KR20170032724A - System for checking leakage of underground pipe - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water leakage detection system, and more particularly to a water leakage detection system which includes a plurality of sensing modules installed at one side of a pipeline along a pipeline buried in the ground or at a joint of pipelines and generating sensing information on underground environmental information; An intermediate processing unit connected to the sensing module, which is distributed in a predetermined area, through the first line to collect the inherent code and sensing information of each sensing module and supply power to each sensing module; And a central server for receiving the inherent code and sensing information of each sensing module collected by the intermediate processing unit and detecting whether or not the duct is leaking and determining the position of the duct when a leak occurs, And more particularly, to a leak detection system for a buried pipe in which a sensing module having an advantage of being able to accurately grasp and perform maintenance immediately, and being easy to install and having improved workability.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a leak detection system for a submerged pipe,

The present invention relates to a water leakage detection system, and more particularly, to a water leakage detection system which is installed in a paved line or a newly installed pipeline, detects leakage, detects a point at the time of occurrence of leakage, The present invention relates to a leak detection system for a buried pipe to which a module is applied.

In the context of increasing unevenness of rainfall due to climate change and increasing population and water usage due to urbanization, the disparity of supply and demand is intensifying. Therefore, management of water supply network is one of the most basic and important matters in the management of tap water It is one.

In general, the water supply network accounts for about 70% of the water supply facilities, but the maintenance of the water supply network is inadequate. In Korea, the amount of water leakage during the process of supplying water is 640 million ㎥ (2.1 times that of Namkang dam in 2010), and the amount of water leaked in the last 10 years is 7.5 billion ㎥.

In addition, the reliability of tap water is deteriorating due to aging of pipe network and deterioration of water quality caused by improper supply system.

In addition, the management of leaks is essential for the network to be installed for the purpose of gas and oil supply, not only to reduce the loss but also to prevent major accidents.

In order to detect such leakage, a variety of techniques have been proposed in the past. In particular, in the case of a water pipe, a leakage sensor disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2007-0005234 has been proposed. However, Is installed to detect the leakage of the chemical by winding it on a pipe or the like. In this case, the installation cost and the construction period are excessively required to be applied to a wide range of waterworks pipe network, and it is difficult to precisely detect the leakage point This will remain.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2007-0005234

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve the problems in the conventional technology. Accordingly, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a water- And an object of the present invention is to provide a leak detection system for a buried pipe to which an excellent sensing module is applied.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a leakage detection system of a buried pipe to which a sensing module according to the present invention is applied is installed at a joint of a pipe or a pipe along a pipe buried in the ground, and generates sensing information about underground environmental information A plurality of sensing modules; An intermediate processing unit connected to the sensing module, which is distributed in a predetermined area, through the first line, collects unique code and sensing information of each sensing module, and supplies power to each sensing module; And a central server for receiving the inherent code and sensing information of each sensing module collected by the intermediate processing unit to detect whether the duct is leaking or not and to locate the duct when a leak is generated.

For example, the sensing module may include a sensing unit to which at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a vibration sensor is applied; And a data unit for receiving and storing a unique code for each sensing module, collecting sensing information generated through the sensing unit, and transmitting the collected sensing information to the intermediate processing unit via the first line

As another example, the sensing module may include a sensing unit to which at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a vibration sensor is applied; A data unit which stores a unique code assigned to each of a plurality of sensing modules, collects sensing information generated through the sensing unit, and transmits the collected sensing information to the intermediate processing unit via the first line; And an RFID tag that stores positional information and channel information of a channel in which the sensing module is installed and communicates with a reader on the ground through a radio wave.

In this case, the sensing unit, the data unit, and the RFID tag are integrally coupled to receive power from the intermediate processing unit through the first line.

Further, the RFID tag is spaced apart from the sensing unit and the data unit, and the RFID tag is spaced apart from the ground.

In addition, the RFID tag is configured to receive power from the intermediate processing unit and the second line.

As described above, in the leakage detection system of the buried pipe to which the sensing module according to the present invention is applied, the leakage information can be obtained through the sensing information and the pipe information generated from the sensing module, the data module, and the sensing module, It is possible to accurately grasp the position of the pipeline in the event of leakage, and to perform maintenance immediately.

1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a water leakage detection system according to the present invention;
2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a sensing module which is an embodiment of the present invention;
3 shows another embodiment of a sensing module which is an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing an embodiment in which the sensing module of FIG. 3 is applied to the leakage detection system according to the present invention.
5 is a view showing another embodiment in which the sensing module of FIG. 3 is applied to the leakage detection system according to the present invention.
6 is a view showing another embodiment in which the sensing module of FIG. 3 is applied to the leakage detection system according to the present invention.
7 is a view showing an example in which a digital flow meter is applied to a water leakage detection system according to the present invention.

In describing the present invention, terms and words used in the present specification and claims are to be construed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, on the basis that the inventor can properly define the concept of a term in order to best explain his invention It should be construed as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a leakage detection system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of a sensing module which is a constitution of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a view showing an embodiment in which the sensing module of FIG. 3 is applied to the leakage detection system according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment in which the sensing module of FIG. 3 is applied to the leakage detection system according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view showing another embodiment in which the sensing module of FIG. 3 is applied to the leakage detection system according to the present invention.

The leak detection system of a buried pipe to which the sensing module according to the present invention is applied can be easily installed in a buried pipe or a newly buried pipe, and it can detect the leakage around the pipe, Such as the maintenance of the pipeline in which the gas is generated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the leakage detection system of a buried pipe to which the sensing module according to the present invention is applied includes a sensing module 100, an intermediate processing unit 200, and a central server 300.

As shown in the figure, a plurality of sensing modules 100 are installed along a channel 1 buried in the ground. The sensing module 100 is installed at one side of the channel 1, inside the channel 1, or at a joint portion of the channel 1 To measure the temperature and humidity around the conduit 1 or to measure the pressure of the fluid flowing in the conduit 1 and the vibration occurring in the conduit 1. [

The intermediate processing unit 200 is connected to the plurality of sensing modules 100 distributed in a predetermined area by the first line 10 and is configured to collect various sensing information generated from the sensing module 100.

At this time, the administrator may be configured to assign a unique code to each sensing module 100 through the intermediate processing unit 200 or the central server 300. For example, the sensing module 100 may include a sensing module The sensing module 100 can be divided into a first sensing module 100-1, a second sensing module 100-2, an n-th sensing module 100-n, It is possible to track the position of the pipeline 1 through the unique code.

The intermediate processing unit 200 supplies power to the respective sensing modules 100 through the first line 10 and supplies the power to the sensing modules 100 through the first line 10, To the intermediate processing unit (200).

The central server 300 receives the intrinsic code value and the sensing information value of each sensing module 100 collected in the intermediate processing unit 200 and detects the leakage and the leakage position of the pipeline 1. When the temperature and humidity values of the sensing module 100 installed along the conduit 1 are constant and the temperature and humidity values of the specific sensing module 100 change, In comparison, when the temperature is low or the humidity is high, it is possible to detect occurrence of leakage in the pipeline 1.

When the leak is detected, the central server 300 can track the position of the pipeline 1 through the inherent code of the corresponding sensing module 100, so that immediate maintenance can be performed.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the sensing module 100, which is a constitution of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG.

First, the first embodiment of the sensing module 100 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

The sensing module 100 according to the present embodiment includes a sensing unit 110 and a data unit 120 as shown in FIG.

It is preferable that the sensing unit 110 is applied to at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor and a vibration sensor. In this case, it is preferable to apply the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor together. It is possible to judge that the leakage of the duct 1 occurs more accurately in the central server 300 based on the decrease of the soil temperature and the increase of the humidity when leakage occurs. If only one of the temperature sensor or the humidity sensor is applied, If the temperature of the soil is lowered due to a reason other than the above, it may be mistaken as a leakage of the pipeline (1). To compensate for this, the temperature and humidity sensing values are compared together. So that it is possible to detect leakage more accurately.

Also, when the sensing module 100 is distributed along the channel 1, even when the temperature and humidity values of a certain region are changed due to rain or the like, it is compared with the sensing information change amount of the surrounding sensing module 100, It will not be mistaken.

When a pressure sensor is applied to the sensing unit 110, the pressure sensor is installed inside the conduit 1, and when a fluid flows in the conduit 1, The server can judge whether or not the pipeline 1 is leaked.

In addition, when the vibration sensor is applied to the sensing unit 110, the vibration sensor may be attached to the outer surface of one side of the conduit 1, and a piezoelectric device may be applied as the vibration sensor.

The piezoelectric element is configured to convert a vibration signal generated by a fluid flowing in the conduit (1) into an electrical signal sensing information.

Although not shown, a plurality of sensing modules 100 are installed in the pipeline 1 at predetermined intervals, and sensing information, which is a vibration signal of a fluid flowing inside the pipeline 1, is measured at each installation point. When a fluid flows through the conduit 1, a vibration signal of a certain frequency band is generated by the pressure. That is, when the fluid does not flow in the conduit 1, a vibration signal is generated The amount of the fluid flowing after passing through the leak point and the amount of the fluid flowing after passing through the leak point are set to be equal to each other. So that the vibration signal also changes.

Therefore, when the vibration signal of the pipeline 1 is measured at all times, it is possible to detect whether or not the pipeline 1 leaks.

Piezoelectric, Piezo ceramic, Piezo quartz, etc. can be used as these piezoelectric elements. Since these piezoelectric elements are high in accuracy and relatively low in cost, It is possible to prevent the installation cost from being burdensome even if a plurality of units are installed.

Then, the data unit 120 stores a unique code assigned to each sensing module 100, collects various sensing information generated through the sensing unit 110, and transmits the sensed information to the first line 10 The central server 300 can distinguish and analyze the sensing information for each sensing module 100 based on the unique code assigned to each sensing module 100 will be.

At this time, the manager can assign a unique code for each sensing module 100 through an input device (not shown) provided in the central server 300 or the intermediate processing unit 200. When the network is increased or decreased, It is possible to freely edit the inherent code assigned to the sensing module 100, for example.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the sensing module 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The sensing module 100 according to the present embodiment includes the sensing unit 110 and the data unit 120 as well as the RFID tag 130 as in the first embodiment.

The RFID tag 130 is configured to communicate with the reader 30 on the ground via the radio waves, in which the positional information and channel information of the channel 1 on which the sensing module 100 is installed are stored.

Here, the pipeline information refers to unique information such as a date of burial, a burial engine, a burial depth, a burial position, a burial direction, a material, a diameter, and production information for each pipeline (1). Based on the pipeline information, 1) It is possible to provide faster operation information during repair and replacement work.

The reader 30 is disposed on the RFID tag 130 and can receive positional information and channel information of the corresponding channel 1 from the RFID tag 130. The reader 30 can receive information 300 to transmit the positional information and channel information of the channel 1 received from the RFID tag 130 to the central server 300.

According to the above configuration, the central server 300 detects the position of the pipeline 1 at the time of occurrence of leakage through sensing information of the sensing unit 110, pipeline information of the RFID tag 130, and position information of the pipeline 1 It is possible to detect accurately.

The sensing module 100 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the sensing unit 110, the data unit 120, and the RFID tag 130 are integrally formed as one module. As shown in FIG. 3, The sensing information and the unique code collected in the data unit 120 are transmitted to the intermediate processing unit 200 via the first line 10 and the sensing unit 110 and the RFID So that power can be supplied to the tag 130.

Hereinafter, an example in which the sensing module 100 according to the present embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the sensing module 100 according to the present embodiment is a module concept in which the sensing unit 110, the data unit 120, and the RFID tag 130 are integrally formed. The central server 300 receives the sensing information through the intermediate processing unit 200 and receives the position information of the channel 1 matched with the sensing information through the reader 30, It is possible to detect the leakage of the pipeline 1 by receiving the pipeline information and promptly identify the pipeline 1 at the time of occurrence of leakage, thereby enabling quick maintenance.

5 shows an example in which the RFID tag 130 is disposed above the sensing unit 110 and the data unit 120. This is because the channel 1 buried in the ground is placed on the topography and the ground environment In order to smoothly communicate with the reader 30 on the ground through radio waves, the RFID tag 130 is embedded in the ground relatively close to the ground so that the RFID tag 130 is kept at a predetermined distance from the ground, It is possible to smoothly receive information from the RFID tag 130 embedded in the RFID tag 130.

The sensing unit 110 and the data unit 120 may be connected to the intermediate processing unit 200 through the first line 10 and may be connected to the communication unit and the sensing unit 110 of the data processing unit 120 and the intermediate processing unit 200, The RFID tag 130 is connected to the intermediate processing unit 200 and the second line 20 as shown in the figure so that the RFID tag 130 can be powered It is preferable to configure it to be always supplied.

According to this embodiment, since it is possible to supply power to the RFID tag 130 at all times, it is unnecessary to replace the battery of the RFID tag 130, and semi-permanent use becomes possible.

6, the RFID tag 130 is spaced apart from the sensing unit 110 and the data unit 120. When the RFID reader 130 requests channel information from the reader 30 on the ground, 130 are configured to communicate the stored pipeline information to the reader 30.

The RFID tag 130 according to the present embodiment is advantageous in that it can be easily installed in various construction environments, but it is configured to be wrapped by a separate protective case (not shown) so as not to be damaged by pressure or impact in the ground .

Hereinafter, an example in which the flow meter 400 is further applied to the leakage detection system of a buried pipe to which the sensing module according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the flow meter 400 is connected to the intermediate processing unit 200. Here, the intermediate processing unit 200 includes sensing information collected by the sensing module 100 in a predetermined area, The flow meter 400 collects the flow rate value measured in the pipe in a certain area and measures the sum of the flow rate in the pipe passing through the certain area, and the collected flow rate value is transmitted to the central processing unit (200) to the central server (300).

Here, the flow meter 400 can be applied to various types of flow meter for measuring the flow rate in the conduit, and it is needless to say that both the analog type and the digital type flow meter can be applied in this embodiment.

According to the above-described structure, when a flow rate value is compared between a certain area connected to a pipeline and another predetermined area, it is possible to suspect the occurrence of a leak in the corresponding area when there is a difference in flow value between them. A more accurate leak detection system can be operated by allowing the sensing module 100 to proceed with the leak detection operation according to the embodiment described above in the secondary suspected area.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, Of the right.

1: Pipeline 10: Line 1
20: second line 30: reader
100: sensing module 200: intermediate processor
300: central server 400: flow meter

Claims (7)

A plurality of sensing modules installed at one side of the pipeline along the pipeline buried in the ground or at a joint part of the pipeline to generate sensing information on the underground environmental information;
An intermediate processing unit connected to the sensing module, which is distributed in a predetermined area, through the first line, collects unique code and sensing information of each sensing module, and supplies power to each sensing module;
A central server for receiving a unique code and sensing information of each sensing module collected by the intermediate processing unit to detect whether the pipeline is leaking, and to locate the pipeline when a leak occurs;
And a sensing module for sensing the leakage of the buried channel to which the sensing module is applied.
The method according to claim 1,
The sensing module
A sensing unit to which at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a vibration sensor is applied;
A data unit for receiving and storing a unique code for each sensing module, collecting sensing information generated through the sensing unit, and transmitting the collected sensing information to the intermediate processing unit via the first line;
And a sensing module for sensing the leakage of the buried channel to which the sensing module is applied.
The method according to claim 1,
The sensing module
A sensing unit to which at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a vibration sensor is applied;
A data unit which stores a unique code assigned to each of a plurality of sensing modules, collects sensing information generated through the sensing unit, and transmits the collected sensing information to the intermediate processing unit via the first line;
An RFID tag for storing positional information and channel information of a channel provided with the sensing module and communicating with a reader on the ground;
And a sensing module for sensing the leakage of the buried channel to which the sensing module is applied.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the sensing unit, the data unit, and the RFID tag are integrally coupled to receive power from the intermediate processing unit through the first line.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the RFID tag is spaced apart from the sensing unit and the data unit, wherein the RFID tag is spaced apart from the ground surface.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the RFID tag is configured to receive power through the intermediate processing unit and the second line.
The method according to claim 1,
One or more flow meters are connected to the intermediate processing unit,
The flow meter
One or more flow rate values, which are measured at the sum of the flow rates in the pipeline, are transmitted to the intermediate processing section,
The intermediate processing unit transmits the measured flow rate value to the central server,
Wherein the central server is configured to compare the flow rate value of each intermediate processing unit to determine whether or not the leak is within a predetermined area.

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