Measuring devices, measuring systems

Abstract

To provide a measuring device, etc., that can suitably measure the position of an object. [Solution] The measuring device 1 is attached to an auger drilling machine 10 and is used to measure the lower end position of the auger. In the measuring device 1, an inclination measuring device 2 is placed inside each rod 11 that is connected vertically and horizontally and measures the inclination of the predetermined length rods 11 with respect to the vertical direction. The inclination measuring device 2 inside each rod 11 is connected to a controller 4 by an optical cable 3, and the inclination measurement result of the rod 11 is transmitted to the controller 4 by an optical signal via the optical cable 3.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring device and a measuring system for measuring the position of an object. [Background technology]

[0002] An auger drilling machine is a rotary drilling device that excavates the ground downwards by horizontally rotating an auger, which is composed of multiple rods connected vertically. Auger drilling machines are used in methods such as the SMW method, which constructs continuous underground walls using soil cement.

[0003] For the purpose of managing construction accuracy, it is desirable to accurately measure the position of the lower end of the auger during excavation, and Patent Document 1 describes a measuring device for measuring the position of the lower end of such an auger. The measuring device in Patent Document 1 measures the inclination of each rod constituting the auger with an inclination sensor and transmits the inclination measurement results to a data acquisition device using wireless communication technology. If the length of each rod is known, the relative position of the lower end of the auger to the upper end of the auger can be calculated from the inclination measurement results of each rod, and by separately obtaining the position of the upper end of the auger, the position of the lower end of the auger in real space can be determined. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-133296 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] When transmitting tilt measurement results using wireless communication technology, noise becomes a problem, and malfunctions and communication failures due to surrounding conditions are likely to occur. Therefore, it is conceivable to transmit the tilt measurement results from the tilt sensor via a wired connection using electrical signals through a communication cable. However, if the tilt measurement results for each rod are transmitted using one communication cable, a communication cable will be required for each rod, making it difficult to place many communication cables within the limited space of the rod.

[0006] Alternatively, the communication cables within each rod could be connected using connectors at the connection points between the rods. In this case, only one communication cable would need to be placed inside each rod. However, since auger excavation is performed in the excavated area where liquids such as cement slurry are present, the connectors for the electrical signal communication cables must have high water pressure resistance and waterproofing. This would make the connectors more complex and larger, increasing costs, and also making it difficult to house the connectors inside the rods. Other challenges include the risk of electric shock and the short usable length due to voltage drop.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a measuring device, etc., that can suitably measure the position of an object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The first invention for solving the aforementioned problems is a measuring device that is attached to an object and used to measure the position of the object, characterized in that an inclination measuring device for measuring the inclination of a predetermined length of pipes connected vertically is arranged inside each pipe, the inclination measuring device inside each pipe is connected to a controller by an optical cable, and the inclination measurement result of the pipes is transmitted to the controller by an optical signal via the optical cable.

[0009] By using the measuring device of the present invention, the relative position of the lower end of a series of pipes to the upper end can be determined from the length and inclination of each pipe, making it easy to measure the position of the part of an object corresponding to the lower end. Furthermore, since the inclination measurement result is transmitted as an optical signal via an optical cable, high water pressure resistance and waterproofing are not required for the connectors between the cables, compared to when the inclination measurement result is transmitted as an electrical signal via a communication cable. Therefore, the connectors can be simplified and miniaturized. In addition, the risk of electric shock is small and there is no voltage drop, so the usable extension can be greatly increased.

[0010] It is desirable to supply energy from the light source of the controller to the tilt measuring device via the optical cable. By supplying energy to the tilt measuring device via an optical cable, the battery of the tilt measuring device can be simplified or even eliminated, allowing the tilt measuring device to be made smaller.

[0011] The object in question is, for example, a rotary drilling device that excavates the ground downwards by rotating the pipe horizontally. Alternatively, the object is an excavation device that excavates the ground downwards, the measuring device is attached externally to the excavation device, the measuring device includes the pipe, and it is desirable that the position measurement of the location where the lower end of the lowest stage of the pipe of the excavation device is attached is performed by the measuring device. In the former case, the position of the drilling machine can be measured using an inclination measuring device or the like installed inside the drilling machine. In the latter case, a measuring device consisting of pipes connected vertically can be attached externally to various drilling machines and used to measure the position of the drilling machine.

[0012] At the connection point between the two tubes, it is desirable that the optical cables, which are located inside both tubes, be connected by optical connectors. Alternatively, the measuring device may consist of a predetermined number of the tubes connected together, with the optical cable running continuously at the connection points between the tubes. When adding pipes vertically as excavation progresses, connecting the optical cables within both pipes using optical connectors, as in the former case, requires only one optical cable per pipe, and the measuring device can accommodate various excavation depths. In the latter case, a measuring device with a predetermined number of pipes connected can be manufactured as a product in a factory beforehand and then distributed and transported. When using the measuring device, the pipes can be advanced sequentially as the excavation progresses. In this case, it is not always necessary to connect the optical cables with optical connectors at the pipe connection points; they can be connected at any point depending on the length of the optical cables.

[0013] The inclination measurement results are used to perform the position measurement using the length of each pipe and the inclination measurement results. Preferably, each pipe is equipped with a sensor to detect whether it is immersed in the liquid in the excavated part of the ground, and the position measurement is performed using the inclination measurement results of the pipe immersed in the liquid. As described above, when using a measuring device with a predetermined number of pipes connected together, which is deployed as the excavation progresses, it is assumed that there will be pipes necessary for position measurement and pipes that are not necessary for position measurement. In the present invention, by detecting with a sensor whether a pipe is immersed in a liquid such as a stabilizing fluid in the excavation section, only the inclination measurement results of the pipes located in the excavation section can be used for position measurement of the excavation device.

[0014] It is desirable that the tube is expandable and contractible, and that it be possible to fix the tube in both the extended and contracted states. This allows the overall length of the measuring device to be adjusted according to the drilling depth and other factors.

[0015] The second invention is a measurement system comprising the measuring device and information processing device of the first invention, wherein the information processing device measures the position of a point on the object corresponding to the lower end of a series of tubes using the length of each tube and the inclination measurement result. The second invention is a measuring system that includes the measuring device of the first invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a measuring device or the like that can suitably measure the position of an object.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] [Figure 1] Fig. showing the auger excavator 10. [Figure 2] Fig. showing the configuration of the measuring device 1. [Figure 3] Fig. showing the configuration of the inclination measuring device 2. [Figure 4] Fig. for explaining the inclination of the rod 11. [Figure 5] Fig. showing the configuration of the controller 4. [Figure 6] Flowchart showing the measuring method by the measuring device 1. [Figure 7] Fig. showing the appearance of the measuring device 100. [Figure 8] Fig. showing the configuration of the measuring device 100. [Figure 9] Fig. for explaining the position measurement of the excavator body 35 of the contiguous wall excavator 30. [Figure 10] Fig. showing the sensor 120 and the unit 110a.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

[0019] [First Embodiment] (1. Auger Excavator 10 and Measuring Device 1) Fig. 1 is a view showing an auger excavator 10 which is an object to be position-measured by the measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The auger excavator 10 is attached to a vertical guide bar 16 supported by a base machine 15 and is used to excavate the ground G vertically downward.

[0020] The auger drilling machine 10 is a rotary drilling device that excavates the ground G by connecting multiple rods 11 of a predetermined length vertically using connecting parts 13, and rotating them horizontally using a motor in a rotating part 12 provided on a guide bar 16.

[0021] The rod 11 is formed from a tubular body and is extended vertically as the excavation progresses. The series of rods 11 connected vertically are called an auger, and an excavation bit is provided at the lower end 14 of the auger. In some cases, the rod 11 may also have spiral-shaped wing sections (not shown) on the outer circumference of the tubular body. The auger excavator 10 has, for example, three augers.

[0022] When constructing a continuous underground wall using the SMW method with an auger drilling machine 10, cement slurry is discharged from the rod 11 during drilling with the auger, and the soil and cement slurry are mixed in the excavated area to form a wall body made of soil cement C underground.

[0023] Figure 2 shows the configuration of the measuring device 1 of this embodiment along with a schematic of the auger drilling machine 10. The measuring device 1 of this embodiment has a configuration in which the inclination measuring devices 2 provided on each rod 11 are connected to the controller 4 via an optical cable 3 so as to be able to communicate with it. In Figure 2, the reference numeral 11 of each rod is followed by the number of stages of each rod 11, 1, 2, ..., n-1, n, as subscripts in parentheses, and will be used in the following description as needed.

[0024] The inclination measuring device 2 measures the inclination of each rod 11 and is positioned inside the rods 11. Figure 3 shows the configuration of the inclination measuring device 2. As shown in Figure 3, the inclination measuring device 2 includes a control unit 21, an inclination sensor 22, an electrical / optical conversion unit 23, a photocell 24, a battery 25, etc.

[0025] The control unit 21 controls each part of the inclination measuring device 2, and can use a computer with a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.

[0026] The tilt sensor 22 is a known tilt sensor, and as shown in Figure 4, for example, it can measure the tilt of the rod 11 with respect to the vertical direction in the orthogonal X and Y directions in a plane. The tilt of the rod 11 is represented by the tilt angle α in the XZ plane and the tilt angle β in the YZ plane, with the vertical direction being the Z direction.

[0027] The electrical / optical conversion unit 23 converts electrical signals to optical signals. For example, the electrical / optical conversion unit 23 converts an electrical signal, such as the tilt measurement result received from the tilt sensor 22, into an optical signal and transmits it to the controller 4 via the optical cable 3.

[0028] The photocell 24 converts light energy received from the light source 42 (see Figure 5) of the controller 4 via the optical cable 3 into electricity and supplies it to the tilt sensor 22 and other devices.

[0029] The battery 25 is an auxiliary power source provided to prepare for cases where the supply of light energy is interrupted, such as when the light source 42 fails. Even in such cases, it enables tilt measurement by the tilt sensor 22 and transmission of tilt measurement results.

[0030] Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, the optical cable 3 is a transmission path containing optical fibers for transmitting and receiving optical signals and supplying optical energy between the tilt measuring device 2 and the controller 4, and is installed inside each rod 11.

[0031] The optical cables 3 of the upper and lower rods 11 are connected to each other by optical connectors 6 at the connection points of the upper and lower rods 11. That is, when excavating, the existing rods 11 (n-1) A new rod 11 is above it. (n) When adding the new rod 11 (n) The lower end of the optical cable 3 and the existing rod 11 (n-1) The upper end of the optical cable 3 is connected to the optical connector 6. (n) The upper end of the optical cable 3 is connected to the optical cable 3 extending from the controller 4 by an optical connector 6.

[0032] The controller 4 transmits and receives optical signals and supplies optical energy to and from the tilt measuring device 2, and transmits the tilt measurement results of each rod 11 received from the tilt measuring device 2 to the remote information processing device 5. Figure 5 shows the configuration of the controller 4. As shown in Figure 5, the controller 4 includes a control unit 41, a light source 42, an electrical / optical conversion unit 43, a wireless communication unit 44, a battery 45, etc.

[0033] The control unit 41 controls each part of the controller 4, and can use a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.

[0034] The light source 42 emits light, thereby supplying light energy to the tilt measuring device 2 via the optical cable 3.

[0035] The electrical / optical conversion unit 43, like the electrical / optical conversion unit 23 described above, converts electrical signals to optical signals. For example, it converts the tilt measurement result of the rod 11, received as an optical signal from the tilt measuring device 2, into an electrical signal.

[0036] The wireless communication unit 44 transmits the results of the rod 11's inclination measurement to the information processing device 5 via a wireless network such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

[0037] The battery 45 is a power source for driving the controller 4 and supplying power to the light source 42. The battery 45 can be charged by an external power source, and the controller 4 may be provided with terminals for detachably connecting an external power source.

[0038] As shown in Figure 2, the controller 4 is positioned inside the rotating part 12. This prevents the measuring device 1 from rotating together with the auger drilling machine 10, thus preventing the connection between the controller 4 and the optical cable 3 inside the rod 11 from becoming disconnected.

[0039] The information processing device 5 is a general-purpose computer terminal having a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, a display unit, etc. For example, it is a mobile terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone used by an operator in the driver's seat of the base machine 15, but it is not limited thereto. It is also possible to use a notebook PC, a desktop computer terminal, etc.

[0040] Based on the inclination measurement results of each rod 11 transmitted from the controller 4, the information processing device 5 calculates the position of the lower end of the auger (the portion corresponding to the lower ends of the series of rods 11). That is, the length L of each rod 11 is input in advance to the information processing device 5. (1) ~11 (n) And the displacement of the lower end with respect to the upper end of each rod 11 (see ΔX, ΔY, ΔZ in FIG. 4) can be obtained from the length L and the inclination angles α, β of each rod 11. (1) ~11 (n) By accumulating the above displacements of each rod 11 in order from the uppermost rod 11 to the lowermost rod 11, the relative position of the lower end of the auger with respect to the reference point О at the upper end of the auger (see FIG. 1) can be calculated. (1) ~11 (n) Furthermore, by using a known surveying method using a camera or the like to measure the position of the reference point О at the upper end of the auger and the orientation in the plane of the upper end of the auger and inputting it to the information processing device 5, the position of the lower end of the auger in the real space can be calculated. The above orientation is used to specify the X direction and the Y direction in the real space. The measuring device 1 and the information processing device 5 constitute the measuring system 7 of the present invention.

[0041] Each rod 11 (1) ~11 (n) The relative position of the lower end of the auger with respect to the reference point О at the upper end of the auger (see FIG. 1) can be calculated by successively accumulating the above displacements of each rod 11 from the uppermost rod 11 to the lowermost rod 11. (n) to the lowermost rod 11 (1) Furthermore, by using a known surveying method using a camera or the like to measure the position of the reference point О at the upper end of the auger and the orientation in the plane of the upper end of the auger and inputting it to the information processing device 5, the position of the lower end of the auger in the real space can be calculated. The above orientation is used to specify the X direction and the Y direction in the real space. The measuring device 1 and the information processing device 5 constitute the measuring system 7 of the present invention.

[0042] Furthermore, by using a known surveying method using a camera or the like to measure the position of the reference point О at the upper end of the auger and the orientation in the plane of the upper end of the auger and inputting it to the information processing device 5, the position of the lower end of the auger in the real space can be calculated. The above orientation is used to specify the X direction and the Y direction in the real space. The measuring device 1 and the information processing device 5 constitute the measuring system 7 of the present invention.

[0043] (2. Measuring method by the measuring device 1) Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the measurement method when measuring the lower end position of the auger using the measuring device 1. As shown in Figure 6, when measuring the position, first the information processing device 5 sends a measurement instruction to the controller 4 (S1). Then, the controller 4 sends a measurement instruction via optical cable 3 to the inclination measuring device 2 of each rod 11 using an optical signal (S2).

[0044] The tilt measuring device 2 for each rod 11 converts the optical signal into an electrical signal using the electrical / optical conversion unit 23 to obtain a measurement instruction. The tilt sensor 22 then measures the tilt of the rod 11 relative to the vertical direction (see Figure 4) (S3). The tilt measurement result is converted into an optical signal by the electrical / optical conversion unit 23 and transmitted to the controller 4 via the optical cable 3 (S4).

[0045] When transmitting the inclination measurement result of rod 11 as an optical signal, an ID (identification information) for identifying the rod 11 is also transmitted as an optical signal. The controller 4 converts the optical signal into an electrical signal using the electrical / optical conversion unit 43 to obtain the inclination measurement result and ID (referred to as inclination measurement result, etc.) of each rod 11, and transmits the inclination measurement result, etc. to the information processing device 5 via the wireless communication unit 44 (S5).

[0046] The information processing device 5 can thus obtain the inclination measurement results and IDs of each rod 11, and uses this data to calculate the lower end position of the auger as described above (S6).

[0047] As described above, by using the measuring device 1 of this embodiment, the position of the lower end of the auger drilling machine 10 can be easily measured from the length and inclination of each rod 11. Furthermore, since the inclination measurement result is transmitted as an optical signal via the optical cable 3, high water pressure resistance and waterproofing are not required for the connector (optical connector 6) compared to when the inclination measurement result is transmitted as an electrical signal via a communication cable. Therefore, the connector can be simplified and miniaturized. In addition, the risk of electric shock is small and there is no voltage drop, so the usable extension can be greatly increased. Another advantage is that power consumption is low.

[0048] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by supplying energy to the tilt measuring device 2 via the optical cable 3, the battery 25 of the tilt measuring device 2 can be simplified or omitted, and the tilt measuring device 2 can be made smaller.

[0049] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the rods 11 are extended vertically as the excavation progresses, the optical cables 3 within both rods 11 are connected by an optical connector 6 at the connection point between the two rods 11. As a result, only one optical cable 3 is needed in each rod 11, and the measuring device 1 can handle a variety of excavation depths.

[0050] However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the method of position measurement is not limited to that described in Figure 6, etc. As an example, in Figure 6, the controller 4 transmits measurement instructions to each inclination measuring device 2, but each inclination measuring device 2 of each rod 11 may use a timer (not shown) provided in the inclination measuring device 2 to automatically measure the inclination and transmit the inclination measurement results, etc., at predetermined time intervals.

[0051] In this embodiment, the measuring device 1 is used in the auger drilling machine 10, and the position of the auger drilling machine 10 can be measured by the inclination measuring device 2 etc. installed inside the auger drilling machine 10. However, the application of the measuring device 1 is not limited to this, and any device having a pipe body that can accommodate the inclination measuring device 2 etc. inside is acceptable.

[0052] In this embodiment, the inclination measuring device 2 and the like were installed inside the auger excavator 10 to measure its position, but the measuring device 1 can also be externally mounted. Below, an example of an externally mounted measuring device will be described as a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment will mainly describe configurations that differ from the first embodiment, and configurations similar to the first embodiment will be omitted from the description by using the same reference numerals in the figures, etc.

[0053] [Second Embodiment] Figure 7(a) is a schematic diagram showing the external appearance of the measuring device 100 according to the second embodiment. The measuring device 100 of this embodiment is constructed by connecting measuring units 110 (hereinafter simply referred to as units) with connecting parts 130.

[0054] Unit 110 is formed by a tube of a predetermined length. The shape of the tube may be cylindrical or rectangular. The material of the tube only needs to be light enough and strong enough not to bend under its own weight, and can be metal such as aluminum, polycarbonate, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) resin, or PVC (poly Various new materials such as vinyl chloride resin, plastics, and other resins can be used.

[0055] As shown in Figure 7(b), the connecting portion 130 can be arranged alternately with a connecting portion 130 that allows the upper and lower units 110 to rotate relative to each other only within a plane P1 along their longitudinal direction c, and a connecting portion 130 that allows the upper and lower units 110 to rotate relative to each other only within a plane P2 that is along their longitudinal direction c and perpendicular to the plane P1. However, it is more preferable to make each connecting portion 130 rotatable within two perpendicular planes P1 and P2. With these configurations, the measuring device 100 as a whole can move flexibly, and as illustrated in Figure 7(a), the measuring device 100 can be distributed and transported in a compact, rolled-up state.

[0056] Figure 8 shows the configuration of the measuring device 100 of this embodiment. The measuring device 100 of this embodiment also has a configuration in which the inclination measuring devices 2 provided in each unit 110 are connected to the controller 4 via an optical cable 3 so as to be communicative. The measuring device 100 is used attached to an excavation device (a wall excavator 30 described later), and the inclination measurement results of each unit 110 are used for position calculation in the information processing device 5. The measuring device 100 and the information processing device 5 constitute the measuring system 700 of the present invention.

[0057] Furthermore, the measuring device 100 is manufactured in a factory or the like as a product of a fixed length formed by connecting a predetermined number of units 110, and then distributed and transported. In this case, it is not necessary to connect the optical cable 3 at the connection points between the units 110, and the optical cable 3 can be connected at any point using the optical connector 6 according to its length.

[0058] In the example shown in Figure 8, the optical cable 3 is connected within the unit 110, and the optical cable 3 is continuous at the connection point between the units 110. At this connection point, the optical cable 3 is extended outside the unit 110 with excess length so as not to hinder the relative rotation of the upper and lower units 110 by the connection part 130.

[0059] The measuring device 100, transported to the site, is attached externally to the excavation equipment as shown in Figure 9. The measuring device 100 may also be attached to the lower end of the auger of the auger excavator 10 and used to measure the position of the auger excavator 10, but Figure 9 shows an example in which the measuring device 100 is attached externally to the wall excavator 30 to measure its position.

[0060] The continuous wall excavator 30 is a rotary excavation device used to excavate the ground G vertically downward to form a trench-shaped excavation section when constructing a continuous underground wall made of reinforced concrete. The continuous wall excavator 30 has, for example, a base machine 31, a leader 32 supported by the base machine 31, and a horizontal section 34 provided at the top of the leader 32, and the excavator body 35 is suspended and supported from the horizontal section 34 by a wire 33.

[0061] The excavator body 35 has multiple cutter drums 351 that rotate around a horizontal axis of rotation and excavate the ground G. In the wall excavator 30, a wire 33 is unfurled from a winch 36 on the base machine 31 in parallel with the excavation of the ground G by the cutter drums 351, and the excavator body 35 is lowered. The excavation of the ground G is carried out with the excavation section filled with stabilizing fluid S. Reference numeral 37 in the figure indicates a reverse rod for removing mud from the excavation section.

[0062] In this embodiment, the lower end of the lowest unit 110 of the measuring device 100 is attached to the excavator body 35 by a connection part 140 made of a universal joint such as a ball joint, and the position of the excavator body 35 (the part corresponding to the lower end of the series of units 110) is measured. As described above, the entire measuring device 100 can be flexibly deformed, so it can deform according to the position of the excavator body 35, avoid obstacles such as gravel in the excavation area, and mitigate the impact when it collides with an obstacle.

[0063] Unit 110 is a hollow tube with its top and bottom sealed, ensuring waterproofing. As a result, an upward force acts on unit 110 due to buoyancy relative to the stabilizing fluid S in the excavation section, preventing the measuring device 100 from loosening. In addition, unit 110 can be floated and recovered in the event of an emergency. Furthermore, by sealing the internal space of the tube with a lightweight filler with a low specific gravity, such as polystyrene foam (not shown), even if moisture or other substances enter the inside of the tube, the amount of water ingress will be reduced, and an upward force due to buoyancy will be ensured on unit 110.

[0064] The method for measuring the position of the excavator body 35 is basically the same as described above, but in this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, there is no need to add units 110 as the excavation progresses. Units 110 that have been wound onto a drum (not shown) or the like on the ground beforehand can be unwound as shown by arrow a as the excavation progresses. The drum may be provided on the wall excavator 30. When unwinding the units 110, ensure that the units 110 pass over the reference point O above the excavation section.

[0065] Here, when measuring the position of the excavator body 35, the only units 110 for which inclination measurement results are required are some units 110 that are on the side of the excavator body 35 when viewed from the reference point O. It is assumed that inclination measurement results for the other units 110, i.e., the units 110 that are on the opposite side of the excavator body 35 when viewed from the reference point O, are not required.

[0066] As a method for distinguishing some of the above-mentioned units 110 from other units 110 and using only the inclination measurement results of those units 110 for position measurement of the excavator body 35, for example, units 110 within the range from the reference point O to the excavator body 35 can be distinguished by the ID of each unit 110 transmitted from the inclination measuring device 2 to the controller 4. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 10(a), a sensor 120 can be provided on the outer surface of each unit 110, and the distinction can be made based on the information obtained from the sensor 120.

[0067] This sensor 120 is a water sensor and detects when unit 110 is immersed in the stabilizing fluid S in the excavation section. When the inclination measuring device 2 receives a measurement instruction from the controller 4 (see S2 in Figure 6), it measures the inclination of unit 110 and transmits the inclination measurement results, etc., only if the sensor 120 has performed the above detection. This allows only the inclination measurement results of unit 110 located within the excavation section to be used for position measurement of the excavator body 35 when the reference point O is located near the top of the excavation section.

[0068] In the second embodiment of the measuring device 100 described above, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained by transmitting the inclination measurement results of each unit 110 to the controller 4 via the optical cable 3. Furthermore, since the measuring device 100 is external, it can be applied not only to the wall excavator 30 but also to various other excavation devices, and can also be applied to measuring the position of objects other than excavation devices.

[0069] Furthermore, as described above, the measuring device 100 can be manufactured in advance at a factory or the like by connecting a predetermined number of units 110, and then distributed and transported. When using the measuring device 100, the units 110 should be advanced sequentially as the excavation progresses. In this case, as described above, it is not necessarily required to connect the optical cables 3 to each other using the optical connectors 6 at the connection points of the units 110, and they can be connected at any point depending on the length of the optical cables 3.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by detecting with the sensor 120 that the unit 110 is immersed in a liquid such as the stabilizing fluid S in the excavation section, only the inclination measurement result of the unit 110 located in the excavation section can be used for position measurement of the wall excavator 30.

[0071] In addition, in this embodiment, the unit 110 may be made extendable and retractable so that it can be fixed in both the extended and retracted states. This makes it possible to adjust the overall length of the measuring device 100 according to the excavation depth, such as by using longer units 110 when the excavation depth is large, and it is possible to reduce the number of units 110 and thus reduce costs.

[0072] Figure 10(b) shows an example of a retractable unit 110a. In this example, unit 110a consists of an outer cylinder 111 and an inner cylinder 112 inserted into the outer cylinder 111. By changing the insertion length of the inner cylinder 112 into the outer cylinder 111, the overall length of unit 110a becomes variable. Even in this case, watertightness between the outer cylinder 111 and the inner cylinder 112 is ensured.

[0073] The outer surface of the inner cylinder 112 is provided with a protruding piece 113 that is biased outward by a spring or the like. When this protruding piece 113 fits into either of the upper or lower holes 114 provided in the wall surface of the outer cylinder 111, the inner cylinder 112 and the outer cylinder 111 are fixed together, and the overall length of the unit 110a is fixed. In the example shown in Figure 10(b), the overall length of the unit 110a is shortened when the protruding piece 113 fits into the lower hole 114, and lengthened when it fits into the upper hole 114.

[0074] Reference numerals 115 and 116 in Figure 10(b) indicate grooves and protrusions provided to prevent relative rotation of the outer cylinder 111 and inner cylinder 112 around their axes. The protrusions 116 on the outer surface of the inner cylinder 112 fit into the grooves 115 of the outer cylinder 111, thereby preventing relative rotation of the outer cylinder 111 and inner cylinder 112 around their axes.

[0075] The unit 110 of the measuring device 100 may be of the extendable type, similar to the rod 11 in the first embodiment. In this case, as in the first embodiment, the unit 110 is extended as the excavation progresses, and the optical cables 3 inside the unit 110 are connected to each other using optical connectors 6 outside the unit 110.

[0076] Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the attached drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications or alterations can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea disclosed herein, and these will naturally also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0077] 1. 100: Measuring device 2: Inclination measuring device 3: Optical cable 4: Controller 5: Information Processing Device 6: Optical connector 7,700: Measurement System 10: Auger drilling machine (drilling equipment) 11: Rod (tube) 12: Rotating part 13: Connection part 21, 41: Control Unit 22: Tilt sensor 23, 43: Electric / Optical Conversion Unit 24: Photocell 25, 45: Battery 30: Wall drilling machine (drilling device) 35: Excavator body 42:Light source 44: Wireless Communication Department 110, 110a: Unit (tube) 120: Sensor

Claims

1. A measuring device that is attached to an object and used to measure the position of the object, An inclination measuring device, which measures the inclination of pipes of a predetermined length connected vertically, is placed inside each pipe. A measuring device characterized in that an inclination measuring device inside each pipe is connected to a controller by an optical cable, and the inclination measurement result of the pipe is transmitted to the controller by an optical signal via the optical cable.

2. The measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that energy is supplied from the light source of the controller to the tilt measuring device via the optical cable.

3. The measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that the object is a rotary excavation device that excavates the ground downward by rotating the pipe horizontally.

4. The aforementioned object is an excavation device for excavating the ground downwards, The measuring device is attached externally to the drilling device. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device includes the pipe body, and the position measurement of the location to which the lower end of the lowest stage of the pipe body of the drilling device is attached is performed by the measuring device.

5. The measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that the optical cables arranged inside both tubes are connected by an optical connector at the connection point between the tubes.

6. The measuring device is made by connecting a predetermined number of the aforementioned pipes, The measuring device according to claim 4, characterized in that the optical cable is continuous at the connection point between the aforementioned pipes.

7. The inclination measurement results are used to perform the position measurement using the length of each pipe and the inclination measurement results. The pipe body is equipped with a sensor for detecting whether the pipe body is immersed in the liquid in the excavated part of the ground. The measuring device according to claim 6, characterized in that the position measurement is performed using the inclination measurement result of the pipe body immersed in the liquid.

8. The measuring device according to claim 4, characterized in that the tube is expandable and contractible, and the tube can be fixed in both the extended state and the contracted state.

9. A measurement system comprising a measuring device and an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The aforementioned information processing device is A measurement system characterized by measuring the position of a point corresponding to the lower end of a series of tubes of the object, using the length of each tube and the inclination measurement result.

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