Inspection tools

Abstract

To provide an inspection tool capable of eliminating a reverse inversion phenomenon of an inspection character only by attaching one mirror to a tip portion of a support rod, and capable of improving inspection workability by weight reduction and slimming of the tip portion of the support rod.SOLUTION: An inspection tool is constituted by attaching one mirror (12) to a tip portion of a support rod (34), and the mirror (12) is constituted of a cylindrical concave mirror (12a) whose mirror surface is formed in a shape of an inner surface side of a cylinder.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection tool used for inspecting metering meters installed in high places, narrow places and the like where direct viewing is difficult. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Some metering meters for electricity consumption are installed in high places where direct viewing is difficult, or even installed along narrow passages. In addition, some metering meters for water consumption installed in leased stores such as shopping malls are installed at a position higher than the height of a person, and are installed with the display portion facing upward. All of these metering meters are in a state where direct viewing is difficult when an inspection operator reads metering information. Conventionally, as an auxiliary means for inspecting such a metering meter that is difficult to view directly, an inspection tool in which a plane mirror is attached to the tip of a support rod has been known. This inspection tool is configured such that the mirror at the tip of the support rod of the inspection tool is held over the display portion of the metering meter, and the metering information reflected in the mirror is read. However, the metering information (character string of numbers) reflected in the mirror of this inspection tool is in a state where the characters are reversed inside out. Therefore, there have been problems such as that the inspection operator may misread the metering information, or the reading time becomes long.

[0003] Patent Document 1 proposes an inspection tool in which two plane mirrors are oppositely arranged obliquely at different levels as a mirror at the tip of a support rod in order to solve the above problem. According to this inspection tool, the light that has entered and reflected from the display portion of the metering meter to the first plane mirror is further incident and reflected to the second plane mirror, whereby the image reversed inside out by the first plane mirror is further reversed inside out by the second plane mirror, so that the metering information (character string) reflected in the second mirror can be delivered to the eyes of the inspection operator as a character string in the same direction as the metering information on the meter display portion. Therefore, problems such as misreading of metering information by the inspection operator or taking time for reading can be solved.

[0004] However, the above inspection tool has a configuration in which two mirrors (flat mirrors) are attached to the tip of a support rod, which increases the weight of the tip of the support rod and reduces the efficiency of the inspection. In addition, because it has a configuration with two mirrors attached, the tip of the support rod becomes bulky, and in the case of weighing meters installed in narrow spaces, it may be difficult to insert the mirrors at the tip of the support rod. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-184055 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an inspection tool that can eliminate the phenomenon of inspection characters being reversed or flipped over simply by attaching a single mirror to the tip of the support rod, and that can improve inspection workability by making the tip of the support rod lighter and slimmer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the present invention comprises a configuration in which a single mirror is attached to the tip of a support rod, and the mirror is characterized in that the mirror surface is a cylindrical concave mirror formed to match the shape of the inner surface of a cylinder.

[0008] The present invention further encompasses the following embodiments. [1] The radius of curvature of the mirror surface of the cylindrical concave mirror is 80 mm to 170 mm. [2] The outer circumference of the mirror is provided with a straight edge perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical concave mirror or a straight edge parallel to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical concave mirror. [3] A mark corresponding to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical concave mirror or a mark corresponding to a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical concave mirror is provided on the mirror-side surface or back-side surface of the outer periphery of the mirror. [4] The mirror is connected to the tip of the support rod so as to be able to rotate and stop around a point in the plane. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the inspection tool of the present invention, since the mirror at the tip of the support rod is made of a cylindrical concave mirror, when the circumferential direction of the mirror surface of the cylindrical concave mirror is aligned with the front-to-back or left-to-right direction of the characters in the weighing information (string of characters) of the object being inspected, the phase of the incoming and reflected light is reversed by the concave mirror reflection function, making it possible to visually identify a string of characters with the same arrangement as the string of characters being inspected as an image using only one mirror. Furthermore, since this effect is achieved with only one mirror, the tip of the support rod of the inspection tool can be made lighter and slimmer, improving the efficiency of the inspection work. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A side view showing an inspection tool according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a rear view of the inspection tool. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a magnified rear view of the mirror portion of the inspection tool shown. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow AA' in Figure 3. [Figure 5] This is a side view of the second joint portion that constitutes the inspection tool shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow BB' in Figure 5. [Figure 7] (A) and (B) are explanatory diagrams illustrating the effects of the inspection tool of the present invention. [Figure 8] (1) and (2) are explanatory diagrams relating to other effects of the inspection tool of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The inspection tool of the present invention consists of a single mirror attached to the tip of a support rod, and the mirror is a concave mirror (hereinafter simply referred to as a "cylindrical concave mirror") whose mirror surface is formed to match the shape of the inner surface of a cylinder. Since the mirror surface of the cylindrical concave mirror is formed to match the shape of the inner surface of a cylinder, the circumferential arc-shaped mirror surface has a concave mirror function that cross-reflects incident light, while the linear mirror surface perpendicular to the circumferential direction has a plane mirror function that parallel-reflects incident light.

[0012] The inspector uses the above-mentioned inspection tool to hold a cylindrical concave mirror above the display unit of the weighing meter installed at a high location, and reads the weighing information reflected in the mirror from below. For this type of inspection, the mirror is attached at an angle to the tip of the support rod. Therefore, it is preferable that the mounting angle of the mirror be adjustable, but it can also be adjusted by the angle of the inspector's wrist or arm as they grip the lower end of the support rod.

[0013] The radius of curvature forming the arc-shaped mirror surface of a cylindrical concave mirror is preferably 80 mm to 170 mm. More preferably, it is 100 mm to 150 mm. If the radius of curvature is smaller than 80 mm, the distortion of the object being inspected in the mirror becomes large, which may make it difficult to read text or other information. Also, if the radius of curvature is larger than 170 mm, the mirror must be placed quite far away from the object being inspected, which may make inspection of the object difficult.

[0014] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and any modifications that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the claims are included in the present invention. In addition, elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings are intended to have the same configuration or function.

[0015] Figures 1 to 6 show an inspection tool 10 consisting of embodiments of the present invention. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the inspection tool 10 of the present invention has a configuration in which one mirror 12 is attached to the tip end portion 30 of a support rod 34 via a connecting arm 20, and the mirror 12 is formed of a cylindrical concave mirror 12a. The mirror 12 is attached to the tip end of the connecting arm 20 via a first joint 22, and the rear end of the connecting arm 20 is connected to the tip end portion 30 of the support rod 34 via a second joint 29. In the cylindrical concave mirror 12a, the mirror surface 14 is formed in a shape corresponding to the inner surface side of a cylinder. Therefore, while forming an arcuate mirror surface in the circumferential direction of the cylinder, a linear mirror surface is formed in a direction orthogonal to the circumferential direction. The arcuate mirror surface has a concave mirror function of converging reflected light of parallel incident light, and the linear mirror surface has a plane mirror function of keeping reflected light of parallel incident light parallel, which is a characteristic feature thereof.

[0016] The mirror 12 having the above-mentioned features is provided with linear edge portions 16, 16 orthogonal to the circumferential direction, respectively, at both circumferential ends of the mirror surface 14. In addition, on the mirror 12, round marks 36a, 36a are engraved at both end portions corresponding to the circumferential direction of the mirror surface 14 on the outer peripheral portion on the back surface 18 side, and square marks 36b, 36b are engraved at both end portions in the direction orthogonal to the circumferential direction of the mirror surface 14 on the outer peripheral portion on the back surface 18 side of the mirror 12, respectively. Further, triangular marks 36c are engraved at a total of four locations in the intermediate portions between the round marks 36a and the square marks 36b, respectively. These three types of marks 36a, 36b, 36c may be provided on the mirror surface 14 side, or may be provided on both the back surface 18 side and the mirror surface 14 side. The linear edge portions 16, the round marks 36a, the square marks 36b, and the like provided on the mirror 12 can be used as marks when performing an operation of aligning the circumferential direction (curvature direction) of the mirror surface 14 of the cylindrical concave mirror 12a with the vertical direction or the horizontal arrangement direction of characters of measurement information (character strings) on a meter display unit during an inspection operation.

[0017] Figures 3 and 4 show details of the first joint 22 described above. The first joint 22 is a means of connecting the center of the back of the mirror 12 to the tip of the connecting arm 20 so as to be rotatable and stoppable. A cylindrical fitting hole 21 is provided facing downward at the tip of the connecting arm 20, and a cylindrical projection 25 formed in the center of the back surface 18 of the mirror 12 is inserted into the fitting hole 21. Both are fastened and secured by a screw 24 inserted from the outside of the connecting arm 20 via a washer 23. The connection by this first joint 22 is not completely fixed, but is secured by a clamp that allows the mirror 12 to be rotated and stopped in both the left and right directions of arrow RD1 by manual operation. As described above, when checking the weighing information on the meter display, it can be used as a means to align the circumferential direction (curving direction) of the mirror surface 14 of the cylindrical concave mirror 12a with the vertical direction or arrangement direction of the characters of the weighing information.

[0018] Figures 5 and 6 show details of the second joint 29 mentioned above. The second joint 29 is composed of two joint sections 29a and 29b with different functions. The former joint section 29a has a pivot shaft 26 fixed parallel to the rear end of the connecting arm 20, and this pivot shaft 26 is pivotally supported by a U-shaped bearing 28 that is rotatably supported at the tip 30 of the support rod 34. With this configuration, the connecting arm 20 can rotate left and right in the direction of arrow RD3 around the pivot shaft 26 and stop.

[0019] The latter joint 29b is constructed by inserting the tip 30 of the support rod 34 into the U-shaped bearing 28, and with the rod inserted, a threaded pivot shaft 31 is inserted into both U-shaped legs and the tip 30 in a direction perpendicular to the pivot shaft 26. A washer 38 is interposed in one leg, and the threaded portion of the other leg is screwed into it to tighten and fix it in place. This configuration allows the connecting arm 20 to rotate and stop up and down in the direction of arrow RD2 around the pivot shaft 31. The two joint sections 29a and 29b that constitute the second joint 29 described above are each configured as means for adjusting the inclination angle of the mirror 12 with respect to the axial direction of the support rod 34.

[0020] Figures 7(A) and 7(B) illustrate the effects of using the inspection tool 10 of the present invention described above to inspect the measurement information (string of characters) on the display unit 42 of a water meter 41 installed at a high place. As shown in Figure 7(A), the water meter 41 is installed with the display unit 42 facing upward, and the display unit 42 has a string of characters (metering information) (for example,

[12345] ) arranged in a direction perpendicular to the water supply direction FD. Here, the arrangement of the string of characters

[12345] is shown as a at the front end in the front-to-back direction, b at the rear end, c at the left end in the left-to-right direction, and d at the right end. When an inspector uses the inspection tool 10 to inspect the display unit 42, the mirror surface 14 of the mirror 12 (cylindrical concave mirror 12a) is positioned diagonally above the display unit 42, with the circumferential direction (curving direction) of the mirror surface 14 aligned with the front-to-back direction ab of the string, and the intersecting direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the mirror surface 14 aligned with the left-to-right direction c-d of the string. At that time, the inspector reads the image of the string

[12345] reflected in the mirror surface 14 from below, with their eyes E pointing in the L' direction.

[0021] In the inspection operation described above, the light that enters and reflects from both ends a and b of the string

[12345] onto the mirror surface 14 and reaches the eyes E of the inspector below, is reflected by the arc-shaped mirror surface of the mirror surface 14 with a radius of curvature R in the circumferential direction. Due to the concave mirror function of the arc-shaped mirror surface, the light that enters and reflects from the front and rear ends a and b of the string onto a' and b' of the mirror surface 14 changes phase with each other along the path before reaching the eyes E of the inspector. On the other hand, the light emanating from both ends c and d of the string

[12345] and reaching the mirror surface 14 is reflected by the linear mirror surface of the cylindrical concave mirror 12a in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction. Due to the planar mirror function of this linear mirror surface, the light reaches the inspector's eye E without intersecting along the way. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7(B), the string of characters on the display unit 42 viewed directly from the direction of arrow L and the string of characters in the image of the mirror surface 14 viewed by the inspector's eye E from below the mirror surface 14 in the direction of arrow L' are recognized as strings of characters arranged in the same orientation and without inversion or reversal. Therefore, there is no problem such as the inspector misreading the string of characters in the image or taking a long time to read them.

[0022] Furthermore, the inspection operation using the inspection tool 10 of the present invention can produce other effects and benefits as illustrated in Figure 8. For example, when an inspector holds the mirror 12 (cylindrical concave mirror 12a) of the inspection tool 10 above the display unit 42 of the water meter 41 and inspects the measurement information (string of characters) on the display unit 42 reflected in the mirror surface 14, the string of characters on the mirror surface 14 may be inverted as shown in Figure 8 (1). This inverted state of the string of characters is because the orientation of the front and rear ends a and b of the string of characters on the display unit 42 is reversed compared to the case in Figure 7 (A). In such cases, rotating the mirror 12 by 90° in either direction of arrow RD4 will change the string of characters to an upright state as shown in Figure 8 (2). The reason for this is as follows. When the mirror 12 is rotated 90° in either the direction of arrow RD4, the arrangement of the circumferential arc-shaped mirror surface and the linear mirror surface perpendicular to it of the cylindrical concave mirror 12a is swapped, as shown in Figure 8 (2). The linear mirror surface is positioned where the arc-shaped mirror surface was before the rotation in the front-to-back direction, and the arc-shaped mirror surface is positioned where the linear mirror surface was before the rotation in the left-to-right direction. Therefore, the string of characters that was reflected inverted in the front-to-back direction on the mirror surface 14 returns to an upright state due to the planar mirror function of the linear mirror surface, and the left-to-right direction of the string of characters is reversed left and right due to the concave mirror function of the arc-shaped mirror surface, resulting in an upright state as shown in Figure 8 (2).

[0023] Furthermore, as described above, the inspection tool 10 of the present invention eliminates the phenomenon of the inspection characters being reversed or inverted simply by attaching a single mirror 12 to the tip of the support rod 34. This makes it possible to lighten and slim down the tip of the support rod, thereby facilitating inspection work even for measuring meters installed in confined spaces and improving the efficiency of inspection work. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0024] 10 Inspection Tools 12 Mirror 12a Cylindrical concave mirror 14 Mirror surface 16. Straight edge 18 Back 20 connecting arms 22 First joint 26 Pivot axis 28 Bearings 29. Second joint 29a Joint 29b Joint 30 Tip 31 Pivot axis 34 Support rod 36a Circular mark 36b Square mark 36c Triangle mark

Claims

1. The structure consists of a support rod (34) with the back surface of a single mirror (12) attached to its tip, and the mirror (12) is made of a cylindrical concave mirror (12a) whose mirror surface (14) is formed in the shape of the inner surface of a cylinder. The mirror (12) is an inspection tool connected to the tip of the support rod (34) so ​​as to be rotatable and stoppable around a single point within the mirror surface (14).

2. The inspection tool according to claim 1, wherein the radius of curvature of the mirror surface (14) of the cylindrical concave mirror (12a) is 80 mm to 170 mm.

3. The inspection tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mirror (12) has a cylindrical projection (25) formed on its back surface, and is tightened and fixed to the support rod (34) so ​​as to be rotatable and stoppable by a screw (24) inserted into the projection (25).

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