JP6251474B2 - Underwater detection device and target display method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a method for displaying a target (such as a school of fish) in an underwater detection device.

  2. Description of the Related Art A fish finder (underwater detection device) that detects underwater and detects a school of fish is known. The fish finder transmits an ultrasonic wave toward underwater (usually right below), and receives an echo signal that is a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave. The fish finder then analyzes the echo signal to calculate fish school information that is information indicating the depth at which the fish school is present. The fish finder creates a fish detection image (target detection image) based on the fish information and displays it on the display unit. Patent document 1 discloses this kind of fish finder.

  The fish finder disclosed in Patent Document 1 calculates fish school information using a fish-shaped mark (fish school symbol). In addition, this fish finder detects the fish length by analyzing the echo signal, and changes the mode of the fish symbol according to the fish length.

US Pat. No. 7,663,974

  By the way, with the recent progress in display technology, the resolution of a display for displaying fish school information is increasing. Further, with the advancement of the technology of the processing apparatus, it is possible to calculate more fish school information by one transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves.

  For this reason, in recent fish detection images, it is conceivable that fish symbols are displayed overlapping each other as shown in FIG. In this case, the visibility of the user is lowered, and necessary fish symbols may be hidden.

  In addition to fish-shaped marks, fish symbols with numbers such as fish length may be used. In an underwater detection apparatus that displays this type of fish school symbol, it is conceivable that numerical values such as fish lengths are displayed in an overlapping manner as shown in FIG. In this case, the fish length may not be read correctly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object thereof is to provide an underwater detection device capable of generating a target detection image that is excellent in visibility and can accurately read necessary information. There is.

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, means for solving the problems and the effects thereof will be described.

According to the 1st viewpoint of this invention, the underwater detection apparatus of the following structures is provided. That is, the underwater detection device includes a transceiver, an echo signal processing unit, a display control unit, and a display unit. The transceiver transmits ultrasonic waves into the water and receives an echo signal that is a reflected wave thereof. The echo signal processing unit detects a target based on the echo signal. The display control unit sets a selective display range around the target in a priority order based on the water depth at which the target is detected for the target detected by the echo signal processing unit, and the selective target objects that are contained in the selective display range other than the target object set the display range is selected so that it does not appear. The display unit displays a target excluding the target selected by the display control unit among the targets detected by the echo signal processing unit on an image in which the vertical axis indicates water depth and the horizontal axis indicates time. .

Thereby, it can prevent that the target displayed on a display part interferes, information cannot be read, or visibility falls. In particular, since the presence / absence of display of the target is determined (decimated) based on a predetermined criterion rather than at random, an underwater detection video in accordance with the user's request or the like can be displayed. Moreover, the process which a display control part performs can be simplified by setting a priority in order with a shallow water depth or a deep order.

  The underwater detection device preferably has the following configuration. That is, the echo signal processing unit calculates fish school information based on the echo signal. The display control unit displays the fish school information using the fish school symbol in the selective display range.

  Thereby, a fish school symbol can be displayed in the mode in which fish school information is easy to visually recognize.

  In the underwater detection device, it is preferable that the predetermined reference is determined based on a time when the echo signal is acquired.

  Thereby, for example, by giving priority to a target with an old acquisition time, it is possible to prevent the target once displayed on the display unit from disappearing. On the other hand, by giving priority to a target with a new acquisition time, the latest target (position close to the ship) can be preferentially displayed. The latter configuration is particularly effective when the scale of the time axis in the underwater detection video is small.

  In the underwater detection device, it is preferable that the predetermined reference is determined based on a water depth of the target.

  Thereby, the process which a display control part performs can be simplified by setting a priority, for example in order with a shallow water depth or a deep order.

  In the underwater detection device, it is preferable that the predetermined reference is determined based on the size of the target.

  Thereby, for example, when aiming at a fish having a large fish body length, it is possible to prevent the corresponding fish school symbol from being thinned out.

  In the underwater detection device, it is preferable that the predetermined reference can be set by a user.

  Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent a target (such as a target fish) that the user pays attention from being thinned out.

  In the underwater detection device, it is preferable that the display control unit sets the selective display range around the target to be larger as the target displayed on the display unit is larger.

  Thereby, when the target displayed on the display unit is large, it is easy to overlap with other targets. Therefore, by setting the selective display range large, it is possible to reliably prevent the targets from overlapping.

  The underwater detection device preferably has the following configuration. That is, the display unit can display a mark indicating that a target exists and a numerical value related to the target side by side. The display control unit sets the selective display range larger when displaying the numerical value related to the target than when not displaying the numerical value related to the target.

  As a result, when a numerical value related to a target is displayed, the display area becomes large, so that it easily overlaps with other targets and numerical values. Therefore, by setting the selective display range large, this overlapping can be reliably prevented.

  The underwater detection device preferably has the following configuration. That is, the underwater detection device includes an order determination unit that determines the order of targets for setting the selective display range. The display control unit sets the selective display range in the order determined by the order determination unit for targets that are not included in the selective display range of other targets.

  Thereby, the selective display range can be set to the target with a simple process.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the following fish school information display method is provided. That is, this fish school information display method includes a transmission / reception process, an echo signal processing process, a display control process, and a display process. In the transmitting / receiving step, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted into the water and an echo signal that is a reflected wave is received. In the echo signal processing step, a target is detected based on the echo signal. In the display control step, for the target detected in the echo signal processing step, a selective display range is set around the target in a priority order based on the water depth at which the target is detected, and the selective target objects that are contained in the selective display range other than the target object set the display range is selected so that it does not appear. In the display step, the target excluding the target selected in the display control step is displayed on an image in which the vertical axis indicates water depth and the horizontal axis indicates time.

Thereby, it can prevent that the target displayed on a display part interferes, information cannot be read, or visibility falls. In particular, since the presence / absence of display of the target is determined (decimated) based on a predetermined criterion rather than at random, an underwater detection video in accordance with the user's request or the like can be displayed. Moreover, the process which a display control part performs can be simplified by setting a priority in order with a shallow water depth or a deep order.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the underwater detection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. A list showing information stored in association with fish school information. The figure which shows fish school detection image | video. Explanatory drawing which shows that a symbol display range and a selective display range change according to various conditions. Explanatory drawing which shows the process which thins out a fish school symbol. Explanatory drawing which shows the process which thins out a fish school symbol. Explanatory drawing which shows the state with which a fish school symbol and a numerical value have overlapped.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fish finder (underwater detection device) 10.

  The fish finder 10 transmits ultrasonic waves toward the water and receives an echo signal that is a reflected wave of the ultrasonic waves. The fish finder 10 analyzes the echo signal to calculate fish information which is information indicating the depth of fish and the length of the fish and the like, and displays it as a fish detection video.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fish finder 10 includes a control unit 11, a transmission circuit 12, a transmission / reception switch 13, a transceiver 14, a reception circuit 15, an A / D converter 16, and a display unit 17. And comprising.

  The transmission instruction unit 21 included in the control unit 11 generates a signal instructing the timing of generating an ultrasonic wave, the level of the ultrasonic wave, and the like, and outputs the signal to the transmission circuit 12.

  The transmission circuit 12 includes a trap circuit and the like, generates a pulse signal based on the signal received from the transmission instruction unit 21, and outputs the pulse signal to the transceiver 14 via the transmission / reception switch 13.

  The transmitter / receiver 14 is a vibrator attached to the ship bottom or the like, and transmits an ultrasonic wave toward underwater (for example, directly below) based on a signal received from the transmission circuit 12. The transmitter / receiver 14 receives the reflected wave reflected from the fish or the seabed as an echo signal. The transceiver 14 outputs the received echo signal to the reception circuit 15 via the transmission / reception switch 13.

  The transmission / reception switch 13 outputs the signal output from the transmission circuit 12 to the transmitter / receiver 14 and outputs the echo signal acquired by the transmitter / receiver 14 to the reception circuit 15.

  The receiving circuit 15 amplifies the input echo signal and outputs it to the A / D converter 16. The A / D converter 16 converts the input echo signal from an analog signal to a digital signal, and outputs it to the control unit 11.

  The echo signal processing unit 22 included in the control unit 11 detects the target by recording the echo signal input from the A / D converter 16 in a memory or the like and analyzing the echo signal. Specifically, the echo signal processing unit 22 calculates the state of the seabed and fish school information. The school of fish information is information about the school of fish, and includes, for example, a fish school acquisition time, an acquisition depth (water depth), a fish body length, and a fish type, as shown in FIG.

  The echo signal processing unit 22 can grasp the acquisition depth of the school of fish based on the time from when the ultrasonic wave is transmitted until the echo signal is received. Further, the echo signal processing unit 22 can measure the fish length using, for example, a known split beam method or dual beam method. Further, the echo signal processing unit 22 can also estimate the fish type in consideration of the shape, season, water depth, etc. of the echo signal. The school of fish information calculated by the echo signal processing unit 22 is stored in a memory (not shown).

  The display control unit 23 included in the control unit 11 creates a fish detection video as shown in FIG. 3 based on the information about the seabed and the fish school information calculated by the echo signal processing unit 22. The horizontal axis of the fish detection video is time, and the older the information is, the more it goes to the left in the figure. Further, the vertical axis of the fish detection image is the depth, and shows information at a deeper position as it goes to the lower side of the figure. In the fish detection video, an echo 51 indicating the seabed, a fish symbol 52, and the like are displayed. In FIG. 3, the fish symbol is composed of a mark indicating that a fish is present and a numerical value indicating the length of the fish, but the fish symbol may be composed of only one of them.

  The fish finder 10 can create and display a fish finder video as described above. As described above, the fish symbol 52 may overlap due to an increase in the amount of information that can be displayed on the fish detection video in recent years. In the present embodiment, this fish school symbol 52 can be prevented from overlapping by performing the following control.

  Hereinafter, the control performed by the fish finder 10 to prevent the overlap of fish symbols will be described. When displaying the fish symbol, the fish detector 10 sets a selective display range around the fish symbol, and performs control so that other fish symbols are not displayed in the selective display range. Prevent overlap of fish symbols.

  First, the symbol display range and the selective display range will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing that the symbol display range and the selective display range change according to various conditions.

  The symbol display range is a range in which the fish symbol is displayed on the display unit 17. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the fish symbol is large, the symbol display range (the range indicated by the solid line) is large. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the case of a fish school symbol including a numerical value such as a fish body length, the symbol display range becomes large. In FIG. 4, the symbol display range is rectangular, but it may be oval in addition to the rectangular shape, or a fish-shaped mark or a numerical outline itself may be set as the symbol display range.

  The selective display range is a range in which display / non-display of fish symbols located in the range can be selected. In the present embodiment, other fish school symbols are not displayed in this selective display range. The selective display range setting method (the order of setting and range, etc.) is performed based on a predetermined standard. This predetermined standard is arbitrary, and various standards can be considered. For example, from the viewpoint of appropriately preventing the overlap of fish school symbols (with the same interval between fish school symbols), a method of enlarging the selective display range as the symbol display range is larger can be considered. Specifically, FIG. 4A shows that the selective display range increases as the fish symbol increases. FIG. 4B shows that a fish symbol including a numerical value indicating the fish length and the like has a larger selective display range than a fish symbol that does not display this numerical value.

  In addition, the size of the selective display range to be set can be changed according to a user instruction or the like, for example. In FIG. 4C, in order from the top, a method for setting the selective display range outside the symbol display range, a method for matching the symbol display range and the selective display range, and selective selection inside the symbol display range. A method for setting the display range (a method for making the selective display range smaller than the symbol display range) is shown. The selective display range may be created by multiplying the symbol display range by a predetermined amount, or may be created by offsetting a line segment constituting the symbol display range by a predetermined amount.

  Next, a specific processing flow when a selective display range is set and a fish symbol is displayed on the display unit 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing processing for thinning out fish school symbols.

  In the fish finder 10, the order in which the selective display range is set is determined based on the initial setting or the user's instruction or the like (predetermined reference). Naturally, if the order of setting the selective display ranges is different, the fish symbols to be thinned out are different. In this embodiment, as a standard for determining the order in which the selective display range is set, the one with the oldest acquisition time of the fish school information is given the highest priority. To do.

  Hereinafter, it is assumed that the fish finder 10 generates fish school symbols 31 to 36 as shown in FIG. 5A by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. Note that the fish finder 10 does not display the fish symbol on the display unit 17 when the fish symbol is created, and after the processing by the display control unit 23 or the like, only the predetermined fish symbol is displayed on the display unit 17. . In order to simplify the description, in the following description, it is assumed that the symbol display range and the selective display range of the created fish school symbol are all the same.

  First, the order determination unit 24 of the control unit 11 determines the order in which the selective display range is set. The order determination unit 24 performs the ordering based on the acquisition time, which is the highest priority item, but cannot obtain the ordering based on the acquisition time because the acquisition times of the fish symbols 31 to 36 are the same. Therefore, the order determination unit 24 performs ordering based on the acquisition depth so that the fish symbol at the shallow position is given priority. Thereby, the order of setting the selective display range is the order of the fish symbols 31, 32,.

  Accordingly, the display control unit 23 first sets a selective display range for the fish school symbol 31 (see FIG. 4B). Since the fish symbol 31 is not in the selective display range of the other fish symbols, it is determined that it is displayed. On the other hand, since the symbol display ranges of the fish school symbols 32 and 33 are within the selective display range of the fish school symbols 31, it is determined that they are not displayed. In this way, the fish symbol is not displayed if at least a part of the symbol display range is within the selective display range of other fish symbols.

  Next, since the fish school symbols 32 and 33 are not displayed, the display control unit 23 sets a selective display range for the fish school symbol 34 (see FIG. 4C). Accordingly, as described above, it is determined that the fish school symbol 34 is displayed, and it is determined that the fish school symbol 35 is not displayed.

  Next, since the fish school symbol 35 is not displayed, the display control unit 23 sets a selective display range for the fish school symbol 36 (see FIG. 5A). Accordingly, it is determined that the fish school symbol 35 is displayed as described above. In FIG. 5A, the selective display range of the fish school symbol 34 and the selective display range of the fish school symbol 36 overlap, but the selective display ranges are allowed to overlap. Then, the display control unit 23 displays the fish symbols 31, 34, and 36 determined to be displayed on the display unit 17 together with echoes indicating the seabed and the like.

  Next, it is assumed that the fish finder 10 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves again and creates the fish symbols 41 to 44 (see FIG. 5B). Since there is a new fish school symbol (unprocessed fish school symbol), the order determination unit 24 determines the order in which the selective display range is set again. In the present embodiment, since the acquisition time has the highest priority, the fish symbols 31 to 36 are given priority over the fish symbols 41 to 44. Accordingly, the display / non-display of the fish school symbols 31 to 36 does not change. Thus, in this embodiment, giving priority to the acquisition time prevents the fish symbols once displayed from disappearing, so that the user can be prevented from being confused.

  The order determination unit 24 then orders the fish symbols 41 to 44 having the same acquisition time so that the fish symbols at the shallow position are given priority. Thereby, the order of setting the selective display range is the order of the fish school symbols 41, 42, 43, and 44.

  Therefore, the display control unit 23 sets a selective display range for the fish school symbol 41 (see FIG. 5C). Therefore, it is determined that the fish school symbol 41 is displayed as described above. The fish symbols 42 to 44 are determined not to be displayed because they are within the selective display range of other fish symbols. Thereby, the display control part 23 displays the fish school symbol 41 on the display part 17 with the echo etc. which show the seabed.

  By performing thinning out of the fish symbols in this way, the fish symbols can be prevented from overlapping each other and the visibility can be improved. If a large amount of information is to be displayed at the expense of visibility, a desired fish detection video can be displayed by narrowing the selective display range as shown in FIG. 4C. it can.

  As described above, the fish finder 10 of this embodiment includes the transceiver 14, the echo signal processing unit 22, the display unit 17, and the display control unit 23. The transceiver 14 transmits an ultrasonic wave into the water and receives an echo signal that is a reflected wave thereof. The echo signal processing unit 22 calculates fish school information based on the echo signal. The display unit 17 displays fish school information using fish school symbols. The display control unit 23 sets a selective display range around the fish school symbol displayed on the display unit 17 on the basis of a predetermined criterion so that other fish school information is not displayed in the set selective display range. To control.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent the fish symbols displayed on the display unit 17 from interfering with each other to prevent information from being read or the visibility from being lowered. In particular, because the fish symbols are thinned out based on a predetermined criterion rather than at random, it is possible to display an underwater detection video in accordance with a user's request or the like.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the above configuration can be modified as follows, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the order of setting the selective display range is determined based on the acquisition time and the acquisition depth. However, the order may be determined based on other matters. For example, if there is a target fish species, the order of the fish species (or fish length of the corresponding fish species) is determined so that priority is given, so that the fish symbol indicating the corresponding fish species has priority. Displayed.

  A new fish symbol may be given priority instead of an old fish symbol with an acquisition time, or a fish symbol with a deep acquisition depth may be given priority instead of a fish symbol with a shallow acquisition depth. Note that when the scale of the horizontal axis (time axis) of the fish detection image is small, priority is given to the new fish school symbol because the most recently obtained fish school information is not displayed much if the old fish school symbol is prioritized. In addition to the items described above, the order in which the selective display range is set may be determined based on various items.

  In the above embodiment, when another fish school symbol is located within the selective display range, it is configured not to display, but it is also possible to display the fish school symbol based on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. . As a result, symbols can be thinned out, and particularly important fish symbols can be prevented from being thinned out.

  In the above embodiment, the selective display range is set for the fish symbol indicating the fish school information, but the selective display range may be set for another target. Further, the result of processing the echo signal without using the fish symbol may be displayed as a fish detection video (underwater detection video). Even in this case, the visibility of the fish detection video can be improved.

  The display unit 17 may be configured integrally with the control unit 11 or may be physically separated from the control unit 11 as long as an image created by the control unit 11 is displayed. The display unit 17 may be a general-purpose display device connected to a radar device or the like.

10 Fish finder (underwater detector)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Control part 12 Transmission circuit 13 Transmission / reception switch 14 Transmitter / receiver 15 Reception circuit 16 A / D converter 17 Display part 21 Transmission instruction | indication part 22 Echo signal process part 23 Display control part 24 Order determination part

Claims (10)

A transmitter / receiver that transmits ultrasonic waves into the water and receives an echo signal that is a reflected wave thereof,
An echo signal processing unit for detecting a target based on the echo signal;
For the target detected by the echo signal processing unit, a selective display range is set around the target in a priority order based on the water depth at which the target is detected, and the selective display range is set. a display control unit thing that comes in the selective display range other than the target mark is chosen to be not displayed,
Among the targets detected by the echo signal processing unit, a display unit that displays a target excluding the target selected by the display control unit on a video in which the vertical axis indicates water depth and the horizontal axis indicates time,
An underwater detection device comprising: The underwater detection device according to claim 1,
The echo signal processing unit calculates fish school information based on the echo signal,
The said display part displays the said fish school information using the fish school symbol which shows the target displayed on the said display part, The underwater detection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The underwater detection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The display control unit further sets the selective display range in a priority order based on a time when the echo signal is received . The underwater detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The display control unit further sets the selective display range in a priority order based on the size of the target detected by the echo signal processing unit . The underwater detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The underwater detection apparatus , wherein the display control unit further sets the selective display range in a priority order based on a user instruction. An underwater detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The underwater detection device, wherein the display control unit sets the selective display range around the target to be larger as the target displayed on the display unit is larger. The underwater detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
On the display unit, a mark indicating a target displayed on the display unit and a numerical value related to the target can be displayed side by side,
The display control unit, when displaying a numerical value related to a target, sets the selective display range larger than when not displaying a numerical value related to a target, . The underwater detection device according to claim 3,
The display control unit sets the selective display range around the target in a priority order in which the time when the echo signal is received for the target is prioritized over the water depth at which the target is detected. An underwater detector. The underwater detection device according to claim 8,
The underwater detection device, wherein the display control unit sets the selective display range around the target by increasing the priority order as the time when the echo signal for the target is received is older. A transmission / reception step of transmitting an ultrasonic wave into the water and receiving an echo signal that is a reflected wave thereof;
An echo signal processing step of detecting a target based on the echo signal;
For the target detected in the echo signal processing step, a selective display range is set around the target in a priority order based on the water depth at which the target is detected, and the selective display range is set. a display control step of those that are contained in the selective display range other than the target mark is chosen to be not displayed,
A display step of displaying the target excluding the target selected in the display control step on an image in which the vertical axis indicates water depth and the horizontal axis indicates time;
The target display method characterized by including.

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