JPH022494A - Illegal parking monitor system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically decide illegal parking by recognizing the vehicle number of an illegally parked vehicle in an picked-up image obtained over the whole monitor area, and when the recognition time of the same parked vehicle reaches a set time, outputting a vehicle number signal relating to the illegal parking. CONSTITUTION:An image picked up by a camera 1 is obtained over the whole monitor area. A recognizing means 20 recognizes the vehicle number of an illegally parked vehicle from the image. When the recognition time of the same parked vehicle reaches the set time, an output means 22 decides the vehicle as an illegally parked vehicle and outputs the vehicle number signal of the same parked vehicle as a vehicle number signal relating to the illegal parking.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illegal parking monitoring system for monitoring parking time of parked vehicles.

(Prior Art and its Problems) Vehicles illegally parked on the roadside cause traffic congestion, and parked vehicles near intersections in particular seriously impede traffic flow.

Such enforcement of illegally parked vehicles is normally carried out by police patrols, but if the enforcement has to target a large number of vehicles in a wide patrol area, it may require a large number of police officers. There was a problem.

In addition, the conventional method of cracking down on illegal parking has been to check illegally parked vehicles in the absence of the driver of the parked vehicle and detect illegally parked vehicles, but it is not always necessary to proactively park in illegal parking areas. Since the law does not aim to prevent traffic jams from occurring, it has been difficult to achieve any real enforcement effect that would help avoid traffic congestion.

Recently, methods have been developed in which surveillance cameras are installed near illegal parking surveillance areas, the surveillance cameras are remotely controlled by a central control center, and the images obtained are monitored to determine illegally parked vehicles. However, since it is necessary for humans to monitor the images and determine which vehicles are illegally parked, it is still time-consuming and does not produce the substantial enforcement effect described above.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an illegal parking monitoring system that automatically and quickly determines illegally parked vehicles without requiring any human effort. purpose.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an illegal parking monitoring system that exhibits a real-time enforcement effect that leads to the avoidance of traffic congestion and the like.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an effective illegal parking monitoring system near intersections.

(Structure and Effects of the Invention) In order to achieve such an object, the illegal parking monitoring system of the present invention according to claim (1) includes a means for imaging a vehicle number on a license plate of a parked vehicle;
imaging direction converting means for converting the imaging direction of the imaging means so that the imaging target of the imaging means covers the parked vehicles in the monitoring area; a recognition means for outputting a recognition signal; and when a recognition signal of a vehicle number associated with a parked vehicle corresponding to a parking time longer than a set time is input from the recognition means, the parked vehicle is determined to be an illegally parked vehicle; At the same time, the present invention is configured to include an output means for outputting a determination output of the vehicle number related to the illegally parked vehicle.

In the illegal parking monitoring system according to claim (2),
A display means for warningly displaying the vehicle number of the illegally parked vehicle based on the vehicle number signal related to the illegally parked vehicle is provided at a position visible from the monitoring area.

In the illegal parking monitoring system according to claim (3),
The set time is longer than the lighting switching cycle of the signal lamp, and the signal lamp is arranged near the intersection where the signal lamp is installed.

According to the structure of the invention of claim (1), the recognition means recognizes the vehicle number of the illegally parked vehicle in the captured image obtained over the entire monitoring area by changing the direction of the imaging means, and the recognition time of the same parked vehicle is When the set time has elapsed, the vehicle is determined to be an illegally parked vehicle, and the vehicle number signal of the recognized same parked vehicle is output as the vehicle number signal related to illegal parking.

According to the structure of the invention of claim (2), based on the vehicle number signal related to illegal parking in the invention of claim (1), the display means warns the illegally parked vehicle number at a position visible from the monitoring area. indicate.

According to the structure of the invention of claim (3), when the recognition time of the same parked vehicle reaches a set time equal to or longer than the lighting switching cycle of a nearby signal light device, that vehicle is determined to be an illegally parked vehicle, and the vehicle is determined to be illegally parked. Outputs a signal related to the vehicle number of an illegally parked vehicle.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim (1), since an illegally parked vehicle is determined based on the recognition time of the same parked vehicle in the image obtained by the imaging means, it is not necessary to manually park the vehicle as in the past. It is now possible to automatically and quickly determine whether there is illegal parking.

According to the invention of claim (2), since the vehicle number associated with illegal parking is displayed as a warning on the display means, a warning is given in real time to drivers who are illegally parked, and parking violation enforcement is facilitated. The effect is increased.

In the invention as claimed in claim (3), it is possible to accurately determine illegally parked vehicles and vehicles waiting at traffic lights at an intersection, and the method is used to improve the effectiveness of intersections where the problem of parked vehicles is particularly large.

(Description of Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing the configuration of an illegal parking monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement at an intersection according to the same embodiment.

In these figures, reference numeral l is a television camera as an imaging means, 2 is a pan head as an imaging direction conversion means, the television camera 1 is rotatably provided with respect to the pan head 2, and there is a The camera is configured so that the tilting angle can be changed by driving a provided drive motor, thereby changing the imaging direction.

In addition, it is equipped with a zoom lens 4 for the eyes of the television camera, and is configured to allow zoom control.
Provided on a signal light device 8 provided near the intersection 6,
By changing the imaging direction of the television camera l as described above, monitoring is performed at a predetermined distance from the intersection 6 at the roadside widening of the upstream road on the other side of the intersection 6 (the near side in the figure). It is configured to be able to image the area IO.

! Reference numeral 2 denotes a processing device attached to the base of the ball 14 of the signal light device 8, and includes an illegal parking support terminal controller 15 that performs predetermined control operations corresponding to the television camera 1 and the pan head 2, respectively; It is composed of a signal terminal controller (not shown) corresponding to the signal lamp device 8.

Processing device! The illegal parking compatible terminal controller 15 in 2 is:
Imaging signals related to image data from a TV camera are
A conversion/sending unit 18 converts light (Elo) and sends the Elo imaged signal to the central processing unit 16, a recognition unit 2o recognizes the vehicle number of a parked vehicle based on the imaged signal, and determines an illegally parked vehicle. an output means 22 for outputting a signal relating to the vehicle number of an illegally parked vehicle as an illegal number signal; a television camera for providing a zoom control signal to the television camera I and a depression angle control signal to the pan head 2; Control means 24 and output means 2
It is comprised of a signal transmission section 26 that transmits the illegal number signal from 2 to the central processing unit I6 side. In this case, the recognition means 20, the output means 22, and the television camera control means 24 are controlled by a control section 28 composed of a microcomputer.
It functions as a human resource program and performs operations according to predetermined procedures based on the human program.

Reference numeral 30 denotes an electronic information display board as a display means, which is mounted on a ball 32 erected near the starting point 10a of the monitoring area IO at the stop line with its display surface facing the monitoring area IO side. A display board controller 34 is attached to the base of the ball 32, and the display board controller 34 is connected to the central processing unit 16 and the processing unit I2, and displays electronic information in response to display command signals given from each. A display signal is applied to the display board 30, whereby the electronic information display board 30 performs appropriate display.

Next, the operation of the above system will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, while giving a zoom control signal to the TV camera I and a depression angle control signal to the pan head 2 from the TV camera control means 24 of the illegal parking compatible terminal 15, the TV camera l takes an image of a parked vehicle in the monitoring area IO. Do (Step S
t). At this time, the television camera 1 changes its imaging direction in the direction of the depression angle over time by operating the pan head 2 based on the depression angle control signal, and thereby the starting point 10a of the monitoring area 10
Continuous imaging is performed from to the end point 10b and from the end point tab to the start point 10a.

As mentioned above, when the angle of depression direction of the TV camera (1) is changed, the imaging position becomes closer at the starting point 10a of the monitoring area 10 and farther away at the end point 10b, and the image obtained by the TV camera l at the end point 10b. becomes smaller. As the size of the image obtained changes in this way,
The next operation, vehicle number recognition, will not work properly, so in order to prevent this, a zoom control signal is given to the TV camera l so that the image size does not change, and the camera zooms as the imaging direction changes. is under control.

A zoom control operation performed in conjunction with this imaging direction conversion will be explained.

Now, as shown in the side view of FIG. 4 and the plan view of FIG.
The direct separation distance between and the imaging point 3 is y1 The width of the monitoring area 71 is Wa1 The pixel length corresponding to the monitoring area width wa of the image sensor of the television camera I is wb The angle of depression of the television camera I is θ.
When the focal length of the television camera l is f, in the positional relationship in the side view of FIG. 4, tanθ=h/x and x
*+h! =y! The relational expression y3xf=wbXx is obtained in the positional relationship in the plan view of FIG. Therefore, from these three equations, the final L
:r=[v b X(h''/lan'θ+hs1t
]/Wa, a relational expression between the depression angle θ and the focal length f can be obtained.

That is, since Wa in the above final equation is constant over the width of the monitoring area 10, and wb is also constant over the pixel length of the image sensor, the depression angle θ and the focal pressure Mr are determined in a correlation. In this correlation, if the focal length r determined by calculation is applied to the changing angle of depression θ, an image having a desired constant length can always be obtained.

For example, the starting point 10a position of the monitoring area IO is 10 m from the TV camera l, and the ending point 10b position is 4 m.
0 m, the length of the monitoring area 10 is 30 m, the width wa is 1.5 m, and the height h of the TV camera 1 is 6 m.
m, when using a CCD image sensor with a length of 2/3 inch wb as an image sensor, the angle of depression θ changes in the range of about 310 to 8.5 degrees as the direction of the television camera changes, and the angle of depression θ changes in the range of about 310 to 8.5 degrees, and the By performing zoom control, the focal length r is changed from approximately 68 mm to a value of 237 ml11, so that an image of a constant length is always captured in a pixel having a length of 2/3 inch.

In step 1, imaging is performed and the imaging signal is given to the processing device 12. On the one hand, the imaging signal is N/light-converted in the conversion output section 18, and the imaging signal is sent to the optical fiber 36.
The data is sent to the central processing unit 16 via. The central processing unit 16 stores an image based on the image signal as evidence of illegal parking.

On the other hand, when the imaging signal is given to the recognition means 20 of the control unit 28, the vehicle number is recognized in the image based on the imaging signal by comparison with the recognition pattern (
Step S2) If there is no parked vehicle at the imaging position and the vehicle number cannot be detected (Step S3), step S
Return to step t and continue imaging. On the other hand, if a vehicle is parked at the imaging position and the vehicle number is to be detected in the image, timing is started (step S4), and the zoom control signal and depression angle control signal are stopped and the direction of the TV camera is The conversion and zooming operations are stopped, and the television camera is kept in a fixed state (step S5). Then, in this state, imaging is performed (step S6) to recognize the vehicle number (step S7), and when the same vehicle number as the vehicle number detected in step S3 is detected (step S8), time measurement starts in step 4. It is determined whether or not a set time has elapsed since then (step S9). If the set time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S6, and the operations from step S6 to step S9 are repeated until the set time has elapsed.

If it is determined in step S9 that the set time has elapsed, an illegal number signal is output (step S I O).
On the other hand, this illegal number signal is given to the central processing unit 16 side via the signal transmission section 26, whereby the central processing unit 16 registers the vehicle number related to the illegal parking. On the other hand, an illegal license plate signal is given to the electronic information display board 30 via the display board controller 34, so that the electronic information display board 30 displays, for example, "warning/parking violation/
12-34j, and the operation ends at step s it).

The above set time is at least longer than the switching cycle time of the red and blue display of the signal lamp 8. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a vehicle that is waiting at a traffic light, starts moving due to the change of the traffic light, and does not remain in the monitoring area 10 to be determined as an illegally parked vehicle. can be clearly distinguished.

In the above embodiment, the television camera l is connected to the central processing unit 1.
It is also possible to remotely control the traffic flow from the 6 side and monitor the traffic flow using the monitor image obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 5 relate to embodiments of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a block circuit diagram showing the configuration of an illegal parking monitoring system, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement at an intersection, and Figure 3 is the operation. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explanation, a side view for explaining the relationship between the depression angle and the focal length, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same. l... Television camera (imaging means), 2... Pan head (imaging direction conversion means), 8... Signal lamp, 20... Recognition means, 22... Output means, 30... Lightning information Display board (display means).

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) means for imaging the vehicle number on the license plate of the parked vehicle; and imaging direction conversion means for changing the imaging direction of the imaging means so that the imaging target of the imaging means covers the parked vehicle within the monitoring area; recognition means for outputting a recognition signal of a vehicle number of the parked vehicle based on an imaging signal from the imaging means; and a recognition signal of a vehicle number of a parked vehicle corresponding to a parking time equal to or longer than a set time is inputted from the recognition means. 1. An illegal parking monitoring system characterized by comprising an output means for determining that the parked vehicle is an illegally parked vehicle and outputting a determination output of a vehicle number related to the illegally parked vehicle. (2) Illegal parking according to claim (1), further comprising display means for displaying the vehicle number of the illegally parked vehicle based on the output signal of the vehicle number related to the illegally parked vehicle, at a position that is visible from the monitoring area. Monitoring system. (3) The illegal parking monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the set time is longer than a lighting switching cycle of a signal lamp, and the illegal parking monitoring system is arranged near an intersection where the signal lamp is installed.