Snowfall sensor device and snowfall detection method

Abstract

To provide a snowfall sensor device and snowfall detection method capable of suppressing influences other than snowflakes.SOLUTION: A snowfall sensor device 2 includes a first sensor 11 which emits infrared light and receives infrared light reflected from a detection object; and a second sensor 11 which emits infrared light, receives infrared light reflected from the detection object, and is oriented in a direction different from that of the first sensor 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a snowfall sensor device and a snowfall detection method for detecting snowfall. [Background technology]

[0002] Snow melting devices that melt snow on roads and other surfaces during snowfall have been known for some time. These snow melting devices are equipped with a snowfall sensor device to determine snowfall (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The snowfall sensor device has a built-in reflective motion sensor. The reflective motion sensor has a light-emitting unit that emits infrared rays and a light-receiving unit that receives the reflected light of the emitted infrared rays. The infrared rays emitted from the light-emitting unit are reflected by snowflakes, and the reflected infrared rays are received by the light-receiving unit, thereby detecting the snowflakes and outputting a signal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-047268 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The reflective motion sensor described above has a light-receiving section that receives infrared rays, and outputs a signal when it receives sunlight containing infrared rays. Furthermore, even if there is no snowfall, if snow adheres to the snowfall sensor device, the reflective motion sensor may output a signal. Because the reflective motion sensor outputs a signal under the influence of factors other than snowflakes, the snowfall sensor device may erroneously determine whether snow is falling.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a snowfall sensor device and a snowfall detection method that can suppress the influence of elements other than snowflakes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a snowfall sensor device includes a first sensor that projects infrared rays and receives the infrared rays reflected by a detection object, and a second sensor that projects the infrared rays and receives the infrared rays reflected by a detection object and is oriented in a direction different from that of the first sensor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a snowfall sensor device and a snowfall detection method that can suppress the influence of things other than snowflakes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a snow melting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a snowfall sensor used in the snowfall sensor device of the snow melting device; [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of snowfall determination using a snowfall sensor device. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a snow melting device according to another embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a snowfall sensor used in the snowfall sensor device of the snow melting device; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A snow melting device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Figure 1 is a block diagram that schematically shows the configuration of the snow melting device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view that schematically shows the configuration of the snowfall sensor 3 used in the snowfall sensor device 2 of the snow melting device 1, and Figure 3 is a flow chart that shows an example of snowfall determination using the snowfall sensor device 2. For the sake of explanation, the configuration is omitted or enlarged or reduced in size as appropriate in each figure.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, snow melting device 1 includes a snowfall sensor 3, a water sprinkler device 4, and a control device 5. Here, snowfall sensor 3 and control device 5 constitute snowfall sensor device 2 that determines snowfall. When snow melting device 1 determines snowfall using control device 5 based on information about snowflakes detected by snowfall sensor 3 and the outside air temperature, control device 5 controls water sprinkler device 4 to sprinkle water, thereby melting the snow on the road surface.

[0011] The snowfall sensor 3 detects snowflakes in two or more different directions. For example, the snowfall sensor 3 includes two or more motion sensors 11, a temperature sensor 12, a heater 13, a communication unit 14, and a casing 15. The snowfall sensor 3 is fixed to the road surface or a building via, for example, a pole 50.

[0012] The motion sensor 11 is disposed within the casing 15. The motion sensor 11 includes a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. For example, the motion sensor 11 is a so-called reflective motion sensor that detects an object by emitting infrared rays from the light-emitting unit and receiving the infrared rays reflected from the object with the light-receiving unit. Here, the object to be detected is a snowflake. The motion sensor 11 outputs a signal when the light-receiving unit receives the infrared rays. The light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit are oriented in one direction from the casing 15.

[0013] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the two or more motion sensors 11 are arranged with their light-emitting and light-receiving sections facing in different directions. That is, the two or more motion sensors 11 are configured to be able to detect the detection target in different directions. Here, different directions refer to directions such as up and down and left and right, and mean that the infrared light emitting and receiving directions differ depending on the motion sensor 11, that is, the infrared rays of the multiple motion sensors 11 do not intersect. In this embodiment, two motion sensors 11 are provided, and one motion sensor 11 constitutes the first sensor, and the other motion sensor 11 constitutes the second sensor. Note that the first sensor and the second sensor do not need to be motion sensors 11 with the same configuration, as long as they can detect snowflakes as the detection target.

[0014] Temperature sensor 12 is configured to be able to detect the temperature outside casing 15, i.e., the outside air temperature. Temperature sensor 12 may, for example, directly detect the outside air temperature or may indirectly detect the outside air temperature. For example, temperature sensor 12 estimates the outside air temperature from the temperature of casing 15. For example, temperature sensor 12 may detect the temperature of a portion of casing 15 made of a metal material, and control device 5 may estimate the outside air temperature by correcting the temperature detected by temperature sensor 12.

[0015] The heater 13 is provided inside the casing 15. The heater 13 generates heat using electricity and maintains the inside of the casing 15 at a predetermined temperature. One or more heaters 13 are provided, and are arranged, for example, around the motion sensor 11 or a window in the casing 15 through which infrared rays emitted from the motion sensor 11 pass.

[0016] The communication unit 14 is configured to be able to transmit and receive signals, for example, by wire or wirelessly, to and from the control device 5. For example, the communication unit 14 is a communication interface to which a communication cable is connected.

[0017] The casing 15 accommodates two or more motion sensors 11, a temperature sensor 12, a heater 13, and a communication unit .

[0018] The sprinkler device 4 is driven based on an external command to sprinkle water. The sprinkler device 4 includes, for example, a motor 21, a pump 22, a communication unit 23, and a control unit 24. The sprinkler device 4 also includes piping and the like that is connected to the pump 22 and forms a supply path and the like for supplying water to the road surface and the like.

[0019] The motor 21 is controlled by, for example, a control unit 24. The motor 21 is connected to the pump 22 via a motor shaft and drives the pump 22. The pump 22 rotates with the rotation of the motor 21 and pumps water from the water supply source to the secondary side. For example, the pump 22 is connected to a well, a water tank, or a water pipe as the water supply source, and pumps water to a pipe connected to the secondary side that supplies water to a road surface or the like.

[0020] The communication unit 23 is configured to be able to transmit and receive signals to and from the control device 5 via wire or wirelessly. For example, the communication unit 23 is a communication interface to which a communication cable is connected.

[0021] The control unit 24 controls the driving of the motor 21 based on a command received from the control device 5 via the communication unit 23 .

[0022] The control device 5 controls the sprinkler device 4 based on information acquired from the snowfall sensor 3. The control device 5 includes, for example, a display unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, a wireless communication unit 34, and a processing unit 35. The control device 5 also receives commands from an external device. The display unit 31 is an example of an output I / F for outputting light and images in response to processing by the processing unit 35, and may include an LED or a display device for displaying moving images, still images, text, etc. The display unit 31 may also include a speaker for outputting sound, music, etc. Examples of the display device include a segment display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, and a CRT (cathode ray tube) display. The display device may also have an input I / F function, such as a touch screen.

[0023] The storage unit 32 is a memory from which data can be read and written. The storage unit 32 stores data used by the processing unit 35, various data and programs used for the control of the snow melting device 1, the control process of the heater 13 by the control unit 24, the control process of the motor 21, and the process of determining whether snow is falling. The storage unit 32 also stores information detected by each motion sensor 11 and information detected by the temperature sensor 12.

[0024] The storage unit 32 includes a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a ROM (Read only memory), or a NAND flash memory. The storage unit 32 may also be an SSD (Solid State Drive) equipped with a flash memory.

[0025] The communication unit 33 is configured to be able to transmit and receive signals, via wired or wireless communication, to and from the communication unit 14 of the snowfall sensor 3 and the communication unit 23 of the sprinkler device 4. For example, the communication unit 33 is a communication interface to which a communication cable is connected.

[0026] The wireless communication unit 34 is controlled by the processing unit 35 and is, for example, an arbitrary communication interface capable of communicating with an external device, such as the management device 100 or a mobile terminal, which communicates with the snow melting device 1 using wireless communication technology. Specifically, the wireless communication unit 34 can connect to the management device 100 using wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy standard (hereinafter also referred to as the BLE standard)), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and long-distance wireless communication technology including general-purpose wireless communication technology including mobile phone lines such as LTE (registered trademark) (Long Term Evolution) and dedicated wireless communication technology such as Sigfox (registered trademark). Here, the management device 100 monitors and manages, for example, the operational status of snow melting devices 1 installed in the same area, and is installed, for example, in the facilities of a monitoring and management business operator, and collects and records information on the operational status of the snow melting device 1, as well as performs remote control, etc.

[0027] The wireless communication unit 34 may include a normal communication interface of a mobile terminal that can communicate with a management server or other communication terminals via a base station and a network, in addition to the communication according to the BLE standard described above. For example, the wireless communication unit 34 is controlled by the processing unit 35.

[0028] The processing unit 35 performs various control processes based on various data, programs, etc. stored in the memory unit 32. For example, the processing unit 35 controls the drive of the heater 13 based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 12. The processing unit 35 also performs snowfall determination processing based on information about snowflakes detected by two or more motion sensors 11 of the snowfall sensor 3 and information about the temperature of the temperature sensor 12. When the processing unit 35 determines that snow is falling during the snowfall determination processing, it outputs a command to the communication unit 23 and causes the control unit 24 to control the drive of the motor 21, thereby performing control processing to sprinkle water.

[0029] In addition, the processing unit 35 may perform processing to transmit snowfall information and temperature information stored in the memory unit 32 to the management unit based on instructions from the management device 100 received by the wireless communication unit 34, instructions input from the input interface of the control device 5, or programs previously stored in the memory unit 32.

[0030] Next, the snowfall determination process performed by the snowfall sensor device 2 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 3. In this embodiment, the snowfall determination process will be described using an example in which two motion sensors 11 are provided.

[0031] First, each motion sensor 11 outputs a signal when the emitted infrared light is reflected and received by its light-receiving unit. The signal output from each motion sensor 11 is then stored in the memory unit 32 of the control device 5 via the communication units 14, 33. At this time, for example, based on a clock function or the like possessed by the snowfall sensor 3 or the control device 5, the processing unit 35 may store the detection information (signal) of the motion sensor 11 in the memory unit 32 along with time information.

[0032] The processing unit 35 monitors whether a signal has been output from each motion sensor 11, and when it receives a signal output from any of the motion sensors 11, it determines whether it has received signals output from all of the motion sensors 11, two motion sensors 11 in this embodiment (step ST1). Note that this detection determination is made, for example, by determining whether it has received detection information (signals) from all of the motion sensors 11 within a predetermined time period previously stored in the storage unit 32. Alternatively, the detection determination is made, for example, by determining whether it has received detection information (signals) from all of the motion sensors 11 indicating that a predetermined number or more of detection targets have been detected within a predetermined time period previously stored in the storage unit 32.

[0033] If signals are being output from all the motion sensors 11 (YES in step ST1), the processing unit 35 then determines whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 12, i.e., the outside air temperature, is lower than a threshold value (step ST2). Here, the threshold value is a temperature at which snow will occur instead of rain or a temperature at which snow may accumulate during snowfall, and is set in advance. The threshold value is set appropriately depending on the region, season, allowable snow accumulation, etc. The temperature detected by the temperature sensor 12 may be corrected in advance by the processing unit 35. If the processing unit 35 determines that the outside air temperature is lower than the threshold value (YES in step ST2), it determines that snow is falling (step ST3).

[0034] Furthermore, in step ST1, if at least one motion sensor 11 does not output detection information (NO in step ST1), the processing unit 35 determines that it is not snowing (no snowfall) (step ST4). Also, in step ST2, if the outside air temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold (NO in step ST2), the processing unit 35 determines that it is not snowing (step ST4). As described above, when all motion sensors 11 output signals and the outside air temperature is at a temperature at which snowfall is possible as the threshold, the processing unit 35 determines that the motion sensors 11 have detected snowflakes, i.e., that it is snowing. Also, when all motion sensors 11 output signals but the outside air temperature is at a temperature at which snowfall is unlikely, the processing unit 35 determines that something other than snowflakes, such as rain or fallen leaves, has been detected and determines that it is not snowing. In addition, if a signal is output from any of the motion sensors 11 but not from all of the motion sensors 11, the processing unit 35 determines that it is not snowing, assuming that the signal is output due to influences other than snowflakes, such as sunlight or fallen leaves.

[0035] The snow melting device 1 and snowfall sensor device 2 configured in this way determine snowfall based on all output signals from multiple motion sensors 11 arranged in different directions, preventing erroneous determination of snowfall even if one of the motion sensors 11 outputs a signal due to influences other than snowflakes. Thus, the snow melting device 1 and snowfall sensor device 2 can suppress influences other than snowflakes.

[0036] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In the above-described example, the snowfall sensor 3 includes two or more motion sensors 11 that detect snow in different directions, and the processing unit 35 determines snowfall based on the information detected by these motion sensors 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the snowfall sensor 3A may include one motion sensor 11, and two or more such snowfall sensors 3A may be included. In such a snow melting device 1 and snowfall sensor device 2, the processing unit 35 determines snowfall based on the information on snowflakes detected by each snowfall sensor 3A and the outside temperature. The example in FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which two snowfall sensors 3A are provided, and one snowfall sensor 3A (first snowfall sensor) and the other snowfall sensor 3A (second snowfall sensor) detect snowflakes in different directions.

[0037] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments may be implemented in appropriate combinations, in which case the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combining selected elements from the disclosed elements. For example, if the problem can be solved and the desired effect can be obtained even if some elements are deleted from all elements shown in the embodiments, the configuration from which these elements are deleted can be extracted as an invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1...snow melting device, 2...snowfall sensor device, 3, 3A...snowfall sensor, 4...sprinkler device, 5...control device, 11...motion sensor (first sensor, second sensor), 12...temperature sensor, 13...heater, 14...communication unit, 15...casing, 21...motor, 22...pump, 23...communication unit, 24...control unit, 31...display unit, 32...memory unit, 33...communication unit, 34...wireless communication unit, 35...processing unit, 50...pole, 100...management device.

Claims

1. a first sensor that projects infrared rays and receives the infrared rays reflected by a detection target; a second sensor that projects the infrared light and receives the infrared light reflected by a detection target, and that is oriented in a direction different from that of the first sensor; A snowfall sensor device comprising:

2. The snow sensor device of claim 1 , further comprising a casing that houses the first sensor and the second sensor.

3. a first snow sensor having the first sensor and a first casing that houses the first sensor; a second snow sensor having the second sensor and a second casing that houses the second sensor; The snowfall sensor device according to claim 1 , comprising:

4. the first sensor and the second sensor output a signal when receiving the infrared ray; a processing unit that determines whether snow is falling when the signals output from both the first sensor and the second sensor are received; The snow sensor device of claim 1 , comprising:

5. Infrared rays are projected and the infrared rays reflected by the detection target are received, and a processing unit monitors signals output from the first sensor and the second sensor that are directed in different directions; When the processing unit receives the signals output from the first sensor and the second sensor, the processing unit determines that snow is falling. Snowfall determination method.

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