JPH04242877A - Method for detecting passerby - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect a passerby (M) on a path or the like installed in a department store and exhibition grounds by detecting the passerby (M) ranging from a tall man to a short child with high accuracy and enabling data processing dividing adults and children while processing these passerby (M) by heights. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of distance measures 13 are arranged above an path 1 with the prescribed interval in the width direction of the corresponding path 1. With the distance measures, the difference of the heights between the head and the shoulders of each passerby M is measured and recognized so as to judge the presence or absence of the passerby M as well as the height of the passerby M is calculated from the output or the like of the distance measures 13 so as to be processed by heights. The breadth of the shoulder of the passerby M is estimated by his height, and the number of passersby in the group is estimated from the shoulder breadth and the width of passersby group.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application and Summary of the Invention] The invention of the present application relates to a method for detecting passersby in aisles of department stores and exhibitions. This makes it possible to detect passersby with high precision, and to process these passersby according to their height, making it possible to process data separately for adults and children.

0002

[Prior Art and Problems] In order to count the number of visitors to a department store, exhibition, public facility, etc. and determine the degree of use of the facility, the number of passers-by (M) in the entrance, exit, and passageway of the facility is calculated. A detection device (hereinafter referred to as a passerby detection device) is often installed.

For example, in the invention of Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-7675, a light transmitter (15) and a light receiver (16) are arranged on the ceiling of a passageway as shown in FIG. The emitted light flux (A) and the optical path of light to the receiver (16) (
The installation postures of these transmitters and receivers (15) and (16) are determined so that they intersect at a predetermined height. A passerby (M) passes by and a part of his body becomes a beam of light (A).
When entering the detection area (C) where the light entrance path (B) intersects with the passerby (M), the light reflected from the passerby (M) is detected by the light receiver (16), thereby allowing the passerby (M) to be detected. . The detection signals are counted by, for example, a counting device (17), so that the degree of usage of the passage, etc. can be determined. However, with this device, short children cannot be detected because they pass below the detection area (C), and passers-by (M
) cannot be accurately detected.

[0004] In order to solve the above problem, optical adjustments are made such as making the light beam (A) and the light entrance path (B) nearly parallel to each other and arranging the light transmitter (15) and the light receiver (16) close to each other. It is also conceivable to expand the intersection area of the light flux (A) and the light entrance path (B), which is the detection area (C), and thereby expand the detection targets from tall adults to short children. however,
In this case, not only the body of the passerby (M) crosses the detection area (C), but also noise sources such as swinging arms and legs of the passerby (M) enter and leave the detection area (C). Even when this occurs, a detection signal is emitted from the light receiver (16), resulting in a decrease in detection accuracy. As described above, the above conventional devices have a problem in that it is extremely difficult to accurately detect a wide range of detection targets, from tall adults to short children.

<Regarding the invention of claim 1> The invention of claim 1 has been made in view of the above points, and is designed to accurately confirm the presence or absence of a wide range of detection targets ranging from tall to short. The task is to do so.

[0006]

[Technical Means] The technical means of the invention of claim 1 for solving the above problem is to provide a distance meter that measures the distance to the target point by receiving the light irradiated onto the target point with a position detection element. A group of distance meters installed at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the passage is arranged above the passage, and the height difference near the head of each passerby (M) is calculated from the data group measured by the group of distance meters. The presence or absence of a passerby (M) is determined by extracting the corresponding unevenness data unit.

[0007]

[Operation] The above technical means operates as follows. When a passerby (M) passes below the rangefinder, the distance between the head and shoulders of the passerby (M) and the corresponding rangefinder is measured by each rangefinder, and output is output from each rangefinder. The unevenness data unit corresponding to the height difference near the head of the passerby (M) is extracted from the data group, and the presence of the passerby (M) is thereby confirmed by the unevenness data unit. Therefore, even if noise sources such as the swinging arms and legs of the passerby (M) are detected by the rangefinder group, data indicating the unevenness near the passerby's (M) head cannot be obtained from these noise sources. Data units equal to the group are not obtained, and these noises can be eliminated.

[0008]

[Effect] ■. Since the presence or absence of a passerby (M) is confirmed by detecting irregularities near the head of the passerby (M), it is possible to detect a wide range of people from tall adults to short children. In addition, even if noise sources such as the legs and arms of a passerby (M) or even baggage enter the measurement area of the rangefinder, the same unevenness as when detecting a passerby may occur due to the intrusion of these noise sources. The data group shown in FIG. That is, according to the above technical means, it is possible to detect a wide range of objects from tall adults to short children with high precision. ■． Even if multiple passersby (M) pass in a group at the same time, the unevenness of the head of the passerby (M) or the shoulder next to it when viewed from above may cause these passersby (M) to pass in a group. ), it becomes possible to separate and recognize the group of passersby (M) individually by counting the number of signals representing the convex portion of the head. Therefore, even if the passerby (M) passes in a complicated manner, the passerby (M) can be counted, thereby providing a highly accurate detection device.

[0009]

Embodiments Next, embodiments of the present invention described above will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, there are many distance meters (13) (
13) is arranged, and the distance meter (13) (1
3) are arranged at small intervals (R) (15 cm intervals in this example) in the width direction of the passageway (1). Also, the distance meter (
13) (13) are arranged in two rows at an interval of 10 cm in the direction of the passageway (1) in order to be able to determine the passing direction of the passerby (M). In addition, each of the above distance meters (13) (13
) is connected to a processing device (3), and a display device (4) is connected to the processing device (3) for displaying the number of people passing through in a certain period of time. The distance meter (13) above is shown in Figure 2.
It has a structure as shown in the figure, and has a light emitting diode (41
) conversion lens (42
) and a condenser lens (45) that focuses the reflected light on a specific point on the light receiving surface of the position detection element (44). The output of the position detection element (44) is sent to an arithmetic circuit (46).
is applied to the point to be measured and the distance meter (1
3) distance is calculated.

As shown in FIG. 2, the height of the passerby (M) passing through the passageway (1) is h, the distance between the rangefinder (13) and the floor of the passageway (1) is H0, and the passerby (M) The distance between the measurement target point on the body of the person and the conversion lens (42) is L, the distance between the conversion lens (42) and the condensing lens (45) is B, and the optical axis (C) of the condensing lens (45) Assuming that the distance of the image forming point D of the passerby (M) on the position detection element (44) is X, and the width of the position detection element (44) is 2A, then
L is required. Note that the position detection element (44) is placed at the focal point of the condenser lens (45). L:B=f:X
...
[1], so L=(f・B)/X
... [2
]. On the other hand, the current taken out from the two output terminals (48) (49) of the position detection element (44) is
1, I2, then from the characteristics of the position detection element (44), (I2-I1)/(I1+I2)=X/A
...Since the relationship [3] is satisfied, from equations [2] and [3], L=(I1+I2)・f・
B/((I2-I1)・A) ...[4].

[0012] Therefore, the measured I1 and I2 are as follows [4]
Substituting it into the equation, the light emitting diode (41) to the passerby (
M) and the distance meter (13
), and if this L is calculated for each of the many distance meters (13) (13), the result will be, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 (A). Note that (A) in FIG. 3 shows the output of each distance meter (13) (13) at the time when the passerby (M) shown in FIG. 1 crosses the first row (hereinafter referred to as the front row). In other words, from the distance meter (13) corresponding to the head of the passerby (M), it can be seen that the distance (L) between these heads and the distance meter (13) is short (100 cm in Fig. 3). The result shown is also from the distance meter (13) next to it (the distance meter (13) corresponding to the shoulder of the passerby (M)).
A signal indicating a distance (L) slightly longer than the above (120 cm in the figure) is output. In addition, in (a) of Figure 3, “28
0Cm'' indicates the distance between the distance meter (13) and the floor surface, which is the output of the distance meter (13) that the passerby (M) does not cross. From the output of (a) in Figure 3 above, data related to the passerby (M) (120Cm, 100Cm, 1
20Cm) is graphed and further adjusted so that the head is high and the shoulders are low, it becomes like the solid line in the same figure (b).

[0013] The above solid line graph is processed in advance by a processing device (3).
Compare it with the reference pattern stored in the memory (the area surrounded by the two imaginary lines in the same figure (b)), confirm that it matches this reference pattern, and determine the presence or absence of the passerby (M). do. Incidentally, the presence of the passerby (M) may be confirmed by processing the numerical data shown in FIG. In this way, in the above embodiment, if a certain level of unevenness exists on the upper surface of the object to be detected, the passage of the passerby (M) can be identified, and it is possible to identify whether the passerby (M) is a tall adult or a short child. It becomes possible to detect a passerby (M) regardless of the situation. Then, the signal matching the reference pattern is the distance meter (13) (13
) group, the number is counted and the number of people passing through the passage (1) is displayed on the display (4). Furthermore, Figure 1
In this system, two rows of distance meters (13) (13) are provided in the front and rear directions of the aisle (1), so that passersby (M) can recognize the direction in which they are passing by the order in which they cross below each row. .

Next, the data in FIG. 4 will be explained.
The numerical data in (a) is graphed as in (b), and the data representing the head is adjusted so that it is higher than the shoulders. ), one passerby (M) crossed the road, and two people in the back row crossed the road. Thereby, even if a plurality of passersby (M) pass in a group at the same time, they can be recognized individually.

<<Regarding the invention of claim 2>>

[Means] The invention of claim 2 has the same main parts as the invention of claim 1, and its technical means is ``The head of the passerby (M) detected in the invention of claim 1. Calculate the difference between the measured distance output by the distance meter corresponding to the distance meter and the installation height of the distance meter,
Based on the calculation results, each passerby (M) can be processed according to height.

[0016]

[Operation] The above technical means operates as follows. When a passerby (M) crosses below the distance meter group, the unevenness of the head and shoulders of the passerby (M) is determined in the same way as in the invention of claim 1, and the convex part of the head and this The distance between the distance meters corresponding to the head is measured by the distance meter corresponding to the head, and the height of the passerby (M) is calculated from the distance and the height of the distance meter. Thereafter, the data of the passerby (M) is processed by height, etc.

[0017]

[Effects] The invention of claim 2 has the following unique effects. Since passersby are processed according to their height, it is possible to classify them into tall adults and short children, or to detect only one of these. Therefore, by using the output, applications such as counting adult or child passersby separately become possible.

[0018]

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of the above-mentioned invention of claim 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. On the ceiling (11) of the passageway (1), as in the embodiment of the invention in claim 1, a large number of distance meters (
13) (13) is provided, and each distance meter (13) (
13) and the corresponding distance between the points to be measured are measured using the principle shown in FIG. 2 described above. When the distance between each distance meter (13) (13) and the corresponding measurement target point is determined as shown in Figure 3 (a), the smallest distance signal (100 cm in the figure) and the floor surface From the distance H0 from to the distance meter (13), the corresponding passerby (
M)'s height h is calculated by the processing device (3).

That is, h=H0-L =H0-(I1+I2)・f・B/((I2-I1)・
A) is calculated. It should be noted that the functional unit in the processing device (3) that calculates the height h corresponds to the height calculation means described in the technical means section. Thereby, the height of the passerby (M) is determined, and those who are taller than a separately determined standard can be counted, for example, as adults, and those who are short can be counted as children. Thereby, in a department store or the like, it is possible to count only the adults who are closely related to the sales amount and display the number of visitors on the display (4).

In the second embodiment shown in FIG.
) The positional relationship between this and the condenser lens (45) is set so that the condenser lens (45) reaches the top of the condenser lens (45). Next, the measurement principle will be explained next.

The same parts as in FIG. 2 already described are given the same reference numerals. Also, the width of the position detection element (44) in the first and second output terminal (48) and (49) directions is A, and the width of the position detection element (44) from the reflected light from the passerby (M) and the floor surface is The horizontal distance between the reflected light and the end of the position detection element (44) on the first output terminal (48) side and the pedestrian (
The horizontal distance from the reflected light from M) is X0, and the distance meter (13)
Assuming that the installation height of is H0, the characteristics of the position detection element (44) are as follows:

I1=I0・((A−(X+X0))/A
...[5]I2=I0
・(X+X0)/A
... [6] (However, I
0=I1+I2). Therefore, from formula [6], X=((I2/
I1+I2)-(I02/I01+I02))・A
...[7] (However, I02 and I01 are I2 and I1 when there is no passerby (M)) That is, X = ((I2/I0) - (I02/I00))・A
...[8] (However, I00 is I0 when there are no passersby). From Figure 5, H0:B=f:(a+X0)
...
[9] (However, B is the conversion lens (42) and condensing lens (
The distance between the optical axes of the condenser lens (45), a is the distance between the optical axes of the condenser lens (45) (
C) and the first output terminal (4) of the position detection element (44)
8) Distance from the side edge) Therefore, H0=(B・f)/(a+X0)
...[10].

[0023] Also, X=Y-(a+X0)
...[
11] (however, Y=a+X), and in the above formula [11], Y=(f・B)/L, a+X
Substituting 0=(f・B)/H0 and sorting it out, L=1/
(X/((f・B)+(1/H0)))
...[12]. Since h=(H0-L), substituting equation [12] into this "L" and rearranging, h=(X/((X+(f・B/H0)))H0
...[13].

Substituting the formula [8] into "X" in the above formula [13] and sorting it out, h=((α-β)/(α-β+(fB/H0)))・H
0...[14] (However, α:I1/(I1+
I2), β: I02/(I01+I02)). Therefore, by measuring the installation height H0 of the distance meter (13) in advance, the height of the passerby (M) can be measured and calculated using equation [14]. According to the example shown in FIG. 2, it is necessary to perform fine adjustment to accurately align the optical axis of the condenser lens (45) and the center of the position detection element (44). Depending on the situation, there is no need to make such fine adjustments. The reason is that the expression [14] does not include "a", which is related to the relative position of the condenser lens (45) and the position detection blocker (44). Further, according to the above embodiment, the first output terminal (48) of the position detection element (44)
) There is no need to adjust the horizontal distance X0 between the end of the side and the reflected light from the passerby (M).

<Regarding the invention of claim 3> The invention of claim 3 is an improved invention of the invention of claim 1, in which when passersby (M) pass through a passage in a group, the unevenness near the head of each person is Even if accurate detection may not be possible, the number of these passersby can be detected with high precision. In other words, the distance meter (
13) If the arrangement interval of (13) is sufficiently small, the unevenness near the head of each passerby can be accurately detected. However, in some cases, in order to fulfill the basic functions of the device, it is sufficient to be able to distinguish between adults and children, and accurate height measurement is not necessary. ) (13) may be arranged at larger intervals. If the interval between the distance meters (13) (13) is increased, it may not be possible to detect irregularities near the heads of each person in the group of passersby. Therefore, the invention of claim 3 makes it possible to detect the number of passersby (M) with high precision even when the unevenness near the head of the passerby (M) cannot be detected accurately as described above.

[0026]

[Means] The technical means of the invention of claim 3 adopted to solve the above problem is that ``In the invention of claim 1, when an unevenness data unit is not obtained from the measured data group and corresponds to the data group. When the rangefinder group detects a substantially flat area, the distance measured by the rangefinder corresponding to the above data group and the height at which the rangefinder is installed is used to find the passerby corresponding to the data group. After calculating the height of the passerby, if the height is tall, the shoulder width of the passerby is evaluated to be wide, and conversely, if the height is short, the shoulder width is evaluated to be narrow, and the width of the passerby group corresponding to the above data group is evaluated. The number of passersby present in the data group is estimated by dividing the shoulder width evaluated above.

[0027]

[Operations and Effects] The above technical means has the following functions and effects. When passersby (M) pass under the rangefinder group in a group,
There is a case where all the rangefinders correspond to the shoulders of each passerby (M), and in such a case, the unevenness near the passerby's head cannot be measured by the rangefinder group. In other words, the rangefinder group is in a state where it detects a substantially flat area.

Then, the height of the group of passers-by is calculated from the difference between the distance measured by the distance meter (distance from the distance meter to the point to be measured) and the height at which the distance meter is installed, and the If it can be determined that a group of people is passing, the width of the shoulders of the passersby is evaluated. Conversely, if it can be determined that a group of short children is passing by, the shoulder width of the passerby is evaluated to be narrow.

Next, the width of the group of passers-by, which is determined from the number of distance meters measuring the distance to the group of passers-by and their mutual spacing, is divided by the shoulder width. Determine the number of people in the group of passers-by passing below the distance meter group. As a result, in the invention of claim 1, even if a situation occurs in which unevenness near the head of the passerby (M) cannot be detected, the number of passersby passing below the rangefinder group can be known, and the shoulder width can be determined. Whether it is a broad adult or a child with narrow shoulders, the number of people included in a group of passers-by can be accurately determined based on these.

[0030]

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment corresponding to the invention of claim 3 will be described. On the ceiling (11) of the passageway (1), there are a large number of distance meters (13) arranged in two rows in the front and back and at regular intervals in the width direction of the passageway, as shown in FIG. (
13), and the distance between each distance meter (13) (13) and the corresponding measurement target point is measured according to the principle shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 described above. Further, in this embodiment, the distance between each distance meter (13) (13) in the passage width direction is set to 30 cm.

Next, the processing procedure for estimating the number of passersby (M) passing through the passageway (1) in a group will be explained based on FIG. As shown in Figure 6, three passers-by (
When the M) group passes, the rangefinder (13) (13) on the ceiling
), the distance meter (13) corresponding to the group of passersby (M)
13) will output a detection signal (F). Then, the processing device (3) (see Fig. 1) that processes the signals of the range finders (13) (13) compares the detection signal (F) with the reference pattern (G) surrounded by the imaginary line in Fig. 6. , if there is no part matching the reference pattern (G) in the detection signal (F), it is determined that the detection signal (F) is substantially flat (as indicated by the drawing number (81) in FIG. 7). (see steps). Next, the number of rangefinders (13) detecting the group of passersby is determined, and the width (Q) of the group of passersby is calculated from the number of rangefinders and the distance between the rangefinders. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when there is a passerby (M) under five rangefinders (13), the number and spacing between these rangefinders (13) (13) (30 Cm), and from this, the width (Q) of the group of passersby (M)=4×30 Cm is calculated (see step (82) in the drawing).

Next, similarly to the invention of claim 2, the height h of the group of passersby (M) (from the measured distance of an arbitrary rangefinder (13) or the average value of the measured distances of each rangefinder (13)) is calculated. Measure the calculated height h), and if the height h is 100 cm or more, 15
If it is less than 0 cm, the passerby (M) is considered to be a child, and his shoulder width (K) is recognized as 30 cm, and his height is 160 cm.
m or more, the passerby (M) is regarded as an adult and his shoulder width (K) is recognized as 40 cm (see step number (83) in the drawing). Then, the width (Q) of the group of passersby (M) described above is divided by the shoulder width (K) mentioned above, and the number of passersby at this point is determined and the number of passersby is counted. (See step number (84) in the drawing). on the other hand,
In step (84) in the drawing, when the unevenness signal indicating the vicinity of the head of the group of passers-by (M) can be extracted, similarly to the invention of claim 1, from the unevenness signal, the passerby (M) is detected. M) Measure the number of people in the group.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Fig. 1] A schematic perspective view showing a state in which the present invention is implemented near the entrance and exit of the passage (1).

[Figure 2] Diagram explaining the principle of measuring the distance between the distance meter (13) and a passerby (M)

[Fig. 3] Explanatory diagram of signals output from each distance meter (13) (13) when a single passerby (M) exists

[
Figure 4: An explanatory diagram of the signals output from each distance meter (13) (13) at a platform where multiple passersby (M) pass at the same time

[Fig. 5] Diagram explaining the principle when measuring both the distance between the distance meter (13) and the floor and the distance between it and a passerby (M)

[
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 3

[FIG. 7] A schematic flowchart showing a processing program for carrying out the invention of claim 3.

[Fig. 8] Explanatory diagram of conventional example

[Explanation of symbols] (1)...Aisle (13)...Distance meter

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A distance meter is provided that measures the distance to the target point by receiving the light irradiated onto the target point with a position detection element,
A group of distance meters arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the passage is arranged above the passage, and the height difference near the head of each passerby (M) is determined from the data group measured by the group of distance meters. A passerby detection method in which the presence or absence of a passerby (M) is determined by taking out an unevenness data unit. 2. In the invention of claim 1, the difference between the measured distance output by the distance meter corresponding to the detected head of the passerby (M) and the installation height of the distance meter is calculated, and based on the calculation result. A passerby detection method that allows each passerby (M) to be processed according to height. 3. In the invention of claim 1, when the unevenness data unit cannot be obtained from the measured data group and the distance meter group corresponding to the data group detects a substantially flat part, the above-mentioned The height of the passerby corresponding to the data group is calculated from the difference between the distance measured by the rangefinder corresponding to the data group and the installation height of the rangefinder, and if the height is tall, the shoulder width of the passerby is calculated. Conversely, if the height is short, the shoulder width is evaluated narrowly, and the width of the passerby group corresponding to the above data group is divided by the shoulder width evaluated above, and the width of the passersby in the above data group is calculated. A passerby detection method that estimates the number of people.