Ultraviolet sensing apparatus with mirror amplification
AssigneeUnited States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA
InventorsAndrew J. Moore, Nicholas H. Rymer, Matthew R. Schubert
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments may enable the detection and localization of power line corona discharges and/or electrical arcs by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including an ultraviolet (UV) sensor and a reflective parabolic dish. In various embodiments, the UV sensor may use the photoelectric effect to sense narrow-band UV photons in a Geiger-Mueller tube and circuit configuration. In various embodiments, the reflective parabolic dish may be fixed relative to the UV sensor and include a reflective concave surface. The reflective concave surface may be configured to reflect narrow-band UV photons toward the UV sensor.
Claims20
An ultraviolet (UV) sensing apparatus configured to detect narrow-band UV photons emitted from a high voltage corona discharge, comprising:
- a UV sensor configured to detect narrow-band UV photons emitted from a high voltage corona discharge in a field of view facing in a first direction;
- and
- a reflective dish fixed relative to the UV sensor, wherein the reflective dish includes a reflective concave surface facing the UV sensor in a second direction, wherein the reflective concave surface is configured to reflect the narrow-band UV photons toward the UV sensor.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, comprising:
- a UAV body;
- an ultraviolet (UV) sensing apparatus coupled to the UAV body, wherein the UV sensing apparatus includes a UV sensor facing a reflective concave surface of a reflective dish, wherein the UV sensor is configured to detect narrow-band UV photons emitted from a high voltage corona discharge and reflected off the reflective concave surface;
- and
- a processor in communication with the UV sensing apparatus, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:
- controlling a flight control of the UAV to fly the UAV along a selected route;
- and
- determining whether a corona or arc is detected along the selected route based on UV measurements received from the UV sensing apparatus, wherein the corona or arc is generated by a power system.
A method for detection and localization of corona discharges or electrical arcs by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
- controlling a flight control of the UAV by a processor of the UAV to fly the UAV along a selected route;
- and
- detecting, by the processor of the UAV, a corona or arc along the selected route based on ultraviolet (UV) measurements received from a UV sensing apparatus on the UAV, wherein the UV sensing apparatus includes a UV sensor facing a reflective concave surface of a reflective parabolic dish, wherein the UV sensor is configured to detect narrow-band UV photons reflected off the reflective concave surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.