JP2017174284A - Yard management system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a yard management system and method capable of precisely managing materials without generating any incidental work.SOLUTION: The yard management system stores various kinds of information relevant to the materials (primary information, secondary information) while associating with a materials database and creates information specific to each material. The yard management system extracts a piece of precise location information of the material yard via a bird's eye view from thereabove using cameras for obtaining image information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a yard management apparatus and method for managing materials in a yard.

  For example, a large-scale construction site such as a power plant has an extensive yard (material storage place). In the yard, it is necessary to carry out materials management accurately, such as material loading and unloading and storage location confirmation.

  The purpose is to manage products efficiently until the products such as construction materials and installation equipment manufactured at the factory are used at the construction site and work management when the products are used at the construction site. As a conventional technique, Patent Document 1 is known.

  Patent Document 1 states that “the construction site management system 40 is a network for long-distance communication RFID 22 among the RFID tags 10, first reading means 42, management server 46, and communication within the site of the construction site among communication networks. A product management system 40A, which is a product management system that includes a wide-area network within a site and a product manufactured at a manufacturing factory until the product is brought into the construction site and used, a short-range communication RFID 24, a second reading unit 44, Two systems of a management server 46 and a work management system that is a work management when a product is used at a construction site, which is composed of a communication network and a building wireless network for networking communication in a construction building. It is composed of ".

JP 2008-1558569 A

  In the material management at the construction site, there are problems that the yard is wide area and a large amount of materials are carried in and out every day, so that accurate management is difficult. For example, a material symbol is assigned to each material, and even if the material, shape, and size are exactly the same, they cannot be substituted if the material symbol is different. For this reason, for example, in order to confirm the materials to be carried out tomorrow, it will take a lot of time to walk around the yard in order to search for materials with the corresponding material symbols from the same or similar materials. Often spent. Also, there was a problem that even if it was searched, it could not be found after all. The problem is that the larger the yard of a huge plant, the more time is required to find the target material (ancillary work).

  In this regard, in the conventional material management system described in Patent Document 1, in order to manage the storage location of the material, it is necessary for the worker to read the RFID one by one for the material. It is a material management system with enormous incidental work.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a yard management apparatus and method capable of accurately managing materials without generating incidental work by workers as much as possible. .

This is a yard management device for managing materials that are carried into and out of the material yard.
Overlooking the material yard from above, the material database pre-assigned to the material, the primary information that the material originally has, and the secondary information attached to the surface of the material after material production are linked and stored It includes a camera that obtains image information, and a processing device that obtains secondary information given to the surface of the material from the image information and compares it with the secondary information in the material database.

  According to the yard management device of the present invention, it is possible to accurately manage materials without generating incidental work by workers as much as possible.

The figure which shows an example of database DB to which this invention is applied. The figure which shows the example of an apparatus whole structure for performing the yard management to which this invention is applied. The figure which shows the apparatus for linking | linking with primary information of database DB without error, when acquiring plot information. The figure which shows the mechanism of the difference detection at the time of information update. The flowchart which stores the various information regarding the material M with which this invention is applied to database DB. The flowchart which stores the location information regarding the material M to which only this difference is applied to database DB to which this invention is applied. The flowchart until it updates to database DB about the specification of the material M to carry out, and location information, and actually carries out.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a material storage to which the present invention is applied and an apparatus configuration for implementing the management.

  In the yard management apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, a factory F that manufactures materials, a yard Y that stores materials, and a management unit C including a processing unit C1 and an operation unit C2 are connected by a network NW or the like. In this example, the factory camera FCM in the factory F, the yard camera YCM in the yard Y, the database DB and server SV in the processing unit C1, and the computer PC in the operation unit C2 are connected via the network NW. . The database DB in the processing unit C1 and the server SV are linked. The processing unit C1 and the operation unit C2 may be arranged in the same place.

  The function of each part which comprises the yard management apparatus of FIG. 2 is as follows. First, the server SV in the processing unit C1 is a command unit that performs shooting commands to the factory camera FCM in the factory F, the yard camera YCM in the yard Y, and data transmission to and from the computer PC.

  The computer PC in the operation unit C2 has a carry-in / carry-out management system, and the data stored in the database DB in the processing unit C1 is downloaded via the server SV and the network NW when operated by the user. Then, the user can confirm the location information LI of the material M desired to be carried out by display on the monitor screen.

  The factory camera FCM and the yard camera YCM are devices having a function of performing photographing, and each obtains an image of the material M before shipment and an image of a scene of the material M in the yard as image data. The image data FIM of pre-shipment material photographed by the factory camera FCM and the image data YIM of the scenery of the material M in the yard photographed by the yard camera YCM are stored in the database DB via the network NW.

  The server SV performs processing such as character authentication, image analysis, and image recognition on the image data FIM and YIM stored in the database DB. Briefly described, characters in the image data FIM are identified and extracted by character authentication technology and converted into text data. Difference detection between image data YIM and acquisition of location information are performed by image analysis technology. When a plurality of materials M are shown in one image by the image recognition technique, one material M is identified and separated.

  Information (material information CI and location information LI) related to the material M generated by each of these technologies is stored for each material symbol in the database DB. The text data converted by the character authentication technique is used when information is newly associated with the database DB and stored. Details of the material symbol, the symbol information CI, and the location information LI will be described later using specific examples.

  The user downloads the data stored in the database DB via the server SV and the network NW by operating the carry-in / carry-out system on the computer PC, and displays the location information LI of the material M desired to be carried out on the monitor for confirmation. can do.

  When the user wishes to carry out the material M, the user creates a carry-out slip using the loading / unloading management system of the computer PC. The material symbol is described in the carry-out slip, and the location information LI of the material M having the corresponding material symbol can be acquired through updating the database DB.

  The user (worker) can go to the yard Y to search for the material M based on the acquired location information LI and find the material M that he / she wants to carry out.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of the database DB in FIG. 2 and a mechanism in which primary information TI, chart information CI, and location information LI are stored in stages.

  On the left side of FIG. 1, the production, transportation, and storage operations of materials and the order of movement are described. According to this operation and movement order, CAD is referred to in the first stage W1, and for example, a pipe is manufactured in the factory F as the material M in the next stage W2, and a handwritten memo is described on the pipe surface in the factory F in the stage W3. In addition, the pipes are photographed, and after passing through the factory shipment W4 and delivery to the yard Y, the material M in the yard is photographed at the next stage W6, and finally the work and the moving procedure from the yard to the delivery W7 are performed. It passes.

  The right side of FIG. 1 describes the structure of the database DB and the process in which stored contents are additionally described corresponding to the above-described work and movement order. First, the structure of the database DB includes serial number N, material symbol DB1, piping information DB2-DB5, character information DB6-DB9, coordinate DB10, and date DB11. Among these, the piping information includes color DB2, shape DB3, size DB4, number of bends DB5, etc., and information that the piping as a material originally has (hereinafter referred to as primary information T1. The primary information includes serial number N and material symbol DB1. May be included). On the other hand, the character information is position DB6, size DB7, interval DB7, handwriting DB9, etc., and is information input by handwriting on the piping surface as will be described later. It can be said that the given secondary information T2.

  In the present invention, primary information T1 (DB1-DB5), secondary information T2 (DB6-DB9), and other information T3 (DB10, DB11) are sequentially applied according to the production, transportation, storage work, and movement order of materials. Generate and add. Specifically, the CAD is referred to in the first stage W1, the primary information T1 is generated and stored in the database DB, the secondary information T2 is generated and stored in the database DB in response to the in-factory photography in the stage W3, and the stage W6. The other information T3 is generated and stored in the database DB in accordance with the yard photography.

  First of all, the primary information TI is a variety of information (material symbol (A123), color (silver), shape (U), size (15 * 2), bending) from CAD data in the stage W1 before the material M is manufactured at the factory. The score (1)) is acquired and stored for each material M in the items DB1 to DB5 of the database DB. At that time, a serial number N is assigned on the database DB.

  Next, the sign information CI, which is the secondary information T2, is acquired from the material surface in the stage W3 after the material M is manufactured in the factory F. When the material M is manufactured and shipped from the factory, the number assigned to each material M (material symbol) is handwritten with a marker by the worker. The material M becomes an individualized material OM that does not have the same thing by handwriting the material symbol by a human hand. The individual material OM is photographed from three directions by three factory cameras FCM, and the image data FIM is stored in the database DB. The three factory cameras FCM are operated by a tablet TB held by an operator.

  At the time of importing into the database DB, the display information CI1 is generated from the image data FIM photographed from three directions by combining the handwritten characters, shapes, colors, stains, etc., and the items DB6-9 of the database DB are generated. To store. In the example of FIG. 1, the feature of the handwritten character written in paint indicates that the character position is described in the position represented by 3 * 0.5 in DB6, and the size is 1 * 0.2. A certain thing is stored in DB7, an interval of 0.01 is stored in DB7, and a handwriting image is stored in DB9.

  Next, the other information T3 is carried into the yard Y, stored, and brought to the photography stage W6. After storage, the location information LI is acquired by the four yard cameras YCM installed at the four corners of the yard Y so as to overlook the entire yard from above.

  This acquisition is performed at an arbitrary timing set by the user. In addition, “all” and “difference only” can be selected for the piping from which information is acquired. The four yard cameras YCM are automatically activated at the set timing, take pictures from the four corners, and store the image data YIM in the database DB.

  The processing of the image data acquired from the yard Y is performed as follows, for example. With respect to the image data YIM photographed from the four corners, each of the plurality of materials M appearing in one image is identified by using an image identification technique, and is divided. The server SV processes the separated image data YIM of the material M, acquires the chart information CI2 and the location information LI2, and stores them in the database DB. The sign data CI2 of the material M stored in the database DB is collated with the sign information CI1 of the image data FIM stored in advance by the image analysis technique in the server SV to search for matching data. After finding a match, the location information LI2 is stored in the database DB items DB10 to DB11. In the illustrated example, as of March 7, it is recorded that the material M is stored at the coordinate position defined by 100.200.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an apparatus mainly including a tablet TB for correctly storing the sign information CI acquired in the factory with the primary information TI and storing it in the database DB. The tablet TB has a function of controlling the factory camera FCM that captures the material OM on which handwritten characters are written. In order to correctly associate the sign information CI and the primary information TI and store them in the database DB, before shooting, the image data FIM of the factory camera FCM installed on the front is used, and characters are written on the material symbols written by hand. Text data is created by using recognition technology. With respect to the material symbol that has been converted into text, a message “Is the material symbol A123?” Is displayed to the user on the tablet, and the operator visually confirms whether the material symbol is material OM. Thereafter, image data FIM is taken from the factory camera FCM.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the difference acquisition of the location information LI. When acquiring only the difference, the server SV compares the image data YIM newly captured from four directions with the previous image data LYIM, and detects the difference. By detecting the difference, the movement / increase / decrease of the material M is grasped. Then, the location information LI is acquired for the material DM that has been moved or increased (= differed). The acquisition of the location information LI is as described above.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process from acquiring the collection information CI and the location information LI from the primary information TI to storing them in the database DB for all materials M stored in the yard Y. In step S01, the system is automatically activated according to a preset operation frequency, and the following processes are sequentially executed.

  In the first step S02, a material symbol is generated from CAD information.

  In step S03, the primary information TI is acquired from the CAD information, associated with the material symbol DB1, and stored in the items DB1 to DB5 of the database DB.

  In step S04, materials are manufactured in a factory.

  In step S05, the worker manually writes a material symbol on the material.

  In step S06, the factory camera FCM installed in the factory shoots the material M from three directions with the user's tablet while associating it with the material symbol, and obtains image data FIM.

  In step S07, image analysis is performed on the obtained image data FIM to generate the expression information CI.

  In step S08, the generated representation information CI is stored in the items DB6 to DB9 of the database DB.

  In step S09, the material M is carried into and out of the yard from the factory.

  In step S10, the loaded material is stored in the yard.

  In step S11, the whole image of the yard Y is photographed by the yard camera YCM, and the image data YIM is obtained.

  In step S12, image analysis is performed on the obtained image data YIM to generate the expression information CI and the location information LI.

  In step S13, the database DB is searched for the display information CI that matches the generated display information CI.

  In step S14, the location information LI of the material M having the matching material symbol is stored in the database DB items DB10 and DB11.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for detecting a difference such as movement for the material M stored in the yard Y, acquiring various pieces of information only for the difference, and storing them in the database DB. In the first step S15, the system is automatically activated at a preset operation frequency.

  In step S16, the whole image of the yard Y is taken by the yard camera YCM, and image data YIM is obtained.

  In step S17, the image data YIM of the yard Y obtained last time is obtained from the database DB.

  In step S18, the image data YIM photographed this time is compared with the image data YIM obtained last time to determine whether they match. If they match (Yes), the process ends. If they do not match (No), the process proceeds to step S19.

  In step S19, the material M having the difference is cut out from the image data YIM.

  In step S20, the chart information CI2 and the location information LI2 are generated for the material M with the difference detected and cut out in step S19.

  In step S21, a search is made for a match between the sign information CI1 on the database DB and the new sign information CI2. If there is, the process proceeds to step S22, and if not, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S22, the location information LI2 is stored in the item of the material symbol having the matching expression information CI.

  In step S23, the sign information CI2 and the location information LI2 are stored in the database DB after obtaining a new serial number N.

  In step S24, if the processing of step S14 to step S17 is completed for all the materials M acquired from the image data YIM and all the data stored in the database DB (Yes), the step ends and the processing is not completed. (No) returns to step S20.

  FIG. 7 shows a specific example of the material M stored in the yard Y. The specific material M that the user wishes to carry out is specified from the newly captured image data YIM using the display information CI stored in the database DB in advance. It is a flowchart which confirms the presence or absence of a change in the location information regarding the material M, updates the information in the database DB if there is a change and responds to the user.

  In step S25, the material M that the user desires to carry out is specified by the carry-out slip created by the user using the loading / unloading management system of the computer PC.

  In step S26, the whole image of the yard Y is taken by the yard camera YCM, and the image data YIM is obtained.

  In step S27, image analysis is performed to search for a material M that matches the expression information CI of the material M identified from the image data YIM.

  In step S28, image analysis is performed, and the matching material M is cut out from the image data YIM.

  In step S29, the representation information CI and the location information LI are generated for the cut out image data YIM.

  In step 30, a search is made as to whether there is a match with the generated sign information CI in the database DB. If yes (Yes), go to Step 32. If not (No), the process proceeds to step 31.

  In step 31, the newly generated location information LI is stored in the database DB.

  In step 32, it is determined whether all the materials M that the user wishes to carry out have been completed. If all the numbers are complete (Yes), the process proceeds to step S33. If the total number is not complete (No), the process returns to step S29.

  In step 33, the location information LI is displayed and printed regardless of whether or not the material M that the user wishes to carry out is updated.

  In step 34, the user actually goes to Yard Y and makes an implicit confirmation about the location of material M.

  According to the yard management device of the present invention described above, in addition to the primary information inherent in the material and the information on the storage position and date in relation to the material symbol in the internal database DB, the surface of the material after the material is manufactured Is stored in association with the secondary information assigned to. By providing this secondary information in the database DB, it is possible to confirm the latest storage location of the material by comparing it with secondary information obtained by analyzing an image of the yard viewed from above. . In the yard, every time we frequently carry in and out, we repeat the work such as moving the material in front to get the target material, but there is also the case that the moved material is not returned to the original. It can happen that it is not in the position it should be. In the present invention, by paying attention to the secondary information, it is possible to reduce the labor (incident work) for finding the target material of the worker even in such a scene.

NW ... Network, DB ... Database, SV ... Server, FCM ... Factory camera, M ... Material, FIM ... Image data taken with factory camera, Y ... Yard, YCM ... Yard camera, YIM ... Image taken with yard camera Data, PC ... Computer, TI ... Primary information, CI ... Characteristic information, LI ... Location information

Claims (5)

A yard management device for managing the materials that are carried into and out of the material yard,
For the material, a material database preliminarily assigned to the material, primary information that the material originally has, and a material database that stores and associates secondary information that is provided on the material surface after the material is manufactured, A camera that obtains image information from an overhead view of the material yard, and a processing device that obtains secondary information given to the surface of the material from the image information and compares it with the secondary information in the material database Yard management device characterized by that. The yard management device according to claim 1,
The yard management device characterized in that the secondary information given to the material surface is information obtained from handwritten characters handwritten on the surface of the material. The yard management device according to claim 1,
The primary information that the material originally has is information including the size and shape of the material. A yard management method for managing materials to be carried into and out of a material yard,
The material in the material yard is stored by associating a material symbol previously given to the material, primary information originally provided for the material, and secondary information given to the material surface after the material is manufactured. And
While obtaining the image information by overlooking the material yard from above, obtaining secondary information on the material surface from the image information,
A yard management method characterized by identifying a storage location of a material of a material symbol desired to be searched by comparing secondary information from the image information with previously stored secondary information. A yard management method for managing materials to be carried into and out of a material yard,
The material in the material yard is stored by associating a material symbol previously given to the material, primary information originally provided for the material, and secondary information given to the material surface after the material is manufactured. And
When carrying in the material to the material yard, obtaining the image information of the material carried in from a bird's-eye view from above, obtaining secondary information on the surface of the material carried in from the image information
A yard management method characterized in that the incoming material is identified by comparing the secondary information of the incoming material obtained from the image information with the secondary information stored in advance.

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