US 11,988,550 B1
Apparatus for detecting contamination on glass dome of solar radiation observing sensor
Kyu Young Reno Choi, Seogwipo-si (KR); Ki Hoon Kim, Seogwipo-si (KR); So Ra In, Seogwipo-si (KR); and Min Woo Kim, Seogwipo-si (KR)
Assigned to National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Seogwipo-si (KR)
Filed by National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Seogwipo-si (KR)
Filed on Oct. 27, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/384,787.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2022-0142952 (KR), filed on Oct. 31, 2022.
Int. Cl. G01J 1/42 (2006.01); G01J 1/04 (2006.01)
CPC G01J 1/42 (2013.01) [G01J 1/0411 (2013.01); G01J 2001/4266 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for detecting a contamination on a glass dome of a solar radiation observing sensor, comprising:
the solar radiation observing sensor;
the glass dome, installed in a first region of a support plate, made of a medium having a predetermined thickness surrounding the solar radiation observing sensor;
a light source, wherein artificial light emitted from the light source is allowed to be incident on the medium of the glass dome at a predetermined angle and thus the artificial light incident on the medium of the glass dome is allowed to undergo total internal reflection within the medium of the glass dome,
a light-collecting lens configured to collect (i) natural light transmitted from a first outside region of the glass dome to a second outside region of the glass dome and (ii) a part of the artificial light diffusedly reflected to the second outside region by a contaminated region on the surface of the glass dome, wherein an upper outside of the glass dome is referred to as the first outside region and a lower outside of the glass dome is referred to as the second outside region and wherein the light-collecting lens is installed in a second region of the support plate and an outer perimeter of the second region is closer to a center of the support plate than an outer perimeter of the first region; and
a contamination-detecting sensor configured to detect the contamination, wherein the contamination-detecting sensor measures the natural light and the artificial light collected by the light-collecting lens;
and the apparatus further comprising:
a beam splitter configured to deliver a part of the natural light and the artificial light collected by the light-collecting lens to the contamination-detecting sensor and deliver a remaining part of the natural light and the artificial light collected by the light-collecting lens to the solar radiation observing sensor;
wherein the light-collecting lens is positioned at a top of the beam splitter, and a light path passing through the beam splitter is matched with a predetermined spot of the solar radiation observing sensor.