Water Level Sensor

Abstract

To provide a water level sensor 100 capable of continuous observation even in a stormy weather and excellent in workability.SOLUTION: A sensor body 10 includes a transmitting / receiving section 11 that transmits ultrasonic waves in a prescribed direction and receives the reflected waves of the transmitted ultrasonic waves, a communication section 12 that communicates the transmitting and receiving information of the ultrasonic waves, a power supply section 13 for supplying power, and a switch 14 that switches between supplying and stopping power from the power supply section 13. The water level sensor includes the sensor body, a housing 20 in which the sensor body 10 is housed, and a connecting member 30 to which the housing 20 is fixed. Two casings 20 are attached to the connecting member 30 on the left and right sides. In the casing 20 on the left, the switch 14 is arranged at a position where it can be operated from the left side of the casing 20, and in the casing 20 on the right, the switch 14 is arranged at a position where it can be operated from the right side of the casing 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water level sensor having a parallel type sensor body. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, surveying devices have been used to observe changes in river water levels and flooding of roads. The devices mainly consist of a sensor that actually measures the water level and a communication unit that transmits the measured data to administrators, etc. The sensors can be classified into direct methods that directly sense the water level and indirect methods that indirectly measure the water level.

[0003] In the case of the direct method, a water pressure sensor is often used, with the tip of the sensor located at the normal water level. The sensor is installed in a location where it will not be submerged even if the water level rises, so the device itself tends to be large-scale. In addition, in order to measure the water level, it is necessary to set the origin position at the installation site, which makes installation difficult for engineers without specialized knowledge.

[0004] In the case of the indirect method, for example, an ultrasonic sensor is used that transmits ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic transmitter and calculates the distance from the time it takes to receive the reflected waves reflected by an object, such as the water surface or the ground, etc. For example, Cited Document 1 discloses a river observation system for observing the water level and flow velocity of a river, which is characterized by comprising: a water level measurement means that transmits ultrasonic waves at a predetermined timing using a first ultrasonic transmitter / receiver and receives the reflected waves, and detects the water level of water flowing in the river based on the time difference between the transmission and reception, and a flow velocity measurement means that transmits ultrasonic waves at a timing different from that of the water level measurement means using a second ultrasonic transmitter / receiver and receives the reflected waves, and detects the flow velocity of the water based on a change in the frequency of the transmission and reception. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3701834 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The main means of powering surveying equipment include commercial power, solar cells, and built-in batteries. While commercial power is considered the most common method, the equipment tends to be large-scale and expensive to install. In addition, when using ultrasonic sensors to observe river water levels or road flooding, rising river water levels and road flooding occur during stormy weather, and power may not be supplied from the commercial power source due to a power outage, meaning the ultrasonic sensor may not work when it is needed most. In the case of solar cells, there is a risk that the device will not be powered if stormy weather continues, and just like with commercial power, the ultrasonic sensor may not work when it is needed most.

[0007] With a built-in battery, power can be supplied even in bad weather, but the built-in battery needs to be replaced or charged periodically, and if this work period coincides with bad weather, there is a risk that the ultrasonic sensor will not work when it is most needed.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a water level sensor which solves the above problems, allows continuous observation even in bad weather, and is easy to install. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. In other words, the water level sensor of the present invention comprises a sensor body that measures the water level, a housing in which the sensor body is housed, and a connecting member to which the housing is fixed, and the sensor body comprises a power supply unit for supplying power and a switch for switching between supplying power from the power supply unit and stopping it, and two housings are attached to the left and right sides of the connecting member, and the switch is located in a position on the left housing that can be operated from the left side of the housing, and the switch is located in a position on the right housing that can be operated from the right side of the housing.

[0010] In the present invention, the switch may be a magnetic switch.

[0011] Furthermore, in the present invention, the sensor main body may include a transmitting and receiving unit, and a horn may be attached facing downward to the lower wall of the housing, with the left housing having the horn attached to the left side of the lower wall, and the right housing having the horn attached to the right side of the lower wall. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The water level sensor according to the present invention has two sensor bodies each equipped with a power supply, so that even if one sensor body becomes unable to measure, the other sensor body can still measure, enabling continuous observation even in bad weather. Moreover, the switch on the left housing can be operated from the left side, and the switch on the right housing can be operated from the right side, making it easy to energize both sensor bodies, i.e., to start measurement. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a water level sensor according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a sensor body of a water level sensor according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the vicinity of the water level sensor in FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] In the drawing, 10 is a sensor body that measures the water level, 20 is a housing in which the sensor body 10 is housed, and 30 is a connecting member to which the housing 20 is fixed.The water level sensor 100 of the present invention is mainly composed of the sensor body 10, the housing 20, and the connecting member 30.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of a water level sensor 100 according to the present invention. The water level sensor 100 measures the water level of a river and is fixed so as to be positioned above the water surface. The fixing structure in this embodiment is such that the water level sensor 100 is attached near the tip of a support member 300 that is fixed to a support post 200 of a protective fence installed on the river bank and protrudes into the river. In this embodiment, housings 20 containing sensor bodies 10 are installed side by side, allowing for alternate measurements and for one sensor body 10 to continue measuring if the other sensor body 10 fails. Here, unless otherwise specified, the front side of the water level sensor 100 refers to the front side in FIG. 1, the rear side refers to the back side in FIG. 1, and the left and right directions refer to the left and right directions in FIG. 1, and the description will be based on this. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the water level sensor 100 is fixed to the support post 200 of the protective fence, but the installation location of the water level sensor 100 is not limited to this, and in addition to this embodiment, other examples include road incidental facilities such as parapets, handrails, signs (pillars), etc. Furthermore, being installed on road incidental facilities includes cases where the sensor is attached to the road incidental facilities via a support member 300 as in this embodiment, and cases where the sensor is attached directly to the road incidental facilities using mounting brackets or the like.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the sensor main body 10 of the water level sensor 100. As shown in Fig. 1, the sensor main body 10 is equipped with a wave transmitting and receiving unit 11 that transmits ultrasonic waves toward the water surface of the river and receives the waves reflected by the water surface, a communication unit 12 that communicates information about the ultrasonic waves transmitted and received by the wave transmitting and receiving unit 11, a power supply unit 13 that supplies electric power, a switch 14 that switches the power supply from the power supply unit 13 on and off, and a control unit 15 that controls the operation of the sensor main body 10, and all of these are housed in a housing 20.

[0018] Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view of the vicinity of the water level sensor 100 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3. The housing 20 has left, right, front, and rear side walls 21, a bottom wall 22, and a lid 23. The sensor main body 10 is housed in a box-like structure formed by the left, right, front, and rear side walls 21 and the bottom wall 22, and the lid 23 is attached to the open top side to close the opening. A portion of the bottom wall 22 is perforated in the vertical direction, and a horn 16, through which ultrasonic waves transmitted from the wave transmitting and receiving unit 11 pass, is attached to the opening facing downward. In this embodiment, the housing 20 is rectangular, but is not particularly limited as long as it has a structure that can house the sensor main body 10 and does not easily allow rainwater or the like to penetrate inside.

[0019] The wave transmitting / receiving unit 11 transmits ultrasonic waves generated from a built-in ultrasonic element in a predetermined direction, and receives the reflected waves that are reflected by the object to be measured. In this embodiment, the predetermined direction is the direction toward the water surface of the river, which is approximately vertically downward.

[0020] The communication unit 12 transmits wave transmission information and wave reception information to the administrator. The wave transmission information includes at least the time of transmission and the intensity of the ultrasonic waves at the time of transmission, and the wave reception information includes at least the time of reception of the reflected waves and the intensity of the received ultrasonic waves. In this embodiment, the communication means is an LPWA wireless communication means, which receives information at a receiving base station newly installed in a location close to the installation location or an existing receiving base station close to the installation location, and receives each piece of information at the administrator's receiving terminal via the Internet.

[0021] In this embodiment, a battery is used as the power supply unit 13. This eliminates the need for power supply from outside the housing 20 that houses the sensor main body 10, and also allows for continuous power supply regardless of the weather in the installation environment.

[0022] Since the switch 14 is housed in the housing 20, in order to operate the sensor main body 10, it is necessary to operate the switch 14 to bring the sensor main body 10 into a conductive state.

[0023] There are two ways to operate the switch 14: by opening the housing 20 that houses the sensor main body 10 and operating it directly, or by operating it from outside the housing 20. The former method requires that the housing 20 be opened at the installation site, but opening and closing the housing 20 could cause the sensor main body 10, particularly the wave transmitting direction of the wave transmitting and receiving unit 11, to shift, or the housing 20 could be insufficiently closed, creating a gap between the inside and outside of the housing 20 that could allow rainwater to enter and cause a short circuit in the sensor main body 10. Therefore, the switch 14 is designed to be operated from the outside, which is the latter method.

[0024] In this embodiment, the switch 14 is a magnetic switch 14a, which is arranged near the side wall 21 inside the housing 20. When a dedicated magnet is brought close to the side of the side wall 21 where the magnetic switch 14a is arranged, the magnetic switch 14a is activated, the sensor main body 10 enters a conductive state, and measurement of the water level, i.e., transmission of ultrasonic waves from the wave transmitting / receiving unit 11, begins. After that, the water level is measured at predetermined intervals based on a measurement program set in the control unit 15 of the sensor main body 10, and the measurement results are transmitted from the communication unit 12 to the administrator.

[0025] The switch 14 is not limited to this embodiment. Although not shown, it may be a so-called push button switch. Specifically, it has a pressing portion that is elastically deformable from the outside to the inside on a part of the side wall 21 of the housing 20, and a switch portion that is disposed near the pressing portion inside the housing 20. When the pressing portion is pressed inward from the outside of the housing 20 to turn on the switch, the sensor main body 10 is energized.

[0026] When the magnetic switch 14a is used as the switch 14, as in this embodiment, the position of the switch is not visible from the outside, making it difficult for a third party, such as a passerby, to accidentally or intentionally operate the magnetic switch 14a. Furthermore, since the magnetic switch 14a can be operated from the outside while it is disposed within the housing 20, an operation window or the like is not required in the housing 20. When the magnetic switch 14a is activated by bringing a dedicated magnet close to it, in this embodiment, a continuous sound is emitted when the switch is in the energized state and a single sound is emitted when the switch is in the disconnected state, so that the operator can easily recognize the energized state of the sensor main body 10.

[0027] In the water level sensor 100, the magnetic switch 14a is disposed near the left side wall 21 in the left housing 20, and near the right side wall 21 in the right housing 20, as shown in FIG. 3 . As a result, when an operator operates the magnetic switch 14a disposed in the left housing 20, he or she must approach a dedicated magnet from the left side of the housing 20, and when operating the magnetic switch 14a disposed in the right housing 20, he or she must approach a dedicated magnet from the right side of the housing 20. This makes it easy to recognize which housing 20 he or she is operating. Therefore, the sensor bodies 10 in both the left and right housings 20 can be reliably energized, making it easy to start measurement and avoiding a situation where only one of the sensor bodies 10 is energized.

[0028] On the other hand, when a magnetic switch 14a is used as the switch 14, the position of the magnetic switch 14a cannot be seen by an operator from the outside. Therefore, in this embodiment, the magnetic switch 14a is disposed on the same side as the mounting position of the horn 16.

[0029] Specifically, in this embodiment, two housings 20 are arranged side by side in pairs on the left and right, and the magnetic switch 14a and horn 16 are located on the side ends of the pair of left and right housings 20, that is, on the left side of the left housing 20 and on the right side of the right housing 20.This allows the operator to recognize the position of the magnetic switch 14a from the position of the horn 16, and therefore makes it possible to operate the magnetic switch 14a.

[0030] Next, an example of a method for installing the water level sensor 100 will be described. In this embodiment, the installation location is a river bank, but other locations such as a river bridge are also envisioned. A support member 300 is attached to a support post 200 of a guardrail or handrail to be installed on the bank or bridge. The support member 300 is placed along the installation direction of the guardrail or handrail, and one longitudinal end of the support member 300 is temporarily fixed to the support post 200 via a fixing bracket 310, and two housings 20 each containing a sensor main body 10 are attached to the other end.

[0031] In this embodiment, the two housings 20 are attached to a connecting member 30, and the connecting member 30 is fixed to the other end of the support member 300, thereby attaching the two housings 20 to the support member 300. The connecting member 30 has an L-shaped cross section and includes a bottom plate portion 31 and a side plate portion 32. The side plate portion 32 is fixed to the side portion of the support member 300. The lid portions 23 of the two housings 20 are disposed on the underside of the bottom plate portion 31 and fixed via fasteners 40. The fasteners 40 are composed of bolt members 41 that vertically penetrate the housings 20 and the bottom plate portion 31, and nuts 42 fastened to the bolt members 41. In this embodiment, a sheet-like vibration-damping member 43 is disposed between the lid portions 23 and the bottom plate portion 31. This prevents vibrations caused by vehicles passing over bridges or embankments from being transmitted to the water level sensor 100, reducing the impact on water level measurement.

[0032] The two housings 20 may be fixed to the connecting member 30 at the installation site, or may be fixed in advance before shipping. Fixing them before shipping prevents mistakes in the installation orientation of the housings 20 at the site, such as positioning the horns 16 of both housings 20 on the right side, or vice versa, both on the left side, or being positioned toward the center.

[0033] Next, a dedicated magnet (not shown) is used to activate the magnetic switch 14a of each of the two housings 20, energizing the sensor main body 10 and starting measurement. The magnetic switch 14a may be activated before or after the connecting member 30 is fixed to the support material 300.

[0034] Once the sensor main body 10 is energized, the direction of the support material 300 temporarily fixed to the support pole 200 is changed to a direction intersecting the installation direction of the protective fence, etc., usually to a direction perpendicular to the installation direction, and the fixing metal fitting 310 is fixed in that position. This positions the housing 20 out of reach of passersby, etc.

[0035] In this embodiment, two sensor bodies 10 are placed at the installation location, so that the administrator can replace the sensor body 10 at the installation site whenever a measurement error occurs with one of the sensor bodies 10, or if maintenance such as replacement at the installation site is difficult due to bad weather or the like, the administrator can continue measuring with only the other normal sensor body 10 to monitor the water level of the river.

[0036] Next, an example of how to replace the water level sensor 100 will be described. Loosen the fixing bracket 310 of the support material 300, align the support material 300 in the direction in which a protective fence or the like is to be installed, and bring the water level sensor 100 attached to the other end of the support material 300 closer to the protective fence or the like. Then, remove the connecting member 30 from the support material 300, attach a replacement water level sensor 100 to the support material 300, relocate the water level sensor 100 to its previous position, and resume measurement. When replacing, as mentioned above, it is preferable to replace each water level sensor 100 individually, as this is less likely to cause problems during installation.

[0037] As described above, the water level sensor 100 of the present invention comprises a sensor body 10 having a transmitting and receiving unit 11 that transmits ultrasonic waves in a predetermined direction and receives reflected waves of the transmitted ultrasonic waves, a communication unit 12 that communicates ultrasonic transmission information and reception information, a power supply unit 13 for supplying power, and a switch 14 for switching between supplying power from the power supply unit 13 and stopping it, a housing 20 that houses the sensor body 10, and a connecting member 30 to which the housing 20 is fixed, and two housings 20 are attached to the left and right of the connecting member 30, and the switch is located in a position on the left housing 20 that can be operated from the left side of the housing 20, and the switch is located in a position on the right housing 20 that can be operated from the right side of the housing 20.

[0038] As a result, since there are two sensor bodies 10 each equipped with a power supply unit 13, even if one sensor body 10 becomes unable to measure, the other sensor body 10 can still perform measurements, making continuous observation possible even in bad weather. Moreover, since the switch 14 can be operated from the left side of the left housing 20 and the switch 14 can be operated from the right side of the right housing 20, powering on both the left and right sensor bodies 10, that is, starting measurement, can be easily performed.

[0039] In the water level sensor 100 according to the present invention, the switch 14 may be a magnetic switch 14a.

[0040] As a result, the switch 14 is not visible from the outside, so that it is less likely that a third party such as a passerby will intentionally or mistakenly turn on or off the switch of the sensor main body 10.

[0041] In addition, in the water level sensor 100 of the present invention, a horn 16 through which the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitting / receiving unit 11 pass is attached to the lower wall portion 22 of the housing 20, and the left housing 20 may have the horn 16 attached to the left side of the lower wall portion 22, and the right housing 20 may have the horn 16 attached to the right side of the lower wall portion 22.

[0042] As a result, although the magnetic switch 14a cannot be seen, the operable position of the magnetic switch 14a can be recognized using the horn 16 as a landmark, and therefore the energization operation using the magnetic switch 14a can be performed reliably. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 Sensor body 11 Transmitting and receiving unit 12 Communications Department 13 Power supply section 14 Switchgear 14a Magnetic switch 15 Control Unit 16 Horn 20 Case 21 Side wall 22 Lower wall part 23 Lid 30 Connecting member 31 Bottom plate part 32 Side plate part 40 Fasteners 41 Bolt material 42 Nut material 43 Seismic Damping Members 100 Water level sensor 200 pillars 300 Support material 310 Fixing bracket

Claims

1. A sensor body that measures the water level; a housing in which the sensor main body is housed; a connecting member to which the housing is fixed, The sensor body includes: a power supply unit for supplying power; a switch for switching between supplying and stopping power from the power supply unit, The two housings are attached to the connecting member on the left and right sides, In the left housing, the switch is disposed at a position that can be operated from the left side of the housing, In the right-side housing, the switch is disposed at a position that can be operated from the right side of the housing. A water level sensor characterized by:

2. The switch is a magnetic switch.

2. The water level sensor according to claim 1.

3. the sensor body includes a wave transmitting and receiving unit, A horn is attached to the lower wall of the housing so as to face downward, The left housing has the horn attached to the left side of the bottom wall, The right-side housing has the horn attached to the right side of the bottom wall.

3. The water level sensor according to claim 1 or 2.

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