Communication system and drum

Abstract

To transmit a stable video signal.SOLUTION: A communication system includes a sensor head including a sensor, and a drum for winding a cable that has one end connected to the sensor head. The drum has a communication control circuit that is connected to the other end of the cable and is for communicating with the sensor head using a signal line included in the cable, a wireless communication device that transmits, to an external device, a sensor signal received by the communication control circuit as a result of the communication using the signal line, and a battery that supplies a power source to the sensor head via the signal line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system, a drum. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventionally known technology for inspecting the inside of pipes such as communication pipes, power pipes, sewer pipes, water pipes, gas pipes, etc. is an in-pipe inspection camera device that attaches a camera head to the end of a cable and inserts the camera head into the pipe to be inspected via the cable to capture images of the inside of the pipe. This in-pipe inspection camera device is also known to include a take-up drum that takes in and out the cable, a display mechanism independent of the take-up drum, and slip rings that connect the transmission lines for the video signal and power contained in the cable to the control circuit and power supply circuit of the display mechanism. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-96718 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If a slip ring is provided on the rotating shaft of the winding drum, the connection by the slip ring may become unstable due to the rotation of the winding drum when the cable is inserted or removed, making it difficult to send a stable video signal to the control circuit of the display mechanism.

[0005] Therefore, one embodiment of the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to transmit a stable video signal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The disclosed technology is a communication system including a sensor head containing a sensor, and a drum that winds up a cable connected to the sensor head at one end, the drum being connected to the other end of the cable, the system including a communication control circuit for communicating with the sensor head using a signal line included in the cable, a wireless communication device that transmits a sensor signal received by the communication control circuit through communication using the signal line to an external device, and a battery that supplies power to the sensor head via the signal line. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] It can transmit stable video signals. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a communication system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a cable drum. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a camera head. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following describes the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the system configuration of a communication system.

[0010] The communication system 100 of this embodiment includes a cable storage device 200, a camera head 300, a cable 400, and a terminal device 500. The communication system 100 of this embodiment is used, for example, when inspecting pipelines such as communication pipelines, power pipelines, sewerage pipes, water pipes, and gas pipes. Pipe 1 shown in Fig. 1 is an example of a pipeline connecting manhole 2 and manhole 3.

[0011] The cable storage device 200 includes a cable drum 210. The cable 400 is wound around the cable drum 210.

[0012] One end of the cable 400 is connected to the camera head 300, and the cable 400 is unwound or reeled out from the cable drum 210 in accordance with the movement of the camera head 300 within the pipeline 1. The cable 400 also transmits a power supply voltage to the camera head 300.

[0013] In other words, cable 400 may be a multi-core cable including a signal line that transmits a voltage signal supplied as power to camera head 300. Therefore, cable 400 includes signal lines for communicating various signals in addition to the signal line that transmits the voltage signal. In the following description, the signal line that transmits the voltage signal that is supplied as power may be referred to as a power line.

[0014] The cable drum 210 of this embodiment includes a battery 250, a wireless communication device 260, and a communication control circuit 270.

[0015] The battery 250 is connected to the camera head 300, the wireless communication device 260, and the communication control circuit 270, and supplies power to the wireless communication device 260 and the communication control circuit 270 to drive them. The battery 250 of this embodiment may be detachable from the cable drum 210.

[0016] The wireless communication device 260 is connected to the communication control circuit 270, and transmits a video signal transmitted from the camera head 300 via the cable 400 and the communication control circuit 270 to the terminal device 500 by wireless communication. Note that the wireless communication device 260 of this embodiment may include a plurality of wireless communication devices. Details of the wireless communication device 260 will be described later.

[0017] Communication control circuit 270 is connected to the other end of cable 400, and transmits the DC voltage supplied from battery 250 as a power supply voltage to camera head 300 connected to one end of cable 400. Communication control circuit 270 also receives a control signal for camera head 300 from terminal device 500 via wireless communication device 260 and transmits it to camera head 300 via cable 400. Communication control circuit 270 also acquires a video signal transmitted from camera head 300 via cable 400 and outputs it to wireless communication device 260.

[0018] The details of communication via the cable 400 in the communication system 100 will be described later.

[0019] Camera head 300 is connected to one end of cable 400, and outputs a video signal acquired by an imaging element (camera) of camera head 300 to communication control circuit 270 via cable 400. Details of camera head 300 will be described later.

[0020] The terminal device 500 has a display device and a wireless communication function, and displays an image based on a video signal received from the wireless communication device 260 on the display device.

[0021] That is, in this embodiment, the power supply voltage supplied from the battery 250 provided in the cable drum 210 is transmitted via the cable 400 to the camera head 300. In other words, power is supplied from the battery 250 provided in the cable drum 210 via the cable 400.

[0022] In this embodiment, the video signal output from the camera head 300 is acquired by a communication control circuit 270 provided in the cable drum 210 and transmitted to the terminal device 500 by wireless communication using the wireless communication device 260.

[0023] That is, in this embodiment, slip rings for connecting the transmission lines for transmitting the power supply voltage supplied to the camera head 300 and the video signal output from the camera head 300 to the terminal device 500 are not required.

[0024] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the state of connection between the camera head 300 and the terminal device 500 is not affected by the unwinding or rewinding of the cable 400 in response to the movement of the camera head 300. Furthermore, in this embodiment, noise caused by the slip ring is eliminated, and a video signal can be transmitted to the terminal device 500 stably.

[0025] In the embodiment, the wireless communication device 260 provided on the cable drum 210 may communicate with a higher-level device via a public network such as the Internet. The higher-level device may be, for example, a server device 600.

[0026] In this case, the cable drum 210 can transmit the video signal output from the camera head 300 to the server device 600 in real time. Therefore, in this embodiment, as long as the display device is capable of communicating with the server device 600, it can display video based on the video signal output from the camera head 300 in real time, even on a display device other than the terminal device 500. Therefore, in this embodiment, video of the inside of the pipeline 1 being inspected can be viewed in real time from a location physically separated from the pipeline 1 to be inspected.

[0027] In this embodiment, for example, the transceiver 700 may be placed near the entrance of the manhole 2. The transceiver 700 is an example of a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 260 of the cable drum 210.

[0028] The transceiver 700 performs wireless communication with the wireless communication device 260. The transceiver 700 may also have an antenna 701 or the like to enable wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication within the manhole 2. In this way, for example, the terminal device 10 operated by a worker working within the manhole 2 and the wireless communication device 260 of the cable drum 210 can communicate via the transceiver 700. In other words, communication between the terminal device 10 operated by a worker working within the manhole 2 and the terminal device 500 is possible.

[0029] It should be noted that the wireless LAN communication in this embodiment includes wireless communication conforming to Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0030] Therefore, a worker inside the manhole 2 can perform work while displaying the image from the camera head 300 on the terminal device 10, or can instruct the worker operating the terminal device 500 to reel in or out the cable 400.

[0031] In this embodiment, the transceiver 800 may be placed near the entrance of the manhole 3 to which the camera head 300 is to move. The transceiver 800 may be connectable to a public network such as the Internet. Similarly to the transceiver 700, the transceiver 800 may have an antenna 801 or the like to enable wireless LAN communication within the manhole 3.

[0032] In this way, the terminal device 11 operated by the worker working inside the manhole 3 can communicate with the wireless communication device 260 and the server device 600 via the transceiver 800. The transceiver 700 may be connectable to a public network such as the Internet. In this case, the terminal device 11 and the terminal device 10 can communicate with each other via the transceiver 800 and the transceiver 700. By enabling such communication, inspection of the inside of the pipeline 1 can be carried out quickly.

[0033] Note that, although the communication system 100 of the present embodiment includes the cable storage device 200, the camera head 300, the cable 400, and the terminal device 500, the system is not limited to this. The communication system 100 only needs to include the cable drum 210, the cable 400, and the camera head 300, and may not include anything else.

[0034] Furthermore, the communication system 100 of this embodiment may include a server device 600 and transmitters / receivers 700 and 800 in addition to the cable storage device 200, the camera head 300, the cable 400, and the terminal device 500.

[0035] Next, the cable drum 210 will be further described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the cable drum. Fig. 2(A) is a schematic diagram of the cable drum 210 as viewed from one side, and Fig. 2(B) is a schematic diagram of the cable drum 210 as viewed from the front.

[0036] The cable drum 210 of this embodiment includes circular side plates 220-1 and 220-2 and a winding shaft 230. The side plates 220-1 and 220-2 are attached to both ends of the winding shaft 230.

[0037] In the cable drum 210 of this embodiment, a battery 250, a wireless communication device 260, and a communication control circuit 270 are attached to the side plate 220-2. The battery 250, the wireless communication device 260, and the communication control circuit 270 are attached to a surface S2 of the side plate 220-2 that faces the surface S1 connected to the winding shaft 230.

[0038] The battery 250 is a rechargeable battery. The wireless communication device 260 includes a hub 261, a wireless LAN access point 262, and a wireless router 263.

[0039] The hub 261 is connected to the communication control circuit 270, the wireless LAN access point 262, and the wireless router 263. The hub 261 is an example of a relay device that enables communication between the communication control circuit 270 and the wireless LAN access point 262, and between the communication control circuit 270 and the wireless router 263.

[0040] The wireless LAN access point 262 is connected to the hub 261 and is a relay device that relays the connection of the wireless LAN. In other words, the wireless LAN access point 262 is a relay unit (first relay unit) that connects the cable drum 210 and the terminal device 500 by wireless communication.

[0041] The wireless router 263 is connected to the hub 261 and is a relay device that relays data exchange between multiple different networks. In other words, the wireless router 263 of this embodiment is a relay unit (second relay unit) that connects an information communication network such as the Internet to the cable drum 210.

[0042] The battery 250 is connected to each of the hub 261, the wireless LAN access point 262, the wireless router 263, and the communication control circuit 270, and supplies a power supply voltage to each of them.

[0043] In the cable drum 210, a through hole 240 is formed in the side plate 220-2 for connecting the other end of the cable 400 wound around the winding shaft 230 to the communication control circuit 270. The other end of the cable 400 wound around the winding shaft 230 passes through the through hole 240 and is connected to the communication control circuit 270 arranged on the surface S2.

[0044] The arrangement of the battery 250, the wireless communication device 260, and the communication control circuit 270 on the side plate 220-2 is not limited to the arrangement shown in Fig. 2. The arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is an example and is not limiting.

[0045] Next, the configuration of the camera head 300 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the camera head.

[0046] The camera head 300 of this embodiment has a power supply board 310 and a communication control circuit 320. The power supply board 310 is connected to one end of a cable 400. The power supply board 310 supplies the power supply voltage, which is supplied via the cable 400, to the communication control circuit 320 and the camera 330, respectively.

[0047] The communication control circuit 320 outputs the control signal transmitted via the cable 400 to the camera 330. The communication control circuit 320 also acquires the video signal output from the camera 330 and outputs it to the power supply board 310 as a signal to be transmitted via the cable 400.

[0048] Camera 330 is an imaging element that acquires a video signal in response to a control signal output from communication control circuit 320 and outputs the acquired video signal to communication control circuit 320 .

[0049] In the camera head 300 of this embodiment, the camera 330 may be detachable. In the camera head 300 of this embodiment, another sensor may be connected to the communication control circuit 320 instead of the camera 330. In this case, the communication control circuit 320 may output a signal output from the sensor as a signal to be transmitted via the cable 400. The sensor may be any sensor that can be used to inspect the inside of a pipeline, and specifically, may be, for example, an ultrasonic sensor. The camera 330 is an example of a sensor, the camera head 300 is an example of a sensor head, and the video signal is an example of a sensor signal.

[0050] Here, communication via the cable 400 in the communication system 100 of this embodiment will be described.

[0051] The communication system 100 of this embodiment performs communication in accordance with the wired communication standard "Nessum WIRE." More specifically, in the communication system 100 of this embodiment, the power line included in the cable 400 is used as an existing wiring for IP communication. In other words, in this embodiment, the power line included in the cable 400 is shared for both power and communication.

[0052] The following describes the operation of the communication system 100 of this embodiment. In the communication system 100 of this embodiment, when a control signal for the camera head 300 is input to the terminal device 500, the terminal device 500 transmits a control signal to the wireless communication device 260.

[0053] When the wireless communication device 260 receives a control signal for the camera head 300 from the terminal device 500, the wireless communication device 260 transmits the received control signal.

[0054] When wireless communication device 260 receives the control signal, it outputs the control signal to communication control circuit 270. When the control signal is input from wireless communication device 260, communication control circuit 270 superimposes the control signal on a voltage signal transmitted as power to camera head 300 via a power line, and transmits the control signal to camera head 300.

[0055] When the control signal is transmitted, the camera head 300 extracts the control signal superimposed on the voltage signal using the communication control circuit 320 and outputs the control signal to the camera 330. The camera 330 acquires a video signal corresponding to the control signal and outputs it to the communication control circuit 320.

[0056] The communication control circuit 320 superimposes the video signal acquired by the camera 330 onto a voltage signal and transmits the superimposed video signal to the communication control circuit 270. The communication control circuit 270 extracts the video signal superimposed on the voltage signal and outputs it to the hub 261. The hub 261 may output the video signal to the wireless LAN access point 262 and the wireless router 263.

[0057] The video signal output to the wireless LAN access point 262 is transmitted to the terminal device 500 via wireless LAN communication.

[0058] In this manner, in this embodiment, an area where wireless LAN communication is possible is established around the cable storage device 200. Therefore, for example, if there are terminal devices other than the terminal device 500 around the cable storage device 200, it is possible to cause all the terminal devices around the cable storage device 200 to display images based on the video signal.

[0059] Furthermore, the video signal transmitted to the wireless router 263 may be uploaded to the server device 600 via the Internet or the like. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to display a video based on the video signal even on a display device in a remote location where wireless LAN communication with the wireless communication device 260 is not possible.

[0060] As described above, according to this embodiment, a video signal obtained by capturing an image of the inside of a pipeline can be transmitted to a display device outside the pipeline via wireless communication.

[0061] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the video signal is transmitted to the external display device via wireless communication, eliminating noise caused by the slip ring and allowing high-quality images to be stably displayed on the display device.

[0062] Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications, improvements, and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 100 communication system, 200 cable storage device, 210 cable drum, 220 side plate, 230 winding shaft, 240 through hole, 250 battery, 260 wireless communication device, 270, 320 communication control circuit, 300 camera head, 310 power supply board, 330 camera, 400 cable

Claims

1. A communication system including a sensor head including a sensor, and a drum for winding up a cable connected to the sensor head at one end, The drum is a communication control circuit connected to the other end of the cable for communicating with the sensor head using a signal line included in the cable; a wireless communication device that transmits the sensor signal received by the communication control circuit to an external device through communication using the signal line; a battery that supplies power to the sensor head via the signal line; A communication system comprising:

2. The wireless communication device a first relay unit that connects the external device and the drum via wireless communication; 2. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising a second relay unit for connecting an information communication network and said drum.

3. the sensor is a camera; the sensor signal is a video signal acquired by the camera, 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the external device is a display device that displays an image based on the video signal.

4. A drum for winding a cable connected to a sensor head including a sensor, a communication control circuit connected to the cable for communicating with the sensor head using a signal line included in the cable; a wireless communication device that transmits the sensor signal received by the communication control circuit to an external device through communication using the signal line; a battery that supplies power to the sensor head via the signal line; A drum having a

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