JP2005313839A - Car washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a car washing machine having a camera capable of certainly recognizing a projection also at night. <P>SOLUTION: The car washing machine comprises a camera devices 7A and 7B that are disposed above the front side of the car washing machine body 1 and can photograph a washed automobile from the upside, car body illuminating devices 11 and 11 for illuminating the automobile in image pick-up regions of the camera devices 7A and 7B, and floor surface illuminating devices 12 and 12 for illuminating the floor surface in image pick-up regions of the camera devices 7A and 7B. It is preferable that the output of the floor surface illuminating devices 12 and 12 is set larger than that of the car body illuminating devices 11 and 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a car wash machine that cleans the body surface of a car by relative movement between the car wash machine and the car, and more particularly to a car wash machine that includes a camera device that images a car from above a car wash machine body.

  Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-206519 is known as a car wash machine equipped with a camera device. This car wash machine includes a camera device for photographing a car from above and from the side, and performs image processing on an image captured by the camera device based on the gray signal, and performs various car wash processes along the contour of the vehicle body obtained thereby. The device is configured to approach and perform a car wash. According to this device, protrusions (carriers, door mirrors, fender mirrors, etc.) protruding from the contour of the vehicle body can be determined, and the cleaning brush and the drying nozzle can be contacted and separated along the vehicle body contour including the protrusions. It is.

In such a car wash machine, it is conceivable to include an illuminating device that illuminates the surface of the vehicle body so that photographing can be performed even under dark conditions such as at night. However, only by illuminating the automobile to be detected from above, it is not possible to recognize a projection that does not receive light and cannot be contrasted with the floor surface.
JP-A-6-206519

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a car wash machine with a camera that can reliably recognize protrusions even at night.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a camera device that is provided above the front side of a car wash machine and that can image a vehicle to be cleaned from above, a vehicle body illumination unit that illuminates a vehicle in an imaging area of the camera device, And a floor illumination means for illuminating the floor in the imaging area of the apparatus. It is desirable to make the output of the floor illumination means larger than that of the vehicle body illumination means.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible to detect the contour of the vehicle body and the projection protruding from the contour even when the car is washed under dark conditions such as at night, and to grasp the mounting position of the projection. Can do.

  Hereinafter, the car wash shown in the first embodiment.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. In this example, the car wash machine travels across a car and the car-type car wash machine performs washing and drying. Is shown.

  The car wash machine main body 1 reciprocates on the pair of left and right rails 2 and 2 and moves so as to straddle the automobile stopped between the rails 2 and 2. Reference numerals 3, 4, and 4 are rotating brushes as a car wash processing device provided in the car wash machine body 1, 3 is an upper surface brush that moves up and down along the vehicle body surface and mainly cleans the upper surface of the vehicle body, and 4 and 4 are along the vehicle body surface. A pair of left and right side brushes that open and close and clean the side and front and rear surfaces of the vehicle body. Blower nozzles 5, 6, and 6 are provided in the car wash machine body 1 as car wash processing devices for drying the vehicle body after washing, 5 is an upper blower nozzle that moves up and down along the vehicle body surface, and 6 and 6 are along the vehicle body surface. It is a pair of left and right side blower nozzles that move up and down.

  7A and 7B are camera devices for imaging a car entering a car wash area and a car being washed. 7A is a first camera that is provided at the center in the width direction above the rear part of the main body 1 and mainly images an oblique front from the mounting position. The device 7B is a second camera device which is provided at the center in the width direction in the decorative plate above the front surface of the main body 1 and mainly captures the direction immediately below from the mounting position. Reference numeral 8 denotes a vehicle shape detection device that is provided in front of the main body 1 and reads a shape (silhouette) from the side of the automobile as the main body 1 travels, and 9 is a pulse output every time the car wash machine main body 1 travels a unit distance. Encoders 10 and 10 are motors for driving the main body 1. Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote lighting devices that are lit at night when the surroundings are dark. Reference numerals 11 and 11 denote vehicle body lighting devices that are provided on the left and right sides of the decorative panel of the main body 1 to illuminate the upper surface of the automobile. This is a floor illumination device that is provided respectively on the left and right below the leg portion of the first camera device and illuminates the floor surface of the imaging range of the second camera device 7B. Reference numerals 13 and 13 denote correction lamps mounted on the inner surface of the main body 1 at positions where photographing can be performed by both the first camera device 7A and the second camera device 7B.

  The car to be washed is entered from the front of the main body 1 and, as shown in FIG. 2, the car is washed at the stop position before the main body 1 and then the main body 1 is reciprocated. For example, when washing a car in one round trip, the main body 1 is first moved forward, the brushes 3, 4, 4 are controlled according to the shape of the vehicle body read by the vehicle shape detection device 8, and then the body surface is brushed and washed. Then, the car washer was returned and air was blown from the blower nozzles 5, 6 and 6 to dry the surface of the vehicle body. Of course, in addition to this one-way car wash, the car wash machine can be made to perform two-way and three-way car-washing operations according to various needs.

  3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the functions and operations of the camera devices 7A and 7B. FIG. 3A shows the functions and operations of the first camera device 7A, and FIG. 3B shows the functions and operations of the second camera device 7B. ing.

  When the car washer 1 is in the standby position at the rear end of the rails 2 and 2, the first camera device 7A is provided with an imaging range R1 that can capture images near the ends of the rails 2 and 2, and there is no automobile at this standby position. Image a1 and an image a2 in a state where the automobile is stopped at the stop position. The captured image a1 is used to calculate a correction value mainly by comparison with the basic image, and the image a2 is used to confirm the positions of the license plate, door mirror, custom mirror, and side pole.

  The second camera device 7B is provided with an imaging range R2 in which an image directly under the car wash machine body 1 can be imaged, and picks up an image whenever the car wash machine body 1 travels a certain distance from the start of the car wash. Here, the image b1 with no automobile at the standby position is captured, and the image b2 when the rear mirror RM is detected by the vehicle shape detection device 8 during the car wash is captured. The image b1 is mainly based on It is used to calculate a correction value by comparison with the image, and the image b2 is used to confirm the position of the rear mirror.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the camera device 7B. The camera device 7B includes a camera module 14 with a built-in CCD, a circuit board 15 for driving the camera, an illuminance sensor 16 that detects illuminance, a camera device 14 and a cover device 17 that opens and closes an exposed surface of the illuminance sensor 16, and the car wash. It is accommodated in a decorative board provided above the front surface of the machine body 1. The illuminance sensor 16 is used to detect the illuminance around the car wash machine body 1 which is a reference for turning on / off the lighting devices 11 and 12 and switching the shutter speed of the camera. The cover device 17 is composed of an air cylinder 17S and a cover 17C, and protects the imaging surface of the camera module 14 and the detection surface of the illuminance sensor 16 from washing water and dust in the air splashed from a rotating brush or the like during a car washing operation. Used to do. The camera device 7A is attached to the upper part of the rear part of the car wash machine body 1 with a forward and downward depression angle, and has the eaves formed on the front upper part of the main body to reduce the influence of direct sunlight. It is configured in the same way.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining functions and operations of the illumination devices 11 and 12. In these illumination devices, the light amount of the floor surface illumination device 12 is made larger than that of the vehicle body illumination device 11 so that the light amount becomes uniform on images captured by the camera devices 7A and 7B. Here, the best conditions could be obtained by setting the vehicle body illumination device 11 to 20 W and the floor illumination device 12 to 60 W.

  The vehicle body lighting devices 11 and 11 are directed inwardly and slightly obliquely forward so that the upper surface of the automobile within the imaging range R2 of the second camera device 7B can be illuminated from the left and right positions in the decorative plate of the main body 1 To illuminate the top surface of the car during a car wash at night or the like. The main purpose of this lighting device is to light up the vehicle body at night when the surroundings are dark.

  The floor illumination devices 12 and 12 are attached in a state where they are directed slightly diagonally inward and forward so that the floor surface within the imaging range R2 of the second camera device 7B can be illuminated from below the left and right legs of the main body 1. Illuminate the floor of the car wash area at night and other times. This illuminating device is mainly intended to illuminate the floor surface at night when the surroundings are dark, and is also effective in detecting protrusions protruding from the end of the vehicle body.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control system according to the first embodiment. Reference numeral 20 denotes a car wash control board. Based on information on the position, shape, equipment, etc. of the automobile obtained from the image processing board 21 and the car shape detection board 29, the brushes 3, 4, 4, blower nozzles 5,. Car wash processing equipment such as 6. 6 is operated to perform car washing according to the position, shape, equipment, etc. of the car. Reference numeral 23 denotes an operation unit for selecting car wash contents and inputting start of car wash, and outputting guidance and operation procedures and the like by display and voice to the operating person.

  The image processing board 21 performs various detection operations by storing and processing automobile images captured by the camera devices 7A and 7B. The ambient brightness detected by the illuminance sensor 16 when the camera devices 7A and 7B are connected. Based on this, the lighting devices 11 and 12 and the correction lamp 13 are switched on / off via the image drive board 24, the shutter speed of the camera device is switched, and the opening / closing control of the cover device 17 of the camera device. Ball detection of the lighting devices 11 and 12 is performed. The image processing board 21 includes an image storage unit 25, an image correction unit 26, a license plate position detection unit 27, and a protrusion confirmation unit 28.

  The image storage unit 25 stores image data captured by the camera devices 7A and 7B. The image storage unit 25 temporarily stores an image captured at the start of or during a car wash, a basic image serving as a reference for mounting the camera device, and the like. When the car wash is completed, the image data stored during the car wash is transferred to the external memory 29. The external memory 29 stores image data of a car that has been washed in the past for a certain period of time, and the stored data can be used for investigating the cause and confirming the fact when there is a failure or trouble. In other words, if some trouble occurs during the car wash and the car wash stops halfway, the camera device 7A, 7B takes an image of the state and stores it in the external memory 29 together with the data of the car shape detection device 8 and the like. In this way, it can be used to solve problems later. The external memory 29 is preferably a removable card type flash memory.

  The image correction unit 26 corrects the captured image so that it matches the basic image when a deviation occurs in the shooting direction of the camera devices 7A and 7B. The basic image stored in the image storage unit 25 in advance and the start of car wash The image is sometimes compared with the captured image, and the deviation of the image is corrected. The image shift is detected based on the positions of the correction lamps 13 and 13 in each image. Based on the shift, correction values are set for the three components of up, down, left, and right, and the captured image is corrected. .

  The license plate position detection unit 27 detects the license plate of the vehicle based on the image data stored in the image storage unit 25, and is based on the image of the vehicle stopped at the stop position imaged by the first camera device 7A. The license plate portion on the front of the vehicle body is extracted, and the position (position in the width direction of the car) and the shape and configuration around the plate are detected. The detection of the license plate is performed by extracting the edge of the automobile from the image of the automobile parked at the stop position and searching for a predetermined rectangular shape from the image of the automobile by a pattern matching method. The position of the license plate is calculated by calculating the two-dimensional coordinates of the four corners of the license plate on the identified image, and the X and Y components of the two-dimensional coordinates are used as the mounting height and the shooting depression angle of the first camera device 7A, The number plate is converted based on the ground height parameter, and the position in the vehicle body width direction and the shape / configuration around it are detected.

  The protrusion confirmation unit 28 confirms the position of the protrusion mounted on the vehicle based on the image data stored in the image storage unit 25, and is located on the vehicle body based on the image captured by the second camera device 7B. The protrusion part is extracted and its position in the vehicle width direction is detected. The detection of the projection position is executed when the vehicle shape detection device 8 recognizes that there is a projection such as a custom mirror, side pole, rear mirror, etc., and, like the license plate position detection unit 24, extracts the edge of the automobile. Then, custom mirrors, side poles, rear mirrors, etc. are identified by matching with type images (pattern images registered in advance) according to their shapes, and their positions in the vehicle body width direction are determined from this car image. It is done by detecting.

  The vehicle shape detection device 8 is provided in front of the car wash machine 1 so as to hold the automobile in the width direction, and receives a light emitting unit 8a in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged vertically and a light emitting element corresponding to each one. The light receiving unit 8b in which a plurality of elements are arranged is provided to face each other, and the vehicle shape is read by blocking the optical signal transmitted and received between the light emitting unit 8a and the light receiving unit 8b.

  The vehicle shape detection board 29 performs various detection operations by storing and processing the shape of the automobile detected by the vehicle shape detection device 8, and includes a detection drive unit 30, a vehicle shape storage unit 31, and a protrusion detection unit 32. , A front end detection unit 33 and a rear end detection unit 34.

  The detection drive unit 30 scans the light emitting unit 8a and the light receiving unit 8b at a predetermined timing, and every time the car wash machine 1 moves a unit distance using a pulse signal from the encoder 9 accompanying the traveling of the car wash machine body 1 as a trigger. The optical signal is repeatedly transmitted and received between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit. That is, a signal is output to the light emitting unit to cause the light emitting elements to emit light in order from the top, and in synchronization with this, the light receiving level of the light receiving element facing the light emitting element is obtained in order, and the vehicle body detection is performed, so that one light emission The light from the element is detected by a light receiving element that is horizontally opposed thereto, and the vehicle body is detected between the elements.

  The vehicle shape storage unit 31 receives a vehicle body detection signal from the light receiving unit in accordance with the detection drive of the detection drive unit 30 to detect the vehicle body surface position of the vehicle, and accumulates the vehicle body surface position for each unit distance travel of the main body 1. To form the shape (silhouette) of the side of the car. Based on the vehicle shape stored in the vehicle shape storage unit 31, the projection detection unit 32 recognizes the projection by detecting local undulations on the vehicle body surface, and determines the type of projection according to the position and shape of the projection. The method of specifying the position and type from the recognition of the protrusion is possible by the method disclosed in, for example, JP-A-8-225065. The front end detection unit 33 detects the front end position of the vehicle based on the vehicle shape stored in the vehicle shape storage unit 31, and the rear end detection unit 34 determines the rear end of the vehicle based on the vehicle shape stored in the vehicle shape storage unit 31. The end position is detected.

  As described above, the car wash control board 20 collects information on the car to be washed, such as the license plate, protrusions, and car body shape, from the image processing board 21 and the car shape detection board 29. And safe and efficient car washing without damaging the license plate or protrusions.

Operation | movement is demonstrated about the car wash machine of Example 1 comprised in this way. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a main part of the operation at the time of car washing.
First, before the car enters the car, the camera washing machine body 1 is in the standby position, images are taken for each of the camera devices 7A and 7B. Is calculated (1). This image correction is performed at a predetermined timing such as before the start of business or before the start of car washing.

  When the automobile is stopped at the stop position shown in FIG. 3A, the image is picked up by the first camera device 7A, and the license plate position detector 27 detects the position of the license plate based on this image (2). . The stop position of the automobile is detected by a known non-contact switch such as a beam sensor (not shown). In addition, a tire switch that is switched by entering a tire or a vehicle shape detection device 8 may be used instead.

  When it is confirmed that the vehicle is stopped at an appropriate stop position and can be washed on the car wash machine main body 1 side, a car wash routine is executed. Here, when the operation unit 23 is on the front surface of the car wash machine main body 1, the driver can perform a car wash by performing a necessary operation input (start key input or the like) through the operation unit 23. Further, when the operation unit is located away from the main body 1 in front of the car wash area in the drive-through type, the operation input is completed when entering the car wash area, so the car wash is automatically executed after a predetermined time. .

  When a car wash start command is issued, the brightness around the car washer 1 is detected by the illuminance sensor 16 of the camera device (3). Here, when it is determined that the brightness is darker than the predetermined brightness (for example, at night), the car wash routine is started after the lighting devices 11 and 12 are turned on (4). Then, the car wash sequence is started without lighting the lighting devices 11 and 12 (5). By turning on the body lighting devices 11 and 11, the entire vehicle body is lit up, and it becomes easy to detect edges with the surroundings. By turning on the floor surface lighting devices 12 and 12, the background surface sandwiching the vehicle body is lit up. The boundary between the front end and the rear end of the vehicle body is emphasized and the edge detection becomes easier.

  The car wash sequence is different depending on the car wash course selected by the operation unit 23. In the car shape detecting process, the car shape detecting device 8 detects the vehicle shape by running the car wash machine body 1 and the car shape detecting process. A brush process that brushes the body surface by controlling the brushes 3, 4, and 4 according to the read body shape and a drying process that controls the blower nozzles 5, 6 and 6 according to the body shape and blows air onto the vehicle body are combined appropriately. To be executed. The car shape detection process may be performed simultaneously with the brush process, or may be performed in a process in which the car wash machine main body 1 goes first. However, when the vehicle shape detection process and the brush process are performed simultaneously, water droplets are expected to be scattered from the cleaning brush. Therefore, the first camera device 7A is in a state in which the cover device is closed, and the second camera device is used for image capturing. 7B only.

  In the vehicle shape detection step, the vehicle shape is read by the vehicle shape detection device 8 every time the car wash machine 1 moves a unit distance using a pulse signal from the encoder 9 accompanying the traveling of the car wash machine body 1 as a trigger. An image is captured by the second camera device 7B in synchronization with the reading of. In the vehicle shape detection device 8, the silhouette of the car to be washed is formed in the vehicle shape storage unit 31, and the position and type of the protrusion of the vehicle body is detected by the protrusion detection unit 32 from the formed vehicle shape data, and the front end detection unit 33 The front end position of the vehicle body and the rear end position of the vehicle body are detected by the rear end detection unit 34, respectively. When the projection detection unit 32 detects the projection, the image captured by the second camera device 7B is read at that position, and the projection confirmation unit 28 of the image processing unit 21 determines the projection based on this image based on the image. The position in the direction is confirmed.

  In the brushing process, when brushing the front of the car with the side brushes 4 and 4, depending on the position of the license plate detected by the license plate position detector 27 and the shape and configuration of the surroundings, the license plate should not be bent. Preventive measures are taken by a known method such as reducing the contact pressure of the brushes 4 and 4 or adjusting the rotation direction and the number of rotations of the brushes 4 and 4. When it is determined that the risk of bending is low from the shape and configuration around the license plate detected by the license plate position detector 27, the front of the vehicle body is brushed without taking any preventive measures. If the license plate cannot be recognized by the license plate detection unit 27 and its position and surrounding shape cannot be specified, the preventive measures are taken on the entire front surface of the vehicle body as in the prior art.

  In the brush process or the drying process, when the brush or blower nozzle reaches the position of the protrusion detected by the protrusion detection unit 34, the protrusion may be damaged depending on the position or type of the protrusion given by the detection unit 34. Operate to avoid it. At this time, when the side brushes 4 and 4 and the side blower nozzles 6 and 6 are operated to be avoided, if the position of the protrusions in the vehicle width direction can be confirmed by the protrusion confirmation unit 28, the protrusions may be touched. Operate only the side brush and blower nozzle. If the protrusion confirmation unit 28 cannot confirm the position of the protrusion in the width direction of the vehicle, the brushes 4 and 4 and the blower nozzles 6 and 6 are operated to avoid symmetry in the same manner as in the past.

  When the car wash sequence is completed, the vehicle shape and projection data detected by the vehicle shape detection device 8, the image data used in the image processing unit 21, the number plate / projection position data, etc. are transferred to the external memory 29 ( 6) Retan. The data stored in the external memory can be used as verification data when an abnormality occurs, when an accident occurs, or when a complaint occurs.

Then, the position recognition of the protrusion in the said vehicle shape detection process is demonstrated. Here, a case where a rear mirror is detected as a protrusion will be described.
The vehicle shape detection process is executed when the car wash machine body 1 travels from the standby position P1 to the front end position in FIG. The image of the rear mirror RM is taken by the second camera device 7B when the car wash machine body 1 travels to the dotted line position P2, but the vehicle shape detection device 8 is delayed and reaches the dotted line position P2. Thus, the rear mirror RM is detected, so that the image captured by the second camera device 7B in advance at the dotted line position P2 is read and the position of the rear mirror is confirmed.

  FIG. 8 shows an image captured when the car wash machine body 1 is at the position P2 in the night car wash. FIG. 8A shows an image when the floor illumination device 12 is not lit, and FIG. Represents an image when the floor lighting device 12 is turned on.

  Many of the automobiles equipped with the rear mirror RM are one-box type vehicles, and the rear mirror RM is attached to the rear glass surface from the rear edge of the roof. In the case of this type of vehicle, the vehicle body surface (roof surface) is detected brightly by the illumination of the vehicle body illumination device 11, but the rear glass surface is detected slightly dark. Here, when the floor illumination device 12 is not turned on, as shown in FIG. 8A, the rear glass surface becomes almost the same as the brightness of the floor surface, and it is difficult to detect the contour thereof. On the other hand, when the floor surface is lit up by illumination of the floor surface illumination device 12, as shown in FIG. 8B, the contrast between the rear glass surface and the floor surface becomes clear, and the contour of the rear glass surface becomes clear. At the same time, the contour of the rear mirror protruding from the rear glass surface can also be extracted, and only the car image can be extracted from the difference based on the basic image, and the shape of the rear mirror can be searched from the extracted car image by a pattern matching method. Thus, if the rear mirror is detected, it is possible to grasp whether the rear mirror is on the left or right side of the image of the car.

  If the detection of the rear mirror fails, it is confirmed whether there is image data to be referred to in addition to the image at the position P2, and if there is an image that has not been referred to yet, the detection of the rear mirror is repeated for that image. If the rear mirror cannot be detected as a result of repeatedly confirming the image to be referred to, the car wash processing apparatus performs the avoidance operation symmetrically at the position of the rear mirror in the car wash operation at that time.

  As mentioned above, the detection of the rear mirror has been described. By providing a light for illuminating the floor surface in addition to the light for illuminating the vehicle body, it is effective for all projections that protrude from the plane contour of the vehicle body, such as side poles and door mirrors. become. As long as the accessory of the vehicle to be washed by the operation unit can be input, it is possible to set the lighting not to be used even if the vehicle is washed at night for a vehicle for which no projection is specified. Also, it is possible to use only the vehicle body lighting device or the floor lighting device only.

  The present invention can be implemented as described above, and various embodiments are conceivable without departing from the scope of the claims. In the embodiment, an example was shown for a gate type car wash machine, but it can also be applied to a stationary type car wash machine in which a car is moved by a conveyor or the like. After the car is imaged in the same manner, a necessary body part may be imaged in accordance with the movement of the car. In the embodiment, a plurality of cameras with different shooting ranges are provided. However, if an actuator or the like is provided so that a single camera can change the shooting range to capture an image, a smaller number of cameras can be used instead. it can.

  It can be used in car wash machines that perform car washing at night.

1 is a side view showing a configuration of Example 1. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of Example 1. FIG. It is a side view explaining the function and operation | movement of the camera apparatus in Example 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a camera device according to a first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the function of the illuminating device of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the image taken in by the vehicle shape detection process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car-wash machine main body 3.4.4 Brush 4 as a car-wash processing apparatus 5.6.6 Blower nozzle as a car-wash processing apparatus 7A, 7B Camera device 8 Car shape detection device 11,11 Car body illumination device 12,12 Floor surface illumination device 16 Illuminance sensor 20 Car wash control unit 21 Image processing unit

Claims (2)

In a car wash machine for washing a car body surface of a car by relative movement between the car wash machine and the car, a camera device provided above the front side of the car wash machine and capable of taking an image of the car to be washed from above, and an imaging area of the camera device A car wash machine comprising vehicle body illumination means for illuminating a certain automobile and floor surface illumination means for illuminating a floor surface in an imaging region of the camera device. The car wash machine according to claim 1, wherein an output of the floor surface illumination means is made larger than that of the vehicle body illumination means.

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