JP2003207562A - Obstacle detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle detection device for detecting, for example, an obstacle on a crossing or the like, hardly affected by the weather, easily mountable and maintainable, and capable of performing operation setting easily and diagnosing failures. <P>SOLUTION: This device is equipped with radar transmission/reception parts 1a, 1b arranged oppositely on corner parts on a diagonal of an obstacle detection area A, for scanning respectively the whole obstacle detection area A, transmitting radio waves, and receiving reflected radio waves from the obstacle, and control device parts 2a, 2b for performing existence determination of the obstacle based on the reflected radio waves received by the radar transmission/ reception parts 1a, 1b, and existence determination of a failure by calculating the lengths of adjacent two sides of the obstacle detection area A by each distance information between each radar transmission/reception part 1a, 1b and the obstacle and each scanning angle information of each radar transmission/reception part 1a, 1b at that time, and by determining whether calculated values agree with the actual value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an obstacle detection device for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle such as a person, a wheelchair, a bicycle, an automobile, etc. in an obstacle detection area such as a railroad crossing, and more particularly to an obstacle detection device. The present invention relates to an obstacle detection device that is difficult and easy to install and maintain, is easy to set up an operation, and has a self-diagnosis function for normal operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional obstacle detecting device of this type is a combination of a laser oscillating section and its light receiving section or an infrared ray generating section and its light receiving section within an obstacle detection area such as a railroad crossing. Optical detection device such as a car, an image detection device that monitors obstacles with an imaging unit such as a TV camera or a CCD camera, or a car or the like that passes above with a coil or loop antenna embedded in the ground. An electromagnetic detection device that detects by electromagnetic coupling was also provided.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional obstacle detecting device, in the optical detecting device of the first example, the laser oscillating portion and the light receiving portion thereof, and the infrared ray generating portion and the light receiving portion thereof are provided. Since it is necessary to accurately oppose the light receiving section and align the optical axis, it is not easy to install and maintain the device. For example, in the event of an earthquake, maintenance of optical axis alignment was necessary. Further, only the position where the laser beam or infrared ray passes can be detected, and the blind spot is large and only the small spot can be detected. Therefore, it has been necessary to install many optical detection devices to cover the obstacle detection area. Furthermore, during snowfall, if a snow lump forms in the obstacle detection area due to the soaring of the snow, laser light or infrared rays may be reflected by this, and false detection may occur as if there is an obstacle. It was Furthermore, particularly in the case of a combination of an infrared ray generating section and its light receiving section, the light from the headlight of an automobile may be incident to cause erroneous detection.

Further, in the image detecting device of the second example, the lens portion of the television camera, the CCD camera or the like has to be wiped at appropriate intervals, and maintenance is not easy. Also, when the visibility is poor due to rain, snow, fog, etc., it may not be possible to detect even if there is an obstacle. Further, in the electromagnetic detection device of the third example, it is not easy to embed the coil or loop antenna in the ground. Moreover, in order to cover the obstacle detection area, it is necessary to install a large number of coils or loop antennas as sensors. It should be noted that this electromagnetic detection device could not detect a person in the obstacle detection area.

Therefore, the present invention addresses such problems, is not easily affected by the weather, is easy to install and maintain the apparatus, is easy to set the operation, and has a self-diagnosis function for normal operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle detection device having the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an obstacle detecting device according to the present invention is arranged in at least two corners of a quadrilateral area including an obstacle detecting area. A plurality of radar transceivers that scan almost the entire area to transmit radio waves and receive reflected radio waves from obstacles, and detect the presence / absence of obstacles and perform fault diagnosis provided for each radar transceiver. And a plurality of control device units, wherein each control device unit is a radar transmitter / receiver unit and each distance information between each radar transmitter / receiver unit and an obstacle calculated from a signal of a reflected radio wave received by each radar transmitter / receiver unit. Based on each scanning angle information of
It is provided with a function of calculating the length of the side and performing a failure diagnosis depending on whether or not the calculated value matches the actual value stored in advance.

With such a configuration, the radar transmitting / receiving sections arranged in at least two corners of the obstacle detection area scan substantially the entire area of the obstacle detection area and transmit radio waves to detect the obstacle. Receive reflected radio waves. Then, based on the signal of the reflected radio wave received by the radar transmission / reception unit in the control unit, the presence / absence of an obstacle in the obstacle detection region is detected and the self-diagnosis of normal operation is performed. The failure diagnosis in the control unit is based on each distance information between each radar transceiver and the obstacle calculated from the signal of the reflected radio wave received by each radar transceiver and each scanning angle information of each radar transceiver at that time. The length of at least one side of the quadrilateral area is calculated, and the calculation is performed based on whether or not the calculated value matches the actual value stored in advance.

Specifically, when the two radar transmitting / receiving sections are arranged facing each other on the diagonal corners of the quadrilateral area, the control unit sections transmit the distance information to r1 and r.
2. When the above scanning angle information is θ1 and θ2, at least one of the following two equations r1sinθ1 + r2sinθ2 = R1 r1cosθ1 + r2cosθ2 = R2 (where R1 and R2 are actual lengths of adjacent sides of the quadrilateral region) The configuration is such that it is determined that the operation is normal when the expression is satisfied.

In this case, if the configuration is such that the operation is normal when both of the above two expressions are satisfied, the reliability of the failure diagnosis function is improved. In addition to the failure diagnosis function, each of the control device sections may have a function of performing a failure diagnosis based on the reception detection information of the radio wave transmitted from another radar transmission / reception section and the scanning angle information at that time. This allows
Fault diagnosis can be performed even when there is no obstacle.

Further, the obstacle detection area may be a railroad crossing where a road and a railroad track intersect on the same plane. As a result, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of obstacles such as people inside the railroad crossing, wheelchairs, bicycles and automobiles.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an obstacle detection device according to the present invention. This obstacle detection device has an obstacle detection area A such as a railroad crossing.
The presence / absence of obstacles such as persons, wheelchairs, bicycles, automobiles, etc. is detected, and is provided with radar transmitter / receivers 1a and 1b and control devices 2a and 2b.

First, the obstacle detection area A is an area where the presence or absence of an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection device of the present invention. For example, the road 3 and the railroad tracks 4a and 4b intersect on the same plane. It is a railroad crossing. As shown in FIG. 1, the railroad crossings are provided with gates 6a, 6b having barriers 5a, 5b capable of blocking the passage on the side of the road 3 at the intersection of the road 3 and the railroad tracks 4a, 4b. There is. Further, railroad crossing signs 7a and 7b are provided near the breakers 6a and 6b. And the obstacle detection area A in this case
Is the road 3 at the intersection of the road 3 and the railroad tracks 4a and 4b.
And the blocking rods 5a and 5b of the circuit breakers 6a and 6b.

In such a state, the radar transmitter / receiver 1
Reference characters a and 1b are arranged at least at two corners of the obstacle detection area A, scan the inside of the obstacle detection area A to transmit radio waves, and receive reflected radio waves from the obstacles. Two diagonally opposite corners of the quadrilateral region including the obstacle detection region A are arranged so as to face each other. Radar transceiver 1
Reference numerals a and 1b respectively have radio wave transmission / reception scanning ranges α and β shown in FIG. 1, and transmit radio waves while scanning the entire obstacle detection area A, and receive reflected radio waves or mutually transmitted radio waves. It is like this. Specifically, the railroad tracks 4a, 4
On the outside of both sides of b, the breaking rods 5a of the breaking devices 6a, 6b,
In the vicinity of the extended line of 5b, the radar transmitter / receiver 1
a and 1b are arranged.

Controller units 2a and 2b are connected to the radar transceiver units 1a and 1b. This control unit 2
a and 2b are the obstacle detection areas A based on the reflected radio waves from the obstacles received by the radar transceivers 1a and 1b.
The presence or absence of obstacles inside is detected. In addition, the control unit 2a,
2b is, as will be described later, each of the radar transceivers 1a and 1b.
Fault diagnosis based on information on respective distances between the radar transceivers 1a and 1b and obstacles calculated from received signals of reflected radio waves from the obstacles received on the basis of information on respective scanning angles of the radar transceivers 1a and 1b at that time. Function and other radar transceiver 1
It has a failure diagnosis function based on the reception detection information of the transmission radio waves of b and 1a and the scanning angle information at that time. The control device sections 2a and 2b are provided in the vicinity of the radar transmission / reception sections 1a and 1b, or in a control center or the like for each predetermined operation control area.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an obstacle detecting device having the above-mentioned structure. In FIG. 2, the radar transmission / reception unit 1a and the control device unit 2a shown in FIG. 1 are combined to form one functional unit. This functional means is the power supply 1
0, a transmission unit 11, a scanning unit 12, and a scanning angle control unit 1
3, a transmitting / receiving antenna 14, a reflected signal receiving unit 15,
The test signal receiving unit 16 and the obstacle detection determining unit 17 are included. The radar transmitting / receiving unit 1b and the control device unit 2b
Has the same configuration.

The power source 10 supplies electric power to the entire functional means, and is composed of, for example, a battery or a wired electric power supply circuit. The transmitter 11 generates a transmission signal for transmitting a radio wave within the obstacle detection area A shown in FIG.
It is designed to be supplied to. As the communication method, for example, a spread spectrum communication method (SS communication method) is used, and an identification code called a PN code indicating a radio wave transmitted from a specific radar transmission / reception unit 1a (or another radar transmission / reception unit 1b) is used. It is carried.

The scanning unit 12 scans the radio wave transmitted by the transmission signal from the transmission unit 11 within the scanning range α shown in FIG. 1, and sends a scanning angle control signal to the drive unit of the transmission / reception antenna 14. It is supposed to do. Further, the scanning angle control unit 13 sends a scanning angle control signal to the scanning unit 12, whereby the transmitting / receiving antenna 14 is provided.
Control is performed so that the radio waves emitted from the scanner are scanned at an angle of the scanning range α.

The transmitting / receiving antenna 14 emits a radio wave such as a millimeter wave which is not affected by the weather into the obstacle detection area A shown in FIG. 1, and a reflected radio wave from an obstacle or a transmission radio wave from another radar transmitting / receiving section 1b. Is received, and has a specific directivity, and is driven by the scanning unit 12 so as to scan within the scanning range α. The transmission signal from the transmission unit 11 is supplied to the transmission / reception antenna 14 by using a one-way element (not shown) called a circulator or an isolator on the transmission side.

The reflected signal receiving unit 15 takes in the received signal of the reflected radio wave from the obstacle 18 received by the transmission / reception antenna 14, and uses the identification code included in the received signal to detect the reflected radio wave from the obstacle 18. Other radar transceiver 1
It is designed to be distinguished from the radio wave transmitted from b. The test signal receiving unit 16 takes in the received signal of the transmission radio wave from the other radar transmitting / receiving unit 1b received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 14, and, like the reflected signal receiving unit 15, uses the identification code included in the received signal to Other radar transceiver 1
The test signal for failure diagnosis from b is distinguished from the reflected radio wave from the obstacle 18. The reception signal from the transmission / reception antenna 14 is supplied to the reflection signal reception section 15 and the test signal reception section 16 by using a one-way element called a circulator or an isolator (not shown) on the reception side. There is.

The obstacle detection determination unit 17 receives an angle control signal from the scanning unit 12 which is scanning angle information, a reception signal from the reflection signal receiving unit 15, and a reception signal from the test signal receiving unit 16. , Which receives and processes information from the other control unit 2b to detect the presence / absence of the obstacle 18 and perform a failure diagnosis. For example, a code identification circuit, an OR circuit, a memory for storing known data, etc. are provided. Become. Then, when the received signal by the reflected radio wave from the obstacle 18 is input, it is determined that the obstacle 18 exists. At the same time, the distance information to the obstacle 18 calculated from the received signal of the reflected radio wave, the angle control signal at that time, the information input from the other control device unit 2b (the distance information to the obstacle 18 and the radar transceiver unit 1b at that time) Of the adjacent two sides of the obstacle detection area A based on the scanning angle information), and the above-described calculation with the actual length of the two adjacent sides of the obstacle detection area A stored in advance as known data. When the values match, it is determined that the entire device is operating normally. In addition, when the angle control signal corresponding to the position of another radar transmission / reception unit 1b is input and the reception signal of the transmission radio wave from the radar transmission / reception unit 1b is input, it is determined that the entire apparatus is operating normally.

The determination signal of the result of the presence / absence detection of the obstacle 18 and the result of the failure diagnosis, which is output from the obstacle detection / determination unit 17, is sent to the ground control device 19 for controlling the operation of the rail transportation system, for example, and the level crossing. It is used to control the opening and closing of the circuit breaker and stop of train operation. The ground control device 19 is provided in a control center or the like for each predetermined operation control area.

Next, the operation of the presence / absence detection of an obstacle and the failure diagnosis in the obstacle detection device thus constructed will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the reflected radio wave from the obstacle 18 is received at the scanning angle θ1 position on the radar transmission / reception unit 1a side shown in FIG. 1, and the reflected radio wave from the obstacle 18 at the scanning angle θ2 position on the radar transmission / reception unit 1b side. Is received. In addition, R1 in FIG.
R2 indicates the actual length of two adjacent sides of the obstacle detection area A. The lengths R1 and R2 correspond to the radar transmitter / receiver 1a,
It can be determined by the installation position of 1b and is stored in the memory in the obstacle determination unit 17 as known data.

In this case, the received signals of the reflected radio waves received by the respective transmission / reception antennas 14 of the radar transmission / reception units 1a and 1b include identification codes indicating the radio waves transmitted from the radar transmission / reception units 1a and 1b. Therefore, in each of the control device sections 2a and 2b, a signal is input from the reflected signal receiving section 15 to the obstacle determining section 17, and the obstacle determining section 17
It is determined that the radio waves reflected from the obstacle 18 are present, and it is determined that there is an obstacle.

At the same time, in the obstacle judging section 17 of the control unit sections 2a and 2b, the radar transmitting / receiving sections 1a and 1a are determined based on the time from the transmission of the radio wave to the reception of the reflected radio wave.
Distances r1 and r2 between b and the obstacle 18 are calculated, respectively. Then, the respective control device units 2a and 2b use the calculated distance information r1 and r2 and the angle control signals (scanning angle information) θ1 and θ2 at that time as the other control device units 2b and 2b.
Send to a.

As a result, the obstacle determining unit 17 of the control unit 2a calculates the distance information r1 and the angle control signal θ1 of itself and the distance information r2 and the angle control signal θ2 input from the other control unit 2b. The lengths R1 ′ and R2 ′ of two adjacent sides of the obstacle detection area A are calculated by the following calculation formulas (1) and (2). R1 ′ = r1sinθ1 + r2sinθ2 (1) R2 ′ = r1cosθ1 + r2cosθ2 (2) Then, the calculated values R1 ′ and R2 ′ calculated from the above formulas (1) and (2) are stored. Actual values R1, R
2 is compared, and if R1 = R1 'and R2 = R2' are established, it is determined that the operation is normal. If either one or both do not match, it is determined to be a failure. Similarly, the obstacle determination unit 17 of the control device unit 2b also uses the distance information r2 and the angle control signal θ2 of its own and the distance information r1 and the angle control signal θ1 input from the other control device unit 2a to obtain R1 ′ and R1.
2'is calculated and the calculated value is compared with the actual value to determine whether the operation is normal or not. Note that R1 = R1 ', R2 = R2'
It may be determined that the operation is normal when either one of the above is established.

Further, the scanning angle at which the radar transmission / reception unit 1a and the other radar transmission / reception unit 1b face each other on the diagonal line of the obstacle detection area A is θm. In this case, when the angle control signal θm is input, the obstacle detection unit 17 of the control device unit 2a receives the reception signal (reception detection information) by the transmission radio wave from the other radar transmission / reception unit 1b from the test signal reception unit 16. If so, it is determined that the operation is normal. The same applies to the obstacle detection unit 17 of the control device unit 2b.

Then, the respective judgment results from the control device sections 2a and 2b are sent to the ground control device 19. The ground control device 19 judges that the sent determination result is correct if the determination results from both the control device sections 2a and 2b match,
Action is taken according to the result of the determination. It should be noted that when either one of the determination results indicates that the operation is normal, it is possible to execute the action according to the determination result.

According to the structure of this embodiment, since the radio waves of ultra-short waves such as millimeter waves are used, the influence of the weather is unlikely to occur, the installation and maintenance of the device are easy, and the operation setting is easy. Further, the failure diagnosis can be performed without using the reflection plate or the like to generate the reflected radio wave for the failure diagnosis. Further, since it is not necessary to install the constituent elements of the device in the obstacle detection area, maintenance work can be performed outside the obstacle detection area, and safety can be improved. In addition, a double system configuration is formed by determining whether the determination results from both control device units 2a and 2b are the same or not, and the reliability of obstacle detection and fault diagnosis can be improved. Furthermore, by providing the fault diagnosing function based on the reception of the transmitted radio waves of the radar transmitting / receiving units 1a and 1b, the fault diagnosing can be performed even when there is no obstacle.

In the above description, one radar transmission / reception unit 1a and the other radar transmission / reception unit 1b are connected to each other by PN.
Although an identification code called a code is used, the invention is not limited to this. Mutual interference is reduced by changing the polarization of each transmitted radio wave, and the reception of each transmitted radio wave is identified without using an identification code. You may do it. Further, in the above description, two radar transmitting / receiving sections are arranged facing the diagonal corners of the obstacle detection area A, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the radar transmitting / receiving section 1a or the radar. The transmitter / receiver 1b may be installed at the corner shown by a or b in FIG. In this case, the failure diagnosis is based on the match / mismatch of either one of the lengths R1 and R2. Further, the number of radar transmitting / receiving units is not limited to two, but may be provided at three corners of the quadrilateral region including the obstacle detection region A.
You may provide in all the corners.

In the above description, the obstacle detection area A is a railroad crossing where the road 3 and the railroad tracks 4a and 4b intersect on the same plane, but the present invention is not limited to this. The location or area other than the level crossing may be used as long as it is a location where it is necessary to detect the presence or absence of an obstacle in the area.

[0031]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
Laser light, infrared ray, TV camera or CC as before
There is no problem when using an imaging unit such as a D camera, a coil or a loop antenna embedded in the ground, it is not easily affected by the weather, installation and maintenance of the device are easy, operation settings are easy, and reflection The failure diagnosis function can be exhibited without using equipment such as boards. Also, since the components of the device do not have to be installed in the obstacle detection area,
Maintenance work can be performed outside the obstacle detection area, improving safety.

Further, if the judgment results of a plurality of control device parts coincide with each other, it is judged that the judgment results are correct, so that a double system structure is formed, and the reliability of obstacle detection and failure diagnosis can be improved. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an obstacle detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the obstacle detection device.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of obstacle presence / absence detection and failure diagnosis by the obstacle detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b ... Radar transmitter / receiver 2a, 2b ... Control unit 3 ... Road 4a, 4b ... Railroad tracks 5a, 5b ... Blocking rod 6a, 6b ... Circuit breaker 18 ... Obstacle A: Obstacle detection area

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of quadrilateral areas including an obstacle detection area, which are arranged at least at two corners and scan substantially the entire area of the obstacle detection area to transmit radio waves and receive reflected radio waves from the obstacles. The radar transmission / reception unit and a plurality of control device units provided for each radar transmission / reception unit for detecting the presence / absence of obstacles in the obstacle detection region and performing failure diagnosis are provided. Based on each distance information between each radar transmission / reception unit and an obstacle calculated from the received reflected radio wave signal and each scanning angle information of each radar transmission / reception unit at that time, at least one side length of the quadrilateral region is determined. An obstacle detection device having a function of performing a failure diagnosis by calculating whether or not the calculated value matches an actual value stored in advance. 2. When the two radar transmitting / receiving sections are arranged opposite to each other on a diagonal corner of the quadrilateral area, each control section controls the distance information to r1, r2, and each scanning. When the angle information is θ1 and θ2, when at least one of the following two expressions r1sinθ1 + r2sinθ2 = R1 r1cosθ1 + r2cosθ2 = R2 (where R1 and R2 are actual lengths of adjacent sides of the quadrilateral region) is satisfied. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detection device is configured to determine that the operation is normal. 3. The obstacle detection device according to claim 2, wherein the obstacle detection device is configured to determine that the operation is normal when both of the above two expressions are satisfied. 4. Each of the control device sections has, in addition to the failure diagnosis function, a function of performing a failure diagnosis based on reception detection information of a radio wave transmitted from another radar transmission / reception section and scanning angle information at that time. The obstacle detection device according to any one of items 1 to 3. 5. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detection area is a railroad crossing where a road and a railroad track intersect.