Patent Application
20250058897
The main object of this invention is to improve and optimize the result of another similar and previous one in which some modifications have been introduced that make this new one exceed and significantly improve the results of that other one. The changes are influential enough in the results that they generate notable differences.
The world of in-flight refueling is based on the supply of fuel from an aircraft called a tanker to another called a receiver. The tanker can be equipped with different systems for this supply. Among them, one of the oldest, consists of a hose that is wound onto a drum, all contained in a receptacle called pod, which is usually placed under the wing of the tanker.
After the receiving aircraft is connected to a drogue at the end of the hose, the tanker supplies it with the fuel. Its objective, among others, is to alleviate the problems arising from the low autonomy of some receivers that require an additional supply of fuel to be able to complete their air missions.
The supply hose used should be inspected periodically to prevent its use when it has deteriorated beyond acceptable damage tolerances. This operation, which is currently performed on land, can be carried out more easily, if it is done in the air just before or after a refueling operation. The device presented here allows both modalities with great efficiency.
The acquisition of images of almost every elongated element, is based on the use of an obvious and elementary system consisting of a ring or quasi-toroidal volume surrounding the elongated system, with a set of image sensors and light emitters that allows to obtain images of the different sections when said elongated element passes through the interior of the ring.
The hose is an elongated element and, therefore, suitable for the application of the above concept.
That set of obvious and basic elements, while indispensable, and thus required to be present in any system for inspection of elongated elements, is not the object of this patent, although it is necessary for its operation. The hose that is used for refueling in tankers has some peculiarities that are the reason for the problems and difficulties involved in obtaining images that provide information about its state of integrity or deterioration. Their resolution and the elements necessary for it, are the true objectives of this invention.
One of the problems that arise when it comes to being able to inspect the hose in practice, is the fact that, along the entire length of it, the width of its diameter is not constant due to the existence of elements of greater cross section that enclose its axis and that are required for different functionalities of the system. This simple factor means that in the rings of the inspection system to be used this situation has to be considered and failure to do so would lead to disastrous effects.
The main elements that, by their size and placement, significantly vary the thickness of what must pass through the ring are the five following (see
The first three elements are the most significant and are mounted on the hose with a layout similar to that shown on
This servicing carriage is crucial in the operation of this invention since its function is, on one hand, to guide the hose horizontally so that it is properly wound onto the drum and on the other hand being responsible for not letting pass (block) the braking sleeve, making the buffer spring to clamp down the basket when in enters the pod when the hose is collected after a previous extension for an operation with it.
The elements listed above, braking sleeve, buffer spring and connection couplings, have a cross section bigger than the nominal hose (2). Therefore, one of the objectives (stated below and referenced with lowercase letters) of this invention is to allow the passage of the elements of greater cross section through the ring (a), while at the same time it must adjust itself as close as possible to the contour of the hose (b), to obtain the best possible images. We must, in addition, follow the hose (c) when it moves in its envelope necessary to wind onto the drum and also avoid as much as possible friction between the hose and the inside of the ring (d) that would produce erosion and reduce the life of both.
An important aspect that we must highlight here is that, depending on the position in which we place our system with respect to the servicing carriage, there will be elements that should be able to pass through the inside of the ring or not. In this patent we are going to focus on several positions where the only difference in terms of its implementation will be that the aperture of the ring is different for each of them and that the centering elements will also be different in them. But, in choosing an optimal position for the ring new drawbacks appear that need to be solved and that give rise to new changes in this invention that have been solved effectively
Among those drawbacks is the fact that the space in which to place the system is reduced and with this, everything else. The sensors and their optics, the light emitters and, in short, the ring itself with everything that it entails must be adapted to this reduced space. As a consequence of the above, there is also a serious problem that must be solved and which is also object of this invention. It consists of the fact that due to the reduction of the ring and the elements it contains, it happens that the distance between the hose and the sensors is also reduced. This, in principle, might seem an advantage and even a goal, since the amount of light needed, when getting closer, would be less and likewise the energy that would have to be supplied for its supply, however, on the contrary it constitutes a serious problem. The reason is that, for the same speed of the hose, and using the same sensor, the closer the image sensors are to it, the faster the speed, in pixels per unit time, at which the image sensor must capture them. This gives rise to the following set of problems that must also be solved in this invention:
You also have to ensure that all the images have the same scale (j) throughout the length of the hose. To achieve the latter, we must trace of the hose by the ring with image sensors and electromagnetic radiation emitters. That should be in all the axes and directions shown in
This invention solves all the previous objectives that are the object of the same, and solves them while at the same time improving the resolution and detail of the hose in the acquired images. In addition, it incorporates substantial improvements (compared to previous inventions) and simplifications in the implementation of the system.
It is the entirety of these problems that, when solved, render the system as proposed here incorporating the improvements that solved these problems and constitute the differences between this invention and previously submitted ones.
The special mechanical and electronic elements of which it is composed characterize the invention, allowing a very effective centering of the hose within the inspection ring despite the differences of thicknesses of its sections and placing the imaging and lighting devices in relative positions as constant as possible with respect to the hose to be inspected, to obtain an optimized and at the same time an efficient system.
Therefore, the present invention is limited within the scope of the means and procedures for the inspection of a refueling hose in what is referred to as “hose and drogue refueling”, in order to determine whether a hose has damages that preclude further use in subsequent refueling operations.
For a better understanding of the terms used in this document, we define here some terms of interest used throughout it:
Data bus: set of metallic, optical or any other connections that allows the transfer of information between one part of the system and another or between the system and another at the outside.
Electromagnetic emission: combination of variable electric and magnetic fields that are emitted by a source and that propagate through space (or other media) transporting energy from the source to other points in the environment. It includes light, x-rays and gamma rays.
Axis of an image sensor: It is the imaginary line orthogonal to the plane (or line) of the image sensor at its center point.
Hose axis: Imaginary line that runs along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder that it represents.
f.p.s.: Frames Per Second: number of images that an image sensor takes in one second.
Global shutter: Image acquisition mechanism that obtains the information of the entire image frame at the same time.
Pitch movement (Pitch,
Yaw movement (Yaw,
Skate: Mechanism that contributes to adjust the system object of this invention so that its center coincides with the longitudinal axis of the hose.
Pod: Capsule or casing in which the hose to be extended and collected is housed to be able to perform the refueling operation in flight. The Pod is usually located under the wings of tanker aircraft that usually have one under each wing to allow two simultaneous refueling.
Processor: Electronic device capable of performing logical-mathematical operations at high speed.
Light quality of an image: The values of light intensity that reach through the lens to each of the pixels, or individual sensors of which an image sensor is composed, are multiplied by a fixed value for all that is called gain. That product must be within a set rendering range called bit depth. If that value is very high or very low the result is white or black pixels respectively that do not provide image information. For an inspection to be good, all pixels must receive an amount of light within the range of light given by that bit depth.
Taper: Optical element consisting of a pack of optical fibers joined together that adapt the input of the image sensor to the field of view of the area that is intended to be acquired with it.
There are within the state-of-the-art inventions and systems that allow the inspection of elongated objects such as cables, ropes, pipes and even hoses such as the following:
These systems use basic elements such as cameras and emitters of electromagnetic radiation to monitor or inspect these elongated elements. However, the special characteristics of the air refueling hoses together with the particularities of the other elements that coexist around them, as well as the dynamics of the system that includes those elements, make the conditions and the other means that are used in the aforementioned systems not applicable to this invention. Therefore, although some basic elements are common, the necessary system to carry out the functions referred to in this patent, differs more than enough from previous systems' capabilities to allow us to say that such (previous) systems do not belong to the state of the art of what is described and detailed in this invention.
Thus U.S. Patent 2011268313 describes a computer-aided method, a system, and a computer program product for the optical testing of a string. Such a method includes: providing a set of image data for at least part of the string; provide target values of a longitudinal extension of the cable representation with respect to a longitudinal extension of the cable in the image data set; determine a longitudinal extent of the cables in the image data set, including the adaptation of an estimated longitudinal extent to the image data set; determine at least one quality value using a quality standard based on the given longitudinal extension of the cables and the target values of the longitudinal extension of the cables.
Likewise, U.S. Patent 2012294506 discloses a cable inspection system in which in a first version the mobile wire cable is photographed in a stationary position at time intervals that are equal to the length ratio or a multiple of the length, and the speed of displacement of the wire cable, at least by a length or such multiple of length, and successive images are compared at least one length or such multiple of length, and image changes that indicate damage are controlled.
In a second version, the moving wire cable is expected to light up with flashes of light in a stationary position at time intervals that are equal to the length ratio, or a multiple of the length, and travel.
None of the above documents solves the problem inherent to an in-flight refueling hose that is subjected to continuous displacements vertically, horizontally, pitched and yawed or the problem of the different bulges of the same.
As for a more specific history of systems that solve some of the problems such as those described here and to clarify what this invention intends, it is important to note that within the state-of-the-art there is a patent application very similar to the one presented in this document. This is application PCT/ES2020/070015.
The system described in that patent is similar in many respects to the one presented here. However, there are important differences that are related to the optimization and reduction of number of components of said system, while the object of this invention becomes a more robust and durable alternative. In this new invention elements of that invention have been eliminated simplifying the system without loss of capacity and improving the results and these changes not only give novelty to the variations and improvements that it introduces, but also significantly differentiate it from that.
The system of the aforementioned patent, consists of a set of elements arranged so that, to obtain images of the hose a ring carrying image sensors and light emitters is used, that in addition to having an initial inclination that will no longer be necessary, manages to follow the hose in its movements. There are three fundamental movements that that invention introduces to achieve this tracing:
All the mechanisms included in that invention are focused on keeping the hose in the center of the ring in the best possible way and ensuring that the longitudinal axis of the same is always perpendicular to the surface containing said ring.
Therefore, the first simplification we are going to make is to eliminate the need for the initial tilt angle a. We are also going to eliminate the horizontal displacement of the system that some slide bars are provided. Instead, as noted, we will use the servicing carriage itself to provide us with that tracking.
There is also another element that we are going to eliminate and that is that due to the reduction in size and therefore also in weight, now we will not need to join the interior structure of the pod with any type of structure or lugs as was the case in said invention. Instead, we will support the sides of the servicing carriage in a simpler and lighter way.
As not everything can be advantages and simplifications, another difference with the invention that has been referred to, is that, due to the aforementioned reduction in sizes, the hose is now closer to the image sensors and that generates a first problem as it is that the emitters of electromagnetic radiation must be able to provide a very reduced exposure time so the higher rate pixels per unit time does not produce blur effects. (Which is colloquially called “moved images”). Therefore, the electromagnetic radiation emitters to be used are special with very low on-off switching time.
Finally, another great difference with the previous invention is that the pitch movement is allowed based on new turning mechanisms placed on both sides of the ring and that when the hose is pitching with respect to it, they result in the tracking of the ring in that vertical plane making it always be placed with the surface containing the ring perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hose. In addition, in more elaborate implementations improvements are introduced compared to the previous ones such as the use of x-rays to know the state of the internal structural elements of the hose.
Summary of the fundamental differences between this patent and the previous one is:
In short, this new application incorporates additional improvements that were not included in the previous one, as well as the deletion of elements that are no longer necessary while others are simplified.
The objective of this invention is a device that manages to obtain images of the entire hose with a sufficient quality to allow a later inspection of the same from the information provided by those images. To achieve this, this invention describes a system, which changes the position of image sensors and emitters of electromagnetic radiation, interactively with and continuously adjusting to the position of the hose, placing them in a very constant position relative to that hose, as it moves or tilts. This invention also refers to a method to illuminate and obtain images using the previous structure, along the retraction (or extension) of that hose that reveal the smallest details, in such a way as to ensure, without a doubt, the absence of damage in it. Another important goal is to ensure that there are no hose parts that have not been inspected.
The system described here achieves the above objectives, allowing the hose inspector ring to be positioned in an efficient way and with a simpler, more robust and durable system than in the previous state of the art.
Before proceeding to the description of the proposed system, it is advisable to carry out a basic analysis of the operation of a pod, as well as of the previous systems proposed to perform the hose inspection.
As shown in
The hose (2) at one end, has a small widening called coupling (10), usually metallic, with which it is connected to the side of the drum (4) and to which the fuel of the tanker plane arrives. At the other end, it ends in another coupling (10′) connected to a drogue or basket (7) in which the pilot of said receiving aircraft must dock. When this happens, the AR coupling in the basket (7) is connected to the AR probe of the receiving aircraft and the fuel supply can begin.
To cushion the hits that occur in the retraction of the hose (2) that ends in the aforementioned basket (7) and to prevent the basket itself (7) from being rolled onto the drum, a buffer spring (6) finishing in a braking sleeve (5) is placed in front of it surrounding the hose. When the hose (2) is wound onto the drum (4) and the braking sleeve (5) reaches the servicing carriage (3) it is blocked at its entrance based on the greater width of the braking sleeve (5). This causes the buffer spring (6) to compress and the arrival of the basket (7) to be cushioned, definitively blocking the entrance of the braking sleeve (5), the spring (6) and the basket (7) to the drum (4).
Once the operation and composition of the interior of a pod with regard to the part of this patent has been outlined, the objectives to be achieved as set out in the first paragraph of this document and the way in which each and every one of them will be resolved will be set out. It will also indicate the novelties, improvements and simplifications that this new invention brings.
The problems to be solved are:
And the way to solve them with the system resulting from this invention is as follows:
The system with all the mechanisms and elements that are indicated and that solve the hose following and other problems listed, must also be anchored or attached to somewhere, either inside the pod or to some other element with the ability or the property to follow the hose horizontally, so the system also has some fixings for this purpose. It should be noted that if the system is fixed to a moving element such as the servicing carriage (3) on the side of the drum is (4), in a first position such as (8), the size of the ring will be the minimum possible and will be given by the diameter of the coupling (10) of the end of the hose (2). On the other hand, if we look at the servicing carriage in a second position (9), then the ring must let the braking sleeve (5) and the buffer spring (6) pass and its adjustment elements of the enlargement and narrowing of its interior must allow a greater margin of change, which will also make the ring larger, precisely because it is placed in a position like that second position (9).
If there is no servicing carriage or similar, as would happen if we have the hose on the ground outside the pod, a drum and a servicing carriage similar to the existing one in the pod can be added to the system in order to affix the system object of the present invention to said last element and thus be able to perform the inspection operation on the ground. Therefore, the present invention would not be limited to its use in flight, but endowed with the appropriate additional elements would allow an inspection similar to that explained, but for its realization on land or even on a ship.
As a result of the changes introduced, the system consists of the following components:
These elements or some of them could all be located in the same place, especially the control part, in another place with a connection with the first.
As can be seen, the resulting new system is considerably simplified by the reduction in the number of elements that constitute it.
No horizontal sliding elements are needed because the very element to which the system is fixed is responsible for that function in addition to the inclination of the ring so that an angle a for the tilt structure is not needed either. It could even turn out that, depending on the quality demanded of the images that the system is going to generate, not even the elements that provide the pitch movement to improve the tracking of the hose are required.
And by the fact that the ring can now be more closely tuned to the hose (position (8)), the accuracy and quality of the images, will have improved substantially. Less variability is required in the focusing distances to get very sharp images. This system is simpler and generates better results.
Unless otherwise indicated, all the technical and scientific elements used herein have the meaning usually understood by a normal expert in the technique to which this invention belongs. In the practice of the present invention, processes and materials similar or equivalent to those described in this document may be used.
Throughout the description and claims, the expressions “comprises” or “is composed of” and their variants are not intended to exclude other technical characteristics, additives, components or steps. For experts in the field, other objects, advantages and characteristics of the invention will be derived in part from the description and in part from the practice of the invention.
The inspection procedure for the described system, comprises the following steps:
The system may store several recordings of the hose which may be downloaded from it for subsequent composition and display in a different location or for the post-processing and analysis immediately after such acquisition.
The later processing of images will consist of the composition in an image similar to the real one. This image can be in 2D or 3D depending on the degree of similarity that is intended between reality and the result of the information obtained. In the case of 3D, a three-dimensional image of the hose will be represented in a visualization subsystem that has 3D capability and a set of commands will allow the movement of the hose before the eyes of the operator to proceed with a remote manual inspection.
The inspection can be progressively automated until a complete automation is achieved based on recognition techniques with traditional algorithms or AI (Artificial Intelligence).
An important aspect to consider here is that the system must recognize the beginning and end of the hose data in order to ensure the integrity and completeness of that data ensuring that the entire length of interest of the hose has been acquired by the sensors.
Finally, it should be mentioned here again that when we talk about the power on of electromagnetic radiation emitters, we are referring to the turning on of each of the components of its matrix and maintained on during different times, in order to obtain a homogeneous illumination as explained in previous paragraphs of this document.
To complement this document's description and in order to help to a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to preferred examples of practical embodiments and accompanied as an integral part of said description, in a set of drawings where with illustrative and not limiting character, the following has been represented.
In
In
In
In view of the figures, two preferred modes of embodiment of the proposed invention are described below. Without limiting intention, these aim to highlight different realizations of specific and functional embodiments of the invention with the main purpose of illustrating in more detail, the properties that characterize it while seeking to point out the differences that distinguish it from any previous invention.
The system object of this invention is formed by a set of essential elements to which can be added other optional ones that respectively implement the fundamental functionalities that are claimed along this document with a set of improvements that facilitate the previous ones and add some new ones.
The fundamental high-level functionalities that the system aims for, can be common to those of others:
To obtain these functionalities or capabilities, the system must comply with a set of medium-level requirements that partly translate into the need to be composed of the elements detailed below and in part by their relative positions, their location and their way of use. All constitute a system capable of generating the basic functionalities and additional improvements in accordance with the above. In addition, with clear differences with other inventions. These differences represent essential advantages and a fundamental variation in terms of the elements that make up the invention.
The essential parts that constitute the system are:
In addition to these essential components, there are others whose importance is not so critical but which nevertheless brings up a significant improvement. Thus, we have:
There are also secondary elements that introduce appreciable improvements in the invention, as well as characteristics of the above that provide appreciable advantages in the system and which will be referred to below.
In
If we observe
For this very reason, two embodiments of the invention are shown here that differ essentially in the width of the elements that one or the other is able to let pass through its interior.
Starting with
Supporting this surrounding structure (17), there are horizontal shafts (18) on which the surrounding structure (17) above can rotate to give it a pitch movement (P) thanks to bearings. These bearings are in turn supported by axles or vertical bars (16) guiding cylinders provided with other bearings that can move along the bars. Around these vertical bars there are also spring dampers (31), in this case covered by other cylinders of increasing diameter by sections (to allow a retraction and an extension) that protect the springs from dirt of the environment. The above elements give the system a pitch movement (P) as indicated and a cushioned vertical movement (V) that will allow at all times to follow the inclinations and movements of the hose. The hose runs inside the servicing carriage (3) that this embodiment uses to follow the hose horizontally and to which we will fix the entire system that constitutes this invention. Therefore, in this embodiment, all the above will be attached to said servicing carriage (3) in the first position (8) so that when the hose is wound onto the drum (4), the horizontal movement (H) is provided to the system by the servicing carriage itself (3) in virtue of being attached to that servicing carriage (3) by means of the fastening structure (21). As mentioned, the only element that in this arrangement will have to pass through the interior of the system besides the hose will be the coupling (10) at its end and whose cross-section increment will be absorbed by the skates (14). Obviously, the drum (4) (when turning) is responsible for providing the hose with the longitudinal movement (L), necessary for the inspection of the entire length of the hose.
For the initial angle a and the yaw movement (Y), as a result of the proximity between the system and the element where it is going to be held, such as the servicing carriage (3) no compensation is necessary nor the elements that supply these compensation capabilities to the system. This happens in both embodiments of the invention.
In another preferred implementation such as the one in
The rest of the elements such as image sensors (15) and electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) will be similar. In this preferred embodiment only three image sensors have been used (15) without prejudice to being able to use more or less depending on factors such as the desired resolution in each section of the hose (2).
In both preferred embodiments, the electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) are composed by arrays of multiple emitters as can be seen in
That means that we have another way to control the number of photons that reach the hose from each of those points. It is enough to change the time duration at which each of them is on, within the exposure interval of the image sensor. We call this temporal equalization of light emitters. In short, we have an ability to equalize the light that reaches the hose from each of the emitters by placing it (including the emission angle towards the hose (2)) and by the time that each one is emitting photons. In this way together with the help of diffusers we can homogenize the light that the hose receives in the field of view of the image sensor and avoid saturated and/or very dark areas (over-and underexposure).
It is also important to highlight in these preferred embodiments the use of high-speed electromagnetic radiation emitters, that is, electromagnetic radiation emitters with a very low emission time while being able to emit a large amount of energy such as lasers or high-speed LEDs. This is necessary due to the high relative speed of the hose (2) with respect to the image sensors. In a typical case, the hose can go at a speed of about 1200 mm/sec. That implies that with a field of view along the hose of for example 40 mm and an image resolution of about 2000 pixels in that direction, we will have a resolution of 50 pixels per millimeter. If 1200 mm pass in one second, that gives 1200×50=60,000 pixels per second. That is, a pixel moves from one adjacent position to another in 1/60,000=about 16 microseconds. If we don't want to have any appreciable blur during the acquisition interval, we must set an exposure time that is a fraction of that time. That can be around a few microseconds. We can improve the situation in terms of exposure time, using a lower resolution image sensor, but we will lose image quality.
We can also increase the field of view with more angular lens, but again we will lose resolution. In short, even if we reach a compromise, we will still be in the order of a few tens of microseconds. This requires the use of image sensors of the type “global shutter” and emitters of electromagnetic radiation of very low emission time as proposed in the claims of this invention. Another proposed option is to employ very fast sensors with even a single image acquisition line to “scan” the hose. This would allow the use of line emitters that would illuminate only the line (or the area, in case of several lines), to be acquired by the sensor. Since the speed of acquisition of images of a sensor depends on the number of lines of this, we can take many more images per unit of time which, as said, allows us among other advantages to reduce the area to be illuminated.
Due to the variability, although small, of the position of the hose (2) and also due to the curvature of it surface and because these effects are added when you try to obtain images from very close, another problem appears that must be considered and solved. The focusing distance from the image sensor (15) to the hose (2) is small and in those circumstances the depth of field is also reduced. In short, we have a very reduced focal length and, a sufficient depth of field is still required. This involves a serious and difficult to meet compromise, to avoid blurry images. To solve that problem, in these preferred embodiments of the invention several different solutions have been followed:
Regarding the electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) used in these preferred implementations, additional polarization may be included to facilitate the disclosure of certain hose irregularities when we are interested in this type of inspection. That polarization can be global for the entire sensor or different for adjacent pixels.
What is essential is the lighting being homogeneous to avoid areas more illuminated than others and the subsequent effects of image too white or areas too black or dark. For this purpose, holographic diffusers (28) are used in these preferred embodiments that diffuse the light from discrete points, homogenizing it appropriately as indicated. This effect can also be obtained by similar procedures, using more conventional diffusers although with a higher loss of light.
In addition, the system may have energy storage elements or capacitors to temporarily store the energy that will later be extracted when demand arises, to turn on the emitters of electromagnetic radiation (27) and operate the system, thus not having to charge the power supply of the system with a peak consumption at the time of operation of the electromagnetic radiation emitters when high intensity is demanded at short emission times.
A possible way of embodying the set of electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) is high emitting intensity and switching frequency (>20,000 Hz) between on and off or a very low turning on time (<50 us). In addition, the set of electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) could not be located in the surrounding structure (27) but in another location from which the light can be carried out to that surrounding structure (27) by means of optical fibers. These electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) can be high speed LED technology or laser technology based and also some of them can generate patterns such as lines on the hose whose images are acquired by image sensors adapted to sense at those wavelengths.
In addition, as previously anticipated, part or all of the set of electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) can emit in the spectrum wavelength corresponding to x-rays (from 10 meters to 10 nanometers) and where the image sensors are adapted with their corresponding scintillators to convert the received electromagnetic radiation into visible light with the corresponding filters to be able to generate images with such radiation.
In another form of complementary or alternative embodiment, the image sensors (15) have electronics with the ability to compress the information represented by the images obtained and alternatively or in a complementary way the image sensors (15) can comprise electronics capable of storing the images obtained with the ability in addition to make image adjustments such as geometry correction, color and brightness correction. The latter electronics can be of the FPGA type that allows the programming of this type of processing in real time at high speed.
Optionally, in case that we want to mount the system outside the structure of a pod, the system is associated with a horizontal assist mechanism to the winding of the hose (similar to the servicing carriage) on a drum in order to be able to operate without the need for that pod, by passing the hose from a reel to the system, from the pod to the system or vice versa and similar combinations.
In addition to the elements specified above, the system comprises another set of subsystems with an electronic nature that are responsible for the control of the operation and the details related to it. These include a triggering subsystem for the on and off of each of the elements of the electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) and of the image sensors (15) that commanded by processing (24) and control (22) subsystems allow these elements to be synchronized with each other for the acquisition of the hose's images. As shown in
Another important element to consider within these preferred embodiments is the location and distribution of light emitters or electromagnetic radiation emitters in general, used for the acquisition of images by the sensor. Depending on the type of sensor to be used, the emitter must be in front of the sensor (in the case of x-rays) or in an appropriate place that provides the best possible homogeneous illumination.
Likewise, the generation of electromagnetic radiation or light that will then be emitted by the set of emitters or set of electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) placed on the ring, does not have to occur in the same ring, but the light energy can be injected by the ends of a set of optical fibers and carried to the ring from the location where said light generation occurs. The other ends of the fibers will be the light emitters or the electromagnetic radiation emitters (27) located in the ring.
Thanks to the clamping of the system to an element such as the servicing carriage (3) or another similar element, either inside the pod or in a ground system, it is possible to reduce the complexity necessary in the system when tracking the position of the hose as it moves horizontally, when passing through the inside of the ring. Thanks to that, the electromagnetic radiation emitters placed in it always illuminate the hose in the same way, so the images obtained with that lighting will be very uniform in terms of their light and image characteristics. This great advantage over any previous patent within the sector allows us with little effort, to obtain similar qualities in the images, without saturated areas or lack of light, which will be used to compose the overall image of the hose and therefore obtain a better quality when obtaining that global image of the object of inspection that is one of the fundamental objectives that are pursued.
Another indisputable advantage due to the location refers to the reliability of the system that will now not receive so many sudden hits of the hose to be inspected since this variation is controlled and even reduced according to the type of implementation.
It should be emphasized here that the invention described here does not carry horizontal sliding bars since it uses its attachment to the servicing carriage as an aid in obtaining such functionality. In the same way it also does not have a mechanism that moves the hose and makes it pass along the ring. What this invention claims, is a system that dispensing with these capabilities allows to solve the problem of inspection of the hose as long as it is placed and used in the manner specified here. And it is partly these simplifications and partly the advantages conferred by all the other elements and novelties that constitutes this invention that provide indisputable advantages and differences compared to previous inventions.
The embodiments explained here allow to obtain the said functionalities of the system and are not intended to be a limit to the invention exposed but to explain its operation and the differences with previous patents.
The inspection procedure presented is common to both preferred embodiments above and consists of the following steps:
The preferred system, in these implementations stores two hose recordings. One for the retraction, and another for the extension of the hose. Both can be downloaded from the system for later composition and visualization or post-processing and analysis can be done in real time if the processing capacity allows it. In that case, once the images have been recorded, they can be inspected and analyzed.
An important aspect to consider and remember here is that the system must recognize the ends of the hose in order to ensure the integrity of the data and also the completeness of the same, that is to ensure that the entire area of interest of the hose has been acquired by the sensors. This can be done based on the information obtained from the turn sensor (encoder) that controls the servicing carriage, although marks can also be placed on the hose to ensure this control. Knowing the angle of view of each image sensor and the distance to it from the hose we obtain a relationship between the length of the hose and the number of pixels obtained. That will also allow us to ensure that the entire length of the hose has been scanned as long as we ensure that there are no repeated images.
The subsequent processing of images will consist of the composition of the hose in an image similar to the real one. This image can be in 2D or 3D depending on the degree of similarity that is intended between reality and the result of the information obtained.
In the case of 3D, a three-dimensional image of the hose will be represented in a visualization subsystem that has 3D capability and a set of commands will allow a virtual movement of the hose for the operator to proceed to a remote manual inspection of it.
The inspection can be progressively automated until a complete automation is achieved based on recognition techniques with traditional algorithms or AI (Artificial Intelligence). In that case the composition will no longer be necessary.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/ES2021/070371 | 5/24/2021 | WO |
