodiment, a water leakage detection device 204 in which the water leakage determination processing unit S27 of the water leakage detection device 203 in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is replaced with the water leakage determination processing unit S2702 shown in FIG. 19 will be described. The water leakage detection device 204 has a configuration in which the water leakage determination processing unit S27 of the water leakage detection device 203 shown in FIG. 14 is replaced with the water leakage determination processing unit S2702 shown in FIG. 19. In FIG. 19, a score determination processing unit S272 is newly added to the water leakage determination processing unit S2702 in comparison with the third embodiment (FIG. 15). The water leakage score processing unit S271 transfers the water leakage score data 27 to be output to the score determination processing unit S272. The score determination processing unit S272 detects the location of underground water leakage by determining the possibility of water leakage at the data acquisition position from the water leakage score data 27, and outputs it as water leakage determination data 2802. The water leakage determination processing unit S2702 receives the water leakage point detection data 26 as input, and generates score determination data in the score determination processing unit S272. The score determination data is data in which information on the presence or absence of underground leakage at each point indicated by the location information is associated with the location information. The water leakage determination processing unit S2702 outputs the score determination data as water leakage determination data 2802.

[0090] The fourth embodiment has an advantage that the possibility of water leakage at each data acquisition position can be automatically determined by inputting the exploration data of the underground radar.

[0091] The score determination processing unit S272 determines the presence or absence of underground leakage from the leakage score data at each data acquisition position based on the amount of change when compared with a threshold value or with points before and after, and generates score determination data. For example, a method can be applied in which a certain threshold is set and if the threshold is exceeded, it is determined that there is a possibility of leakage. It is also possible to evaluate the possibility of leakage at each point in several stages by setting several stages of thresholds and determining which threshold is exceeded. It is also assumed that the leakage score value at the data acquisition position can be evaluated by comparing it with the leakage score value at its surrounding positions. For example, the average value of the leakage score values ​​around the data acquisition position is calculated, and a score ratio, which is the ratio of the leakage score value to the average value, is calculated. If the score ratio exceeds a certain value, it can be determined that there is a possibility of leakage. It is also assumed that the possibility of leakage can be evaluated in several stages by setting several stages of evaluation criteria for the score ratio and determining which criteria is exceeded.

[0092] The score determination processing unit S272 has the effect of being able to present the possibility of underground leakage based on the leakage score data. This has the effect of enabling the water leakage detection device 204 to determine underground leakage by evaluating the attenuation of the reflected wave from the exploration data 22 and outputting leakage determination data indicating the possibility of underground leakage. Furthermore, since underground leakage can be determined automatically, the measurer is not required to have advanced knowledge or expertise in analyzing underground exploration data.

[0093] 20 shows a computer system PPD00, which is an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the water leakage detection device 204 according to this embodiment. The memory resource PPD04 is a storage device that stores an attenuation evaluation program PPP05, a horizontal comparison program PPP06, an area evaluation program PPP07, a water leakage score calculation program PPP08, a score determination program PPP09, exploration data PPP10, attenuation evaluation data PPP11, horizontal comparison data PPP12, area evaluation data PPP13, water leakage score data PPP14, and score determination data PPP19.

[0094] The computer system PPD00 shown in Fig. 20 has a configuration in which the memory resource PPD04 of the computer system PPC00 in Fig. 18 is replaced with the above memory resource PPD04. The computer system PPD00 executes the processes of the water leakage detection device 204 by executing various programs PPP05 to PPP09.

[0095] The score determination program PPP09 performs the process of the score determination processing unit S272 using the water leakage score data PPP14. The score determination data PPP19 is the score determination data output by the score determination program PPP09 and stored in the memory resource PPD04.

[0096] The UI device PPP02 can display, in addition to the search data PPP10 captured by the computer system PPD00, various data PPP11-PPP14 and PPP19 generated by executing various programs PPP05-PPP09, as illustrated or imaged.

[0097] Therefore, the computer system shown in FIG. 20 has the advantage of being able to automatically execute the processing of the water leakage detection device 204. EXAMPLES

[0098] In the fifth embodiment, a water leakage detection device 202A in which the water leakage point detection processing unit S25 of the water leakage detection device 201 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2) is replaced with a water leakage point detection processing unit S2502A shown in FIG. 21 will be described.

[0099] FIG. 21 shows a water leakage point detection processing unit S2502A of the water leakage detection device 202A. In FIG. 21, an area evaluation processing unit S252A is newly added to the embodiment 1 (FIG. 3). In this embodiment, the horizontal comparison processing unit S251 transfers the horizontal comparison data 25 to the area evaluation processing unit S252A. In addition, the area evaluation processing unit S252A is provided with position information 36 regarding underground water leakage as an input. The area evaluation processing unit S252A receives the position information 36 regarding underground water leakage as an input, sets the area evaluation value of the area specified by the position information regarding underground water leakage as a reference value, calculates a secondary evaluation value which is the ratio of other area evaluation values ​​to the reference value, replaces the secondary evaluation value with the area evaluation value, and outputs area evaluation data in which information on a plurality of replaced area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other. The leak point detection processing unit S2502A receives the attenuation evaluation data 24 and the position information 36 regarding underground leakage, and outputs the leak point detection data 2602A calculated by the area evaluation processing unit S252A. The leak detection device 202A receives the exploration data 22 and the position information 36 regarding underground leakage, and outputs the leak point detection data 2602A.

[0100] Location information 36 regarding underground leakage corresponds to information regarding the location of an underground leakage that has already been identified or information regarding a location that is known not to include an underground leakage. For example, if it is known from a buried water pipe drawing that there is no buried water pipe near a certain measurement point, there is no underground leakage at that point. Therefore, the location information of that measurement point can be included in location information 36 regarding underground leakage as information regarding a location without underground leakage.

[0101] A method of converting the horizontal comparison data into the leakage point detection data 2602A using the position information 36 regarding the underground leakage will be described below with reference to Fig. 22. It is assumed that the horizontal comparison data is calculated as described in the first embodiment.

[0102] FIG. 22 shows a plurality of area groups 19-20 in the area evaluation data 28. A rectangular frame 102 indicates one area. First, the horizontal comparison data is divided into a plurality of areas in the area evaluation processing unit S252A in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and area evaluation values ​​are calculated. The calculated area evaluation value is called a primary evaluation value. Next, a reference area located directly below a point where there is no water leakage is determined based on the position information 36 regarding underground water leakage. Here, a dotted frame 1921 indicates the reference area. Next, a method of calculating a secondary evaluation value using a primary evaluation value included in the reference area is described. Here, a method of obtaining a secondary evaluation value corresponding to the area in the rectangular frame 19212 is described. First, a reference area that is located at the same position on the vertical axis 12 as the area in the rectangular frame 19212 and is within the reference area is specified. Here, the area in the rectangular frame 19211 corresponds to the reference area in the rectangular frame 19212. Next, a ratio of the primary evaluation value of the area in the rectangular frame 19212 to the primary evaluation value of the reference area is calculated, and this is called a secondary evaluation value. In this manner, the secondary evaluation values ​​are calculated for the other areas as well, and then the area evaluation values ​​are replaced with the secondary evaluation values. The area evaluation processing unit S252A outputs area evaluation data in which the multiple area evaluation values ​​thus replaced, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other as the water leakage point detection data 2602A.

[0103] The area evaluation processing unit S252A can use the underground exploration data of a place where there is no leak or a place where there is a leak as a reference and compare it with other places by inputting the position information 36 about the underground leak. Therefore, if the position information about the underground leak exists in advance, the place where the underground leak occurs can be accurately identified by comparing it with the reference place.

[0104] Also, the leakage score processing unit S271 of the third embodiment (FIG. 15) can be adapted to input position information 36 regarding underground leakage and calculate leakage score data based on underground exploration data of a location where there is or is certainly no leakage point. In this case, the leakage score processing unit S271 of FIG. 14 calculates the leakage score data from the leakage point detection data 26 and position information regarding underground leakage. The following describes a method of converting the leakage point detection data into the leakage score data using position information regarding underground leakage. It is assumed that the leakage point detection data is calculated as described in the second embodiment.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 16, in Example 3 (FIG. 16), the leakage score value calculated from the area evaluation value of one vertical row as indicated by the hollow rectangular frames 121 to 124 is set as the primary score value. Here, the primary score value at the position where it is known that there is no leakage is set as the reference score value, and the ratio of the primary score value at each measurement point to the reference score value is set as the secondary score value. It is also assumed that the leakage score value is replaced with the secondary score value, and the leakage score data consisting of this replaced leakage score value is output by S271. The leakage score processing unit S271 has the effect of outputting leakage score data that accurately and quantitatively evaluates the possibility of leakage from the leakage point detection data by using underground exploration data of a point where there is or is definitely no leakage point as a reference.

[0106] FIG. 23 shows a computer system QQA00, which is an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the water leakage detection device 202A according to this embodiment. The position information QQQ01 regarding underground water leakage is acquired via the NI device PPP03 and the bus PPP15. The NI device PPP03 communicates with the underground radar device PPP17 and the underground data PPP18 storing the exploration data via the communication network PPP16. The underground data PPP18 includes the position information regarding underground water leakage in addition to the exploration data. The position information regarding underground water leakage can also be acquired via the bus PPP15 by uploading the input data by the user to the UI device PPP02. The position information QQQ01 regarding underground water leakage is in a state where the position information 36 regarding underground water leakage is stored in the memory resource QQA02. The memory resource QQA02 is a storage device that stores an attenuation evaluation program PPP05, a horizontal comparison program PPP06, an area evaluation program QQQ07, exploration data PPP10, attenuation evaluation data PPP11, horizontal comparison data PPP12, area evaluation data QQQ13, and position information QQQ01 regarding underground leakage.

[0107] The computer system QQA00 shown in Fig. 23 has a configuration in which the memory resource PPA04 of the computer system PPA00 in Fig. 10 is replaced with the above-mentioned memory resource QQA02. The computer system QQA00 executes various programs PPP05, PPP06, and QQQ07 to perform the processing of the water leakage detection device 202A.

[0108] The area evaluation program QQQ07 performs processing in the area evaluation processing unit S252A using the position information QQQ01 regarding underground leakage and the horizontal comparison data PPP12. The area evaluation data QQQ13 includes the area evaluation data 28 output by the area evaluation program QQQ07 and stored in the memory resource QQA02.

[0109] As described above, known information regarding the presence or absence of water leakage can be associated with location information and used as location information QQQ01 regarding underground water leakage. The processor PPP01 calculates an area evaluation value using the location information QQQ01 regarding underground water leakage to obtain area evaluation data QQQ13.

[0110] The UI device PPP02 can display, in diagram form or image form, various data PPP11, PPP12, and QQQ13 generated by executing various programs PPP05, PPP06, and QQQ07, in addition to the search data PPP10 imported by the computer system QQA00.

[0111] Therefore, the computer system shown in FIG. 23 has the advantage of being able to automatically execute the processing of the water leakage detection device 202A. EXAMPLES

[0112] 24 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a water leakage detection system 2000 in Example 6. The water leakage detection system 2000 receives the exploration data 22 as input, and is composed of a water leakage detection device 205, a display information extraction unit S29, and a display unit S31. The water leakage detection device receives the exploration data 22 as input, and outputs water leakage location detection data 26 and water leakage judgment data 2802. The display information extraction unit S29 generates display data 30 from the water leakage location detection data 26 and the water leakage judgment data 2802, and the display unit S31 displays the display data 30.

[0113] The water leakage detection device 205 has a feature of outputting new water leakage point detection data 26 to the water leakage detection device 203 of the embodiment 3 (FIG. 14). The water leakage detection device 205 receives the exploration data 22 as input, and outputs the water leakage point detection data 26 and water leakage determination data 2802. Note that the water leakage determination processing unit S27 shown in FIG. 24 corresponds to either the water leakage determination processing unit S2701 of the embodiment 3 (FIG. 15) or the water leakage determination processing unit S2702 of the embodiment 4 (FIG. 19).

[0114] The display information extraction unit S29 receives the water leakage determination data 2802 and the water leakage point detection data 26 as input, and outputs the display data 30.

[0115] The display information extraction unit S29 extracts leak point detection data corresponding to a point determined to have an underground leak in the leak determination data 2802 from the leak point detection data 26. Then, information on the point determined to have an underground leak and the extracted leak point detection data are output as display data 30. Note that it is also assumed that leak point detection data corresponding to a point determined to have no underground leak in the leak determination data 2802 is similarly extracted, and information on the point determined to have no underground leak and the extracted leak point detection data are output as display data 30.

[0116] The display information extraction unit S29 has the effect of showing the basis for the determination by extracting and outputting the corresponding leak detection data for a location that has been determined by the leak determination processing unit S27 to have underground leaks or is highly likely to have underground leaks.

[0117] In the water leakage detection system, the display data 30 output by the display information extraction unit S29 is displayed on the display unit S31. The display unit S31 can display the points where it is determined that there is a water leakage using coordinate information or location information on a map on the display or on a web server. At the same time, it can display an area evaluation data image like that shown in FIG. 12 corresponding to the points where it is determined that there is a water leakage.

[0118] The water leakage detection system 2000 can display the points where underground leakage is determined by inputting the exploration data 22, and can also present an area evaluation data image of the corresponding points. This has the effect of showing the user the possibility of leakage based on a basis. In addition, by displaying an area evaluation data image as shown in Fig. 16, it also has the effect of making it easier for the user to determine how deep underground leakage is occurring. EXAMPLES

[0119] 25 is a flow diagram showing the steps of the water leakage detection method for outputting the water leakage judgment data from the exploration data in the seventh embodiment. This corresponds to the processing steps from inputting the exploration data 22 to outputting the water leakage judgment data 2802 when the water leakage detection device 204 in the fourth embodiment is used.

[0120] First, in the attenuation evaluation processing step S023, the attenuation of the reflected wave is evaluated from the exploration data in which a received wave signal that is a reflected wave returned from irradiating an electromagnetic wave underground, position information on the position at which the received wave signal was received, and a reflection time from irradiating the electromagnetic wave to receiving the reflected wave are associated with each other, and attenuation evaluation data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values, the position information, and information on the reflection time are associated with each other are generated. The attenuation evaluation processing step S023 corresponds to the processing step in which the attenuation evaluation processing unit S23 converts the exploration data 22 into attenuation evaluation data 24, as described in the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

[0121] In the horizontal comparison processing step S0251, the attenuation evaluation data having reflection times close to each other based on an arbitrary standard is extracted and normalized to generate horizontal comparison data in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other. The horizontal comparison processing step S0251 corresponds to the processing step in which the horizontal comparison processing unit S251 converts the attenuation evaluation data 24 into horizontal comparison data, as described in the first embodiment (FIG. 3).

[0122] In the area evaluation processing step S0252, the horizontal comparison data is divided into a plurality of areas, an area evaluation value is calculated based on the horizontal comparison value calculated for each of the areas, and area evaluation data in which the plurality of area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other is generated as water leakage point detection data. The area evaluation processing step S0252 corresponds to the processing step described in the second embodiment (FIG. 11) in which the area evaluation processing unit S252 inputs the horizontal comparison data to calculate area evaluation data, and outputs water leakage point detection data 2602.

[0123] In the water leakage score processing step S0271, a water leakage score value at a point specified by the location information is calculated based on the water leakage point detection data, and water leakage score data is generated in which a plurality of water leakage score values ​​are associated with the location information. The water leakage score processing step S0271 corresponds to the processing step in which the water leakage score processing unit S271 described in the third embodiment (FIG. 15) receives the water leakage point detection data 26 as an input and outputs the water leakage score data.

[0124] In the score determination processing step S0272, the possibility of water leakage at the point specified by the position information is determined based on the water leakage score data, and score determination data in which information on the presence or absence of underground water leakage at each point indicated by the position information is associated with the position information is generated as the water leakage determination data. The score determination processing step S0272 corresponds to the processing step in which the score determination processing unit S272 described in the fourth embodiment (FIG. 19) determines the possibility of water leakage from the water leakage score data, detects the location of underground water leakage, and outputs the water leakage determination data 2802.

[0125] As described above, the flow of the water leakage detection method for outputting the water leakage determination data from the exploration data shown in Fig. 25 has the effect of converting the exploration data into water leakage determination data to indicate the possibility of underground water leakage. In addition, even if you do not have advanced knowledge or expertise in analyzing underground exploration data, you will be able to determine underground water leakage by executing each step shown in Fig. 25 in order. EXAMPLES

[0126] The water leak detection method shown in the above-mentioned embodiment 7 is capable of detecting water leaks from plastic water pipes and water pipes with a diameter of approximately 50 mm or less.

[0127] Plastic water pipes include polyethylene pipes, hardened polyvinyl chloride pipes, impact-resistant hardened polyvinyl chloride pipes, heat-resistant hardened polyvinyl chloride pipes, and Elmex pipes. Buried pipes made of these materials usually do not reflect the electromagnetic waves emitted by ground-penetrating radar well, making them difficult to detect. Similarly, water pipes with a diameter of 50 mm or less are often below the resolution of ground-penetrating radar, regardless of the material, and are difficult to detect.

[0128] Since the dielectric constants of the soil and the piping materials are different, electromagnetic waves are reflected at the boundary between them. s , the dielectric constant of the pipe is ε p When the magnetic permeability is equal, the reflection coefficient Γ when electromagnetic waves are incident perpendicularly from the soil to the pipe is expressed as (Equation 1).

[0129]

number

[0130] The magnitude of the reflection coefficient Γ represents the ratio of the amplitude of the reflected wave to the amplitude of the incident wave, and is smaller when the piping is a plastic pipe than when it is a metal pipe, so the reflected image of a plastic pipe is less likely to appear in an underground radar image.

[0131] Non-patent document 1 reports that when the moisture content of the ground increases at the leak site, the electromagnetic waves travel slower and the time it takes for the electromagnetic waves to be reflected from the buried pipe increases, causing the reflected image of the buried pipe to appear deeper in the radar image.

[0132] However, if the buried pipe is made of plastic, the reflection of the electromagnetic waves is weak, so the reflected image of the buried pipe may not be visible in the radar image. Also, if the diameter of the buried pipe is smaller than the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves, the reflected image of the buried pipe may not appear in the radar image. In such cases, since the reflected image of the buried pipe cannot be identified, it is not possible to tell from the radar image that the time between the irradiation of the electromagnetic waves and their reflection has become longer, and it is not possible to determine whether there is an underground leak.

[0133] The water leakage detection method shown in the above-mentioned embodiment 7 utilizes the fact that the reflected signal near the water leakage point is attenuated by water, and detects the water leakage point by evaluating the attenuation. Therefore, even if the reflected image of the buried pipe cannot be confirmed, it is possible to evaluate the possibility of water leakage by evaluating the attenuation of the reflected signal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0134] Leak detection device 201, exploration data 22, attenuation evaluation processing unit S23, attenuation evaluation data 24, leak point detection processing unit S2501, horizontal comparison processing S251, leak point detection data 2601

Claims

1. an attenuation evaluation processing unit which receives as input exploration data in which location information relating to a position at which an electromagnetic wave is irradiated underground and a reflected wave is received, a reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave is irradiated until the reflected wave is received, and information on the reflected wave intensity are all associated with each other, defines an arbitrary range within the exploration data, calculates an attenuation evaluation value by obtaining one or more indices of the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the received wave intensity within the range, the variance, and the standard deviation, and outputs attenuation evaluation data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values, the location information, and the reflection time are all associated with each other; a leakage point detection processing unit that extracts at least the attenuation evaluation data output from the attenuation evaluation processing unit, each of which has a reflection time that is close to the reflection time within a given standard, and converts the extracted attenuation evaluation data into a normalized relative value using a maximum value and a minimum value obtained from the extracted attenuation evaluation data, thereby outputting leakage point detection data; A water leak detection device comprising:

2. The water leakage detection device according to claim 1, The water leakage point detection processing unit extracts attenuation evaluation data having reflection times that are close to each other within an arbitrary standard for the attenuation evaluation data, and outputs horizontal comparison data in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values ​​converted into relative values ​​standardized using maximum and minimum values ​​obtained from the extracted attenuation evaluation data, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other. wherein the horizontal comparison data is the water leakage location detection data.

3. The water leakage detection device according to claim 2, The water leakage point detection processing unit further divides the horizontal comparison data into a plurality of areas, calculates an area evaluation value based on the horizontal comparison value calculated for each of the areas, and outputs area evaluation data in which the plurality of area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other. wherein the area evaluation data is the leakage point detection data.

4. The water leakage detection device according to claim 3, and a leakage determination processing unit that outputs leakage determination data through a process of calculating a plurality of leakage score values ​​corresponding to each point indicated by the position information based on the leakage point detection data. A water leak detection device comprising:

5. The water leakage detection device according to claim 4, The water leakage determination processing unit outputs water leakage score data in which a plurality of water leakage score values ​​corresponding to each point indicated by the position information are associated with the position information, based on the water leakage point detection data. wherein the water leakage determination data is the water leakage score data.

6. The water leakage detection device according to claim 5, The water leakage determination processing unit further outputs score determination data in which information determining the presence or absence of underground leakage at each point indicated by the position information is associated with the position information based on the water leakage score data. wherein the score determination data is the water leakage determination data.

7. The water leakage detection device according to claim 6, By performing at least one of comparing the water leakage score value with a threshold value and comparing the water leakage score value with surrounding water leakage score values, the presence or absence of underground water leakage at each point indicated by the position information is determined. A water leak detection device comprising:

8. The water leakage detection device according to claim 1, The area evaluation section of the leakage point detection processing section further receives position information regarding underground leakage, sets an area evaluation value of an area specified by the position information regarding underground leakage as a reference value, calculates a secondary evaluation value which is a ratio of other area evaluation values ​​to the reference value, replaces the secondary evaluation value with the area evaluation value, and outputs area evaluation data in which the replaced area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time are associated with each other. wherein the area evaluation data is the leakage point detection data.

9. A water leakage detection system having a water leakage detection device, a display information extraction unit, and a display unit, an attenuation evaluation processing unit that receives as input exploration data in which a received wave signal obtained by irradiating an electromagnetic wave into the ground and receiving a reflected wave that has returned, position information relating to a position at which the received wave signal was received, and a reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave was irradiated until when the reflected wave is received, are respectively associated with each other, and outputs attenuation evaluation data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values ​​calculated by evaluating attenuation of the reflected wave from the received wave signal of the exploration data, the position information, and information on the reflection time are respectively associated with each other; a horizontal comparison processing unit which extracts, from the attenuation evaluation data output from the attenuation evaluation processing unit, attenuation evaluation data having reflection times that are close within an arbitrary standard, normalizes and calculates a plurality of horizontal comparison values, and outputs horizontal comparison data in which the position information and the reflection time information are associated with each other, and outputs leakage point detection data using the horizontal comparison data; a water leakage score processing unit that calculates a water leakage score value at a point specified by the position information based on the water leakage point detection data, and outputs water leakage score data in which a plurality of water leakage score values ​​and the position information are respectively associated with each other, and outputs water leakage determination data using the water leakage score data; having The display information extraction unit outputs display data obtained by extracting water leakage point detection data and water leakage determination data corresponding to a point specified by the position information, The display unit displays the display data. A water leak detection system comprising:

10. a step of evaluating attenuation of a reflected wave from a received wave signal of exploration data in which a received wave signal obtained by irradiating an electromagnetic wave into the ground and receiving a reflected wave that has returned, position information relating to a position at which the received wave signal was received, and a reflection time from when the electromagnetic wave was irradiated until when the reflected wave is received are respectively associated with each other, and generating attenuation evaluation data in which a plurality of attenuation evaluation values, the position information, and information on the reflection time are respectively associated with each other; generating horizontal comparison data in which a plurality of horizontal comparison values ​​calculated by extracting and normalizing the attenuation evaluation data having a reflection time that is close to the attenuation evaluation data and within a reference range are associated with the position information and the reflection time information; dividing the horizontal comparison data into a plurality of areas, calculating an area evaluation value based on the horizontal comparison value calculated for each of the areas, and generating area evaluation data in which the plurality of area evaluation values, the position information, and the reflection time information are associated with each other; Calculating a water leakage score value based on the water leakage location detection data, and generating water leakage score data in which a plurality of water leakage score values ​​are associated with the position information, respectively; A step of generating score determination data in which information on the presence or absence of underground water leakage at each point indicated by the position information based on the water leakage score data is associated with the position information; A water leakage detection method comprising the steps of:

11. The water leakage detection method according to claim 10, The target of leak detection is leaks from plastic pipes or water pipes with a diameter of 50 mm or less. A water leakage detection method comprising:

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