JP2001266300A - System for approach control into runway or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a runway or the like approach control system capable of identifying the type of an airplane and performing approach control of the airplane. SOLUTION: A monitor camera 12 is provided in the vicinity of the approach entrance of the runway, and the airplane 10 passing through the entrance is monitored. An image processing part 21 processes the picture of the airplane 10 obtained from the camera 12 and an identifying part 23 subsequently reads an airframe number and an airplane mark attached to the rear part of the airframe of the airplane 10. A stop bar controlling part 25 specifies the type of the airplane 10 on the basis of the airframe number and the airplane mark obtained from the part 23 and decides the approach permission/inhibition of the airplane 10. When the approach is allowed, a stop bar 11 is put into an approach allowable state, and in the case of approach inhibition, an instruction is outputted so as to put the bar 11 into an advance inhibition state. Thus, it is possible to perform approach control of the airplane according to not only the existence/absence of the airplane 10 but also results obtained by deciding the type of the airplane.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an airport,
The present invention relates to a runway or similar approach control system that controls the approach of an aircraft to a runway.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At the airport, aircraft traveling on taxiways from terminal spots to the runway,
There are a number of aircraft, including those traveling from the runway on taxiways to terminal spots.

In such an airport, when an aircraft enters a runway from a taxiway, it is necessary to permit entry from a control tower. This is because basically only one aircraft can enter the runway. A stop bar controls entry to the runway. The stop bar is installed at the end of the road near the entrance of the runway, and regulates permission / prohibition of the entry of the aircraft by turning on a traffic light. The aircraft can enter the runway if the stop bar is in an entry-permitted state (for example, a green light), but if the stop bar is in an entry-prohibited state (for example, a red light), the aircraft waits until it is in an entry-permitted state. Have to do it. In the conventional system, the stop bar signal is switched by detecting that the aircraft has arrived at the entrance of the runway by blocking infrared rays or the like.

[0004]

As mentioned above, there are a number of aircraft on the airport surface, which are traveling to the runway through taxiways. Therefore, depending on the congestion of the taxi way, each aircraft may not enter in the order according to the flight schedule. In such a case, the conventional system can detect the presence or absence of an aircraft, but does not know the type of the aircraft. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide an approach control system such as a runway capable of identifying the type of an aircraft and controlling the approach of the aircraft. .

[0006]

(1) A runway and other approach control system according to the present invention includes a surveillance camera for monitoring an aircraft passing through an entry restriction point, and a type of aircraft based on an image obtained by the surveillance camera. And an approach control means for controlling the approach of the aircraft to the approach-restricted location based on the type of the aircraft obtained by the identifying means.

[0007] According to such a configuration, the surveillance camera captures an image of the aircraft passing through the entry control point, identifies the type of aircraft from the image, and controls the approach of the aircraft to the entry control point. be able to.

(2) The runway approach control system of the present invention is installed near the entrance of the runway, and monitors the aircraft passing therethrough, and the aircraft body based on images obtained by the monitor camera. Image processing means for extracting a part that characterizes the aircraft, identification means for identifying the type of aircraft based on the image of the airframe characteristic part extracted by the image processing means, and based on the type of aircraft obtained by the identification means. Access control means for controlling the approach of the aircraft to the runway.

According to this configuration, the surveillance camera captures an image of the aircraft passing near the entrance of the runway,
An aircraft feature portion of the aircraft is extracted from the image, the type of the aircraft is identified from the image of the aircraft feature portion, and the approach of the aircraft to the runway can be controlled.

In the configuration (2), after the background image near the entrance is removed from the image obtained by the surveillance camera by the image processing means,
By extracting the image corresponding to the tail portion of the aircraft as a characteristic portion, the type of the aircraft can be easily identified from the shape of the tail portion of the aircraft which differs for each aircraft and information (machine number and aircraft mark) attached thereto. become.

Further, in the configuration of (2), the identification means reads the aircraft number assigned to the aircraft body from the image of the aircraft characteristic portion extracted by the image processing means. The type of the aircraft can be identified from the number.

In the configuration (2), the identification means reads an aircraft mark attached to the fuselage of the aircraft from the image of the aircraft characteristic portion extracted by the image processing means, so that the aircraft is read. The type of the aircraft can be identified from the mark.

In the configuration (2), it is determined whether or not to permit the aircraft to enter the runway based on the type of the aircraft obtained by the identification means. By switching the stop bar installed near the entrance to the entry permitted state or the entry prohibited state, the approach of the aircraft can be controlled by switching the stop bar according to the determination result based on the type of the aircraft.

In the configuration of the above (2), further comprising a display means for displaying an image of the aircraft characteristic portion obtained by the image processing means on a monitor screen, so that the type of the aircraft can be confirmed on the screen. Thus, the entry control can be performed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an airport surface monitored by the runway and other approach control system of the present invention. In addition, 1 in the figure is a runway, 2 is a taxiway (guideway), 3 is a terminal, and 4 is a control tower.

On the airport surface, there are usually provided two types of running paths, such as a runway 1 and a taxiway (guideway) 2. The runway 1 is a runway for an aircraft to take off and land. The taxiway 2 is a runway used when an aircraft that has landed on the runway 1 heads for a spot in the terminal 3 or an aircraft that exits from a spot in the terminal 3 heads for the runway 1. Basically, only one aircraft can travel on the runway 1, but a large number of aircraft traveling between the runway 1 and the terminal 3 are traveling on the taxiway 2 and are always in a congested state.

Here, in order for the aircraft to enter the runway 1 from the taxiway 2, permission from the control tower 4 is required. Normally, the control tower 4 detects an aircraft passing near the entrance of the runway 1 by blocking infrared rays or the like, and controls a traffic signal called a stop bar 11 installed at the road end near the entrance to control the aircraft. Is regulated.
However, in such a system, only the presence or absence of an aircraft near the entrance of the runway 1 is known, and the type of the aircraft cannot be identified. For this reason, if each aircraft is not arranged in a predetermined order, there is a problem of lack of reliability such as erroneous entry permission. Therefore, in the present invention,
An object of the present invention is to realize a highly reliable approach control system for a runway or the like that identifies the type of an aircraft and controls the approach of the aircraft to the runway.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a runway or similar approach control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present system is characterized in that the stop bar 11 and the monitoring camera 12 are used to control the approach of the aircraft 10 to the runway 1.

The stop bar 11 is provided at the end of the road near the entrance of the runway 1 on the taxiway 2. The stop bar 11 is allowed to enter or prohibit entry by an instruction from the control tower 4. Inform
In this case, for example, a green signal is turned on when entry is permitted, and a red signal is turned on when entry is prohibited.

The surveillance camera 12 is composed of a digital camera, an infrared camera, or the like, and monitors the aircraft 10 passing the position where the stop bar 11 is installed. In this case, the shape, size, and the like of each aircraft vary, and the installation angle of the surveillance camera 12 and the like are devised in order to widely capture the body of these aircraft. The configuration of the monitoring camera 12 is not particularly limited, but is assumed to be an all-weather type that can be used outdoors. The image of the aircraft 10 captured by the monitoring camera 12 is transferred to the control tower 4 by wire or wirelessly.

On the other hand, on the control tower side, an image processing unit 21, a background image storage unit 22, an identification unit 23, and an airframe pattern storage unit 2
4. A stop bar control unit 25 and a display unit 26 are provided.

The image processing section 21 takes in an image of the aircraft 10 captured by the surveillance camera 12, performs a process of extracting a characteristic portion of the airframe after removing a background portion from the image. In this embodiment, this fuselage feature is defined as the tail of the fuselage. This is shown in FIG.
This is because information for identifying the aircraft such as the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 is attached to the tail of the aircraft. In addition, the shape of the tail of the aircraft is different depending on the type of each aircraft, and a controller or the like can specify the type of the aircraft simply by looking at the shape of that portion.

The background image storage unit 22 previously stores, as a background image, an image of the monitoring area taken by the monitoring camera 12 without any condition. This background image is stored in the image processing unit 21.
This is used for background removal processing in. The identification unit 23 performs a process of identifying the type of the aircraft 10 from the image of the aircraft characteristic portion extracted by the image processing unit 21. More specifically, the aircraft number 3 assigned to the aircraft of the aircraft 10 using the aircraft pattern stored in the aircraft pattern storage unit 24 in advance.
1 and the position of the aircraft mark 32, read the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 from the specified position, and use them as the identification result.
Give to. The aircraft pattern storage unit 24 stores in advance aircraft patterns of various aircraft in the airport that are to be controlled.

The stop bar control unit 25 receives the identification result of the identification unit 23 and performs a process of switching the stop bar 11 to the entry permission state or the entry inhibition state. in this case,
The machine number 31 given as an identification result from the identification unit 23
Is an aircraft number of each aircraft, which is different from a management number (hereinafter referred to as an aircraft call code) used when actually controlling the aircraft. Therefore, the stop bar control unit 25 has a process of replacing the aircraft number 31 with the aircraft calling code by using flight information in which flight plan information and spot information of each aircraft are described in advance.

The display unit 26 displays the image of the machine feature extracted by the image processing unit 21 on a monitor screen. FIG. 3 shows an example of the monitor screen. Here, the image of the tail of the body is displayed as a body characteristic portion. As described above, the aircraft body number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 are provided at predetermined positions on the tail of the aircraft.

Next, the processing operation of the present system will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing operation on the control tower side in this system.

The surveillance camera 12 installed near the entrance of the runway 1 captures an image of the aircraft 10 passing therethrough. This image is transferred to the control tower side via a line constructed underground or the like, or is converted into a radio wave and transferred to the control tower side. However, in consideration of radio wave interference in the airport plane, it is preferable to transfer images to the control tower side by wire.

When the image processing unit 21 captures an image captured by the monitoring camera 12 (step S11),
First, using the background image stored in the background image storage unit 22, a process of removing a background portion from the captured image is performed (step S12). In this case, if the background image is stored in the background image storage unit 22 before each monitoring, the
Using a background image corresponding to changes in brightness, color, and shadow of night, fog, snow, rain, or the like, it is possible to enhance the accuracy of monitoring target object extraction.

Next, the image processing unit 21 performs a process of extracting a characteristic portion of the aircraft 10 from the image after the background is removed (step S13). Here, since the body characteristic portion of the aircraft 10 is determined as the tail of the body, the image after the background removal is analyzed to extract an image corresponding to the tail part of the body. The image of the airframe feature portion extracted here is
3 given.

The identification unit 23 includes a machine pattern storage unit 24
Using the aircraft pattern corresponding to the aircraft 10 in the
The position where the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 are present is specified from the image of the aircraft feature portion provided from the image processing unit 21, and the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 are determined therefrom.
Is performed (step S14).

The aircraft pattern indicates the shape of the aircraft for each aircraft. The aircraft pattern storage unit 24 stores an aircraft pattern for each aircraft in advance.
Since the control tower knows the flight schedule of each aircraft, the control tower uses the aircraft pattern corresponding to the aircraft scheduled to arrive at the entrance of the runway 1 next.
1 and the aircraft mark 32 can be read.

In this case, if it is assumed that the aircraft 10 to be monitored is coming to the entrance of the runway 1 in a predetermined order, the aircraft number is determined using the aircraft pattern scheduled on the control tower side. 31 and the aircraft mark 32 can be read. If the body number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 cannot be read with this body pattern, it means that the body pattern does not match, which means that the intended aircraft has not arrived. Therefore,
By notifying the stop bar control unit 25 that the reading has been impossible, the stop bar 11 is automatically or in accordance with the instruction of the controller to switch the stop bar 11 to the entry prohibition state (for example, a red light), so that the aircraft 10 can enter the runway 1. You can prohibit entry.

When the identification number 23 can read the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32,
Such information is used as the identification result as the stop bar control unit 25.
Given to. In the stop bar control unit 25, the flight number 31 obtained as the identification result by the identification unit 23 is replaced with a predetermined aircraft call code used when actually controlling the aircraft, using flight information provided from the outside. Thereafter (step S15), the aircraft 1 is designated using the aircraft calling code and the aircraft mark 32 corresponding to the aircraft number 31.
The stop bar 11 is controlled so as to permit or prohibit entry of the runway 1 into the runway 1 (step S16).

Here, the control method of the stop bar 11 includes a method automatically performed by the system and a method performed manually by the controller of the control tower 4.

In the former method, for example, as the internal processing of the stop bar control unit 25, the aircraft call code of the aircraft 10 obtained by the above-described replacement processing and the aircraft call code of the next scheduled run managed by the control tower side An algorithm is provided to switch the stop bar 11 to an entry permission state (for example, a green light) when the two match, and to switch the stop bar 11 to an entry prohibited state (for example, a red light) when they do not match. Keep it.

In the latter method, for example, after displaying the aircraft call code of the aircraft 10 obtained by the above-described replacement processing on a screen, the controller describes the aircraft call code and flight information for each airline in advance. The aircraft 10 is compared with the strip to check whether the aircraft 10 is the aircraft to be slid next. If it is confirmed that the aircraft is scheduled to run next, the stop bar 11 is switched to an entry permission state (for example, a green light), and if not, the operation of switching the stop bar 11 to an entry prohibited state (for example, a red light) is manually performed. Do it.

The same applies to the aircraft mark 32. The system or the controller compares the aircraft mark 32 of the aircraft 10 with the mark of the aircraft to be slid next. Is set to an entry permission state (for example, a green signal), and when both do not match, the stop bar 11 is set to an entry prohibited state (for example, a red signal). However, since the type of the aircraft cannot be accurately specified by the aircraft mark 32 alone, basically, the type of the aircraft is specified using the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 may be used together to enhance the detection accuracy. preferable.

In general, the controller of the aircraft at the airport surface is to give final instructions for safety. Therefore, in the case of the present system, as in the latter method, It is preferable to control the stop bar 11 after confirmation by the controller to permit or prohibit the aircraft 10 from entering the runway 1.

If the image of the airframe characteristic portion of the aircraft 10 obtained by the image processing section 21 is displayed on the monitor screen on the display section 26 as shown in FIG. 3, the controller can display the image on the monitor screen. The stop bar 11 can be controlled while checking the aircraft number 31 and the aircraft mark 32 attached to the aircraft 10. In this case, the identification unit 23
May be displayed on the display unit 26.

As described above, the surveillance camera 12 is installed near the entrance of the runway 1, and the surveillance camera 12 monitors the aircraft 10 passing therethrough. Can be identified. Therefore, in a case where the aircrafts are not lined up at the entrance of the runway 1 in a predetermined order, it is possible to avoid erroneous entry permission being issued, and the runway 1 can be avoided for each aircraft in accordance with the flight schedule. Permission / prohibition of entry into the city.

In the above embodiment, the aircraft is monitored using a single surveillance camera. However, if a plurality of surveillance cameras are used to capture the aircraft from various angles, the reliability of the system can be improved. Can be even higher.

Further, in the above embodiment, the description has been made assuming the case where the entry of the aircraft from the taxiway to the runway is controlled. The present system can be applied to any place that needs to be regulated.

[0046]

As described above in detail, according to the runway approach control system of the present invention, a surveillance camera is used to monitor an aircraft, and the type of the aircraft is identified from its image. Not only that, the type of the aircraft can be identified and the entry / rejection of the aircraft can be issued, so that highly reliable entry control can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an airport surface monitored by an approach control system such as a runway of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an approach control system such as a runway according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a monitor display of an airframe feature of an aircraft in the runway approach control system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation on the control tower side in the runway etc. approach control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Runway 2 ... Taxiway 3 ... Terminal 4 ... Control tower 10 ... Aircraft 11 ... Stop bar 12 ... Surveillance camera 21 ... Image processing unit 22 ... Background image storage unit 23 ... Identification unit 24 ... Aircraft pattern storage unit 25 ... Stop Bar control unit 26 ... Display unit 31 ... Unit number 32 ... Aircraft mark

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A surveillance camera for monitoring an aircraft passing through an entry control point, an identification unit for identifying an aircraft type based on an image obtained by the surveillance camera, and an aircraft type obtained by the identification unit. An approach control means for controlling the approach of the aircraft to the approach-controlled point based on the approach. 2. A surveillance camera installed near the entrance of the runway and monitoring an aircraft passing therethrough; image processing means for extracting a portion characterizing the aircraft body from an image obtained by the surveillance camera; Identification means for identifying the type of aircraft based on the image of the airframe characteristic portion extracted by the image processing means; and entry control for controlling the approach of the aircraft to the runway based on the type of aircraft obtained by the identification means An approach control system for a runway or the like, comprising: a control unit. 3. The image processing means according to claim 2, wherein a background image near the entrance is removed from an image obtained by the surveillance camera, and then an image corresponding to a tail portion of the aircraft is extracted as a characteristic portion. The runway and other approach control system according to claim 2. 4. The runway or the like according to claim 2, wherein said identification means reads an aircraft number assigned to the aircraft body from the image of the aircraft characteristic portion extracted by said image processing means. Access control system. 5. The runway or the like according to claim 2, wherein the identification unit reads an aircraft mark attached to the fuselage of the aircraft from the image of the aircraft characteristic portion extracted by the image processing unit. Access control system. 6. The approach control means determines whether or not to permit the aircraft to enter the runway based on the type of aircraft obtained by the identification means, and determines the approach based on the determination result. 3. The runway or similar approach control system according to claim 2, wherein a stop bar installed near the mouth is switched to an approach permission state or an approach inhibition state. 7. The runway approach control system according to claim 2, further comprising display means for displaying, on a monitor screen, an image of the body characteristic portion obtained by said image processing means.