Surface condition monitoring apparatus

• US 10,365,206 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2017
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sentencia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
• Inventors: Kanda, Atsushi, Tateyama, Kazutaka, Harada, Yasuhiro, Ohmae, Hirokazu, Miyake, Toshiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie B
• Application Number:
  US15/711,385
• Publication Number:
  US 20190086323A1
• Time in Patent Office: 677 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/17 Magnetic/Electromagnetic
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/0633 using one or more discrete wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/558 Measuring reflectivity and transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/945 Liquid or solid deposits of macroscopic size on surfaces, e.g. drops, films, or clustered contaminants
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/17 Systems in which incident light is modified in accordance with the properties of the material investigated where the material investigated is optically excited causing a change in wavelength of the incident light G01N21/63
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/47 Scattering, i.e. diffuse reflection G01N21/25, G01N21/41 take precedence G01N21/55 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/49 within a body or fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/94 Investigating contamination, e.g. dust G01N21/85 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 8/12 using one transmitter and one receiver

Abstract

Provided is a surface condition monitoring apparatus including: a transparent member; a transmission unit including a transmitter that transmits electromagnetic waves from one side of the transparent member toward the other side; and a reception unit including a receiver that detects the electromagnetic waves that enter the one side of the transparent member from the other side, the transmission unit and the reception unit being arranged such that the receiver detects scattered waves of the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the transmitter, that enter the one side from the other side, the transmission unit being configured to be capable of transmitting a plurality of electromagnetic waves having different wavelengths, and the reception unit being configured to detect intensities of the scattered waves of the electromagnetic waves at different positions.

Claims

1. A surface condition monitoring apparatus, comprising:

a transparent member;

a transmission unit including a transmitter that transmits electromagnetic waves from one side of the transparent member toward the other side; and

a reception unit including a receiver that detects the electromagnetic waves that enter the one side of the transparent member from the other side,

the transmission unit and the reception unit being arranged such that the receiver detects scattered waves of the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the transmitter, that enter the one side from the other side,

the transmission unit being configured to be capable of transmitting a plurality of electromagnetic waves having different wavelengths, and

the reception unit being configured to detect one-dimensional, two dimensional, and a combination of one-dimensional and two-dimensional intensities of the scattered waves of the electromagnetic waves with different wavelengths,

wherein the surface condition monitoring apparatus monitors the surface condition on the bases of a plurality of relationships between the transmitted electromagnetic waves and the detected one-dimensional, two dimensional, and a combination of one-dimensional and two-dimensional intensities.

2. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

at least one of the transmission unit and the reception unit includes a plurality of transmitters or a plurality of receivers.

3. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the plurality of receivers are arranged at different positions.

4. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

at least one of the transmission unit and the reception unit includes a transmission adjustment mechanism capable of changing at least one of a position and a posture or a reception adjustment mechanism capable of changing at least one of a position and a posture.

5. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the transmission unit includes a transmitter that transmits electromagnetic waves having a directivity.

6. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a control unit that calculates, based on a snow coverage radiation transfer model, a state of a snow coverage regarding a depth and quality on a front surface of the transparent member from signals corresponding to the intensities of the scattered waves detected by the receiver.

7. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a control unit that judges, based on a snow coverage radiation transfer model, whether a deposited material is locally adhered or adhered onto a front surface of the transparent member from signals corresponding to two-dimensional intensity distributions of the scattered waves detected by the receiver.

8. The surface condition monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the transmitter includes a laser transmitter that transmits laser light beams having difference wavelengths, and

the receiver is a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor.

9. A surface condition monitoring apparatus, comprising:

a transparent member set to be on the same plane as an airport runway or taxiway;

a transmission unit that is arranged in an accommodation space below the transparent member and transmits a plurality of electromagnetic waves having different wavelengths toward a ground surface side via the transparent member; and

a reception unit that detects one-dimensional, two dimensional, and a combination of one-dimensional and two-dimensional intensities of scattered waves derived from the electromagnetic waves that enter the accommodation space side from the ground surface side via the transparent member,

wherein the surface condition monitoring apparatus monitors the surface condition on the bases of a plurality of relationships between the transmitted electromagnetic waves and the detected one-dimensional, two dimensional, and a combination of one-dimensional and two-dimensional intensities.

10. A surface condition monitoring system, comprising

a plurality of surface condition monitoring apparatuses each including

a transparent member set to be on the same plane as an airport runway or taxiway,

a transmission unit that is arranged in an accommodation space below the transparent member and transmits a plurality of electromagnetic waves having different wavelengths toward a ground surface side via the transparent member, and

a reception unit that detects one-dimensional, two dimensional, and a combination of one-dimensional and two-dimensional, intensities of scattered waves derived from the electromagnetic waves that enter the accommodation space side from the ground surface side via the transparent member,

the plurality of surface condition monitoring apparatuses each being provided at different positions while being distributed within the airport runway or taxiway,

wherein the surface condition monitoring apparatus monitors the surface condition on the bases of a plurality of relationships between the transmitted electromagnetic waves and the detected one-dimensional, two dimensional, and a combination of one-dimensional and two-dimensional, intensities.