GB2323955A - Monitoring a transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

A transport system eg. a railway system may be represented schematically by a mimic diagram 1. To monitor the system, it has been conventional practice to wire up the diagram to processing circuitry. However, this method is time-consuming and may interfere with existing circuitry and wiring. The invention provides a method of monitoring a transport system comprising generating a visual image of the diagram by means of camera 6, and inputting the image to image recognition means 7 arranged to derive information from elements of the image. The method of the invention enables the railway system to be monitored remotely from the mimic diagram, without the necessity for physical connection.

Description

MONITORING A TRANSPORT SYSTEM This invention relates to a method of monitoring a transport system such as a railway system.

A railway system can be represented by a so-called mimic diagram. A mimic diagram is a device which shows schematically elements of a railway system, for instance tracks, signals, points etc. Information relating to the status of the system can be ascertained from the way in which each element is displayed on the diagram. For instance, a section of track being lit up in red on the diagram indicates that a vehicle is present on that section of track. If that section is unlit on the diagram, this indicates that that section of track is clear. Certain elements on the diagram may display information concerning a vehicle on a track, for instance a train description and/or number.

It is desirable to be able to monitor the progressive status of the railway system.

Various proposals have been made to this effect.

In one such proposal, the circuits driving each and every element of the mimic diagram are wired up to processing circuitry so that the inputs to the mimic diagramanay be captured and stored.

A problem which may be encountered with this proposal is that wiring each element is time-consuming and costly. The wiring arrangement will be different for each individual diagram. In addition, the wiring may interfere with existing wiring and circuitry provided for the diagram itself.

In another proposal, the inputs to the mimic diagram are transmitted to processing and storage means via serial data lines.

A problem which may be encountered with this method is that data is transmitted according to certain protocols, which may be different for different respective railway systems. The production and development of software for interpreting the protocols can be time-consuming and costly.

The invention provides a method of monitoring a transport system, the system being displayed on a diagram, the method comprising generating a visual image of the diagram, the image being input to image recognition means arranged to derive information from elements of the image.

The invention is particularly applicable to a railway system as the method of the invention enables the railway system to be monitored remotely from the mimic diagram. The mimic diagram and the apparatus employed in the method of the invention are not physically connected, which was necessary hitherto. In addition, the method of the invention can be used with any mimic diagram. Furthermore, the aforementioned protocols do not need to be taken into consideration.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a portion of a typical mimic diagram; and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of apparatus suitable for realising the method of the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a simplified mimic diagram, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, is shown. Mimic diagrams are typically situated in railway control centres, and may take the form of a panel mounted on a wall, or a display on a visual display unit (VDU). The mimic diagram 1 comprises a plurality of elements which represent parts of the railway system. For instance, elements 2a, 2b and 2c represent signals on the trackside. Elements 3a to 3h represent sections of railway track. If a train is present on the section of track represented by, say, element 3b, that element will be lit.

Element 4 is representative of points on the railway track. Element 5 is capable of displaying the number of a train present on the section of track represented by element 3g. Other information relating to the railway system, such as train descriptions, power supplies, alarm indications etc. may also be presented on the mimic diagram, in a manner familiar to those skilled in the art.

In a typical scenario, a stationary train is on the section of track represented by element 3d, and the signals represented by elements 2a and 2c both are red. The mimic diagram 1 shows this situation by displaying elements 3d, 2a and 2c in red. The train number 5 is displayed on element 3d.

A signalman sets a route for the train between the signals represented by elements 2a and 2c. The signal represented by 2a is set to green and the train moves along the track until it arrives at the red signal represented by 2c. The mimic diagram shows element 2a in green, while 2c remains red. The route for the train, viz elements 3e, 3f, 4 and 3g, is shown in white. As the train moves along the route, the track elements tum red in sequence, starting with 3e, and then return to the unlit state when the train has passed. The train number 5 is displayed on element 3g, as shown in Figure 1.

The mimic diagram 1 is shown schematically in Figure 2. A video camera 6 is arranged to face the diagram 1 and to generate a visual image of it. The camera 6 may be mounted in a convenient position in a control centre. If the diagram 1 is displayed on a VDU, means may be also provided to match the scan rate of the camera 6 to that of the VDU so as to alleviate problems caused by flicker.

Images generated by the camera 6 are input to a suitable image recognition device 7.

Image recognition devices typically detect colours, contrasts and saturation (whiteness).

The image recognition device 7 may include character detectors which can recognise numbers, letters and other optical characters.

The image recognition device 7 is configured to detect the various possible states of the respective elements of the mimic diagram 1, and to recognise the inference of each state. For instance, referring to the scenario described with reference to Figure 1, each track element is in one of three states; unlit, red or white. The image recognition device 7 is arranged to detect these three states and to recognise that an unlit element denotes that no train is present, red denotes that a train is present and white represents a route that has been set. Similarly, the device 7 is capable of detecting the change in signal state from red to green. Character detectors incorporated in the image recognition device can read train numbers displayed on the mimic diagram.

The image recognition device may be arranged to deal with more complicated mimic displays than that shown in Figure 1. The device 7 may be divided up so that, for example, one part of the device monitors the signals, another part monitors the track, etc. The device 7 is capable of following the progress of trains across the railway system.

A computer 8 may also be provided which is capable of collating information from the image recognition device. This information may be stored in a database, and may be used in the control centre to assist regulation of the trains on the railway. A method of regulating a railway system in this manner is disclosed in our co-pending patent application, given the reference P/61058/GS in the records of the GEC Patent Department.

The database may also be used to derive performance figures for the railway service. A further possible application is that the information may be used to provide warnings if problems or unusual situations are detected by the image recognition device.

The apparatus involved in the method of the invention is quick and easy to install and does not require wiring to or interfaces with existing circuitry. Mimic diagrams are made by a number of companies, and many railway authorities employ different formats for their diagrams and different protocols for the transmission and interpretation of data. However, the method of the invention is applicable to all types and makes of panel, and to all protocols, without the need for hardware or software development.

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, the invention is not necessarily limited to monitoring a railway system; other transport systems may be monitored by this method.

The apparatus shown in Figure 2 comprises one camera 6. However, a plurality of cameras, arranged to generate images of different respective portions of a mimic diagram, may be provided and connected to device 7.

Alternatively, a plurality of image recognition devices 7 may be provided to monitor different respective portions of the mimic diagram, and arranged to transmit information to the computer 8.

Further variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (8)

1. A method of monitoring a transport system, the system being displayed on a diagram, the method comprising generating a visual image of the diagram, the image being input to image recognition means arranged to derive information from elements of the image.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, in which the image recognition means includes character recognition means.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the information is stored in a computer.

4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the visual image is generated by means of a video camera.

5. Apparatus for monitoring a transport system, the system being displayed on a diagram, the apparatus comprising means for generating a visual image of the diagram and image recognition means arranged to derive information from elements of the image.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, also having a computer arranged to store the information.

7. A method of monitoring a transport system, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, or as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.

8. Apparatus for monitoring a transport system, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, or as illustrated by, Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.