Airborne inventory and inspection system and apparatus
First Claim
1. A system for acquiring images of electric transmission line tower structures, equipment attached to said tower structures, and transmission lines suspended from said system utilizing an aircraft and an arrangement of at least one still camera, means for detecting a tower structure, a data storage unit, and a central processing unit containing operational software and connected to said cameras, said means for detecting a tower structure, and said storage unit, said system comprising the steps of:
- a, flying said aircraft along the transmission line at a predetermined altitude above the tops of the towers, said aircraft having a line of flight along said transmission line and generally parallel to the horizontal defined by the terrain over which said aircraft is flying,b, arranging said camera to point rearwardly relative to said line of flight and to take pictures along an exposure line directed downwardly at an angle of less than 90 degrees to said horizontal,c, generating and transmitting a signal to said central processing indicative of the presence of a tower to be photographed,d, determining in said central processing unit the time delay necessary for said aircraft to fly past said tower to a predetermined exposure point located between the tower to be photographed and the next tower in said transmission line after the tower to be photographed,e, activating said still camera at said exposure point to acquire an image of said tower structure,f, transmitting the data corresponding to said acquired image to said data storage unit, andg, resetting said system to repeat steps c, d, e, and f for the next tower in said transmission line.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and apparatus for acquiring images of electric transmission line tower structures, equipment attached to said tower structures, and transmission lines suspended from said towers. The system uses a fixed wing aircraft and an arrangement of at least one still camera, means for detecting a tower structure, a data storage unit, and a central processing unit containing operational software. The central processing unit is connected to the camera, the means for detecting a tower structure, and the storage unit. The detection means is a laser altimeter or a combination of preset longitude/latitude coordinates for tower locations and a GPS unit which supplies continuous longitude/latitude coordinates for the aircraft location for comparison to those preset coordinates. The aircraft is flown along the transmission line at a predetermined altitude above the tops of said towers (60–100 feet). The still camera points rearwardly relative to the line of flight of the aircraft and take a picture from between two adjacent towers and along an exposure line directed downwardly at an angle to the line of flight, 30–60 degrees and preferably 45 degrees. The detecting means transmits a signal to the central processing indicative of the presence of a tower to be photographed. The central processing unit calculates the time delay necessary for said aircraft to fly past the tower to a predetermined exposure point located between the tower to be photographed and the next tower in said transmission line after the tower to be photographed. The still camera is activated at the exposure point to acquire an image of the tower structure. The data corresponding to the acquired image is transmitted to a data storage unit for later retrieval and examination to identify defects in the tower or the equipment or transmission lines suspended form the tower. The system is reset to continue acquiring images along the transmission lines. The system is also provided with a video capability to film the towers and transmission lines and the line right-of-way.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A system for acquiring images of electric transmission line tower structures, equipment attached to said tower structures, and transmission lines suspended from said system utilizing an aircraft and an arrangement of at least one still camera, means for detecting a tower structure, a data storage unit, and a central processing unit containing operational software and connected to said cameras, said means for detecting a tower structure, and said storage unit, said system comprising the steps of:
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a, flying said aircraft along the transmission line at a predetermined altitude above the tops of the towers, said aircraft having a line of flight along said transmission line and generally parallel to the horizontal defined by the terrain over which said aircraft is flying, b, arranging said camera to point rearwardly relative to said line of flight and to take pictures along an exposure line directed downwardly at an angle of less than 90 degrees to said horizontal, c, generating and transmitting a signal to said central processing indicative of the presence of a tower to be photographed, d, determining in said central processing unit the time delay necessary for said aircraft to fly past said tower to a predetermined exposure point located between the tower to be photographed and the next tower in said transmission line after the tower to be photographed, e, activating said still camera at said exposure point to acquire an image of said tower structure, f, transmitting the data corresponding to said acquired image to said data storage unit, and g, resetting said system to repeat steps c, d, e, and f for the next tower in said transmission line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. The system of 12 including the step of displaying the images from said video camera in the area of the cockpit of said aircraft for viewing by the pilot.
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14. A system for acquiring images of electric transmission line tower structures and equipment attached to said tower structures, said system utilizing an aircraft and an arrangement of at least one digital still camera, means for detecting a tower structure, a data storage unit, and a central processing unit containing operational software and connected to said cameras, said means for detecting a tower structure, and said storage unit, said system comprising the steps of:
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a, flying said aircraft along said transmission line at an altitude of 60–
100 feet above the tops of the towers, said aircraft having a line of flight along said transmission line and generally parallel to the horizontal defined by the terrain over which said aircraft is flying,b, arranging said camera to point rearwardly relative to said line of flight and to take pictures along a line directed downwardly at an angle of less than 90 degrees to said horizontal, c, generating and transmitting a signal to said central processing indicative of the presence of a tower to be photographed, d, determining in said central processing unit the time delay necessary for said aircraft to fly past said tower to a predetermined exposure point located between the tower to be photographed and the next tower in said transmission line after the tower to be photographed, e, activating said still camera at said exposure point to acquire an image of said tower structure, f, transmitting the data corresponding to said acquired image to a data storage unit, and g, resetting said system to repeat steps c, d, e, and f for the next tower in said transmission line. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for acquiring images of electric transmission line tower structures and equipment attached to said tower structures, said system utilizing an aircraft and an arrangement of at still cameras, a GPS unit, a device for detecting a tower structure, and a central processing unit containing operational software and connected to said cameras, and tower detecting device, said system comprising:
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a, flying said aircraft along said transmission line at a speed of 80–
100 miles per hour and at an altitude of 80–
100 feet above the tops of said tower structures,b, detecting the presence of a tower structure, c, generating a signal in said detecting device when said tower is detected corresponding to the relative position of said aircraft and said tower structure and transmitting that signal to said central processing unit, d, said central processing unit determining a distance from said point of detection to a preselected point relative to said detected tower structure and the time necessary for the aircraft to traverse that determined distance, e, transmitting a signal from said central processing unit to said still cameras to activate said still cameras and trigger the shutters thereof when said aircraft has reached said preselected point, f, transmitting the data corresponding to the images captured by said still camera to a data storage unit, and g, resetting said system to repeat steps c, d, e, and f for the next tower in said transmission line. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. Apparatus for acquiring images of the towers of an electric transmission line, equipment on said towers, and the transmission lines suspended from said towers and comprising, in combination,
an aircraft, a data collection pod connected to the underside of said aircraft, said data collection pod including: -
a housing attached to said fuselage, a digital still camera supported in said housing, an open ended channel in said housing extending rearwardly relative to line of flight of said aircraft and at an angle to the longitudinal axis of said aircraft, said still camera arranged to take pictures through said open ended channel, a central processing unit on said aircraft and connected to said still camera, a data storage unit connected to said central processing unit, means for detecting the presence of a tower along said transmission line and connected to and sending a signal to said central processing unit when a tower is detected, and said central processing unit determining the time necessary for said aircraft to fly from said point at which said signal is received from said detecting means to an exposure point past said detected tower and before the next tower in said transmission line and operating said still camera at said exposure point to capture an image of said detected tower, and means for transmitting the data corresponding to the image of said tower to a data storage unit. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification