JP2774392B2 - Train snow accretion monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a train snow accretion monitoring device for monitoring the amount of snow accretion on vehicles of a running train.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the case where snow is soaring under the floor of a vehicle due to running of a train during snowfall, it may be visually checked from a monitoring building provided at a specific point outside the track during running. Was being monitored. On the other hand, the measurement of the thickness of snow accretion was a situation in which a stopped vehicle was imaged by a normal ITV camera at a stop station and displayed on a small monitor for monitoring.

[0003]

In such a conventional method, it is not possible to increase the number of observation points required for monitoring snow accumulation of a train. During the time it takes to arrive, the monitoring of snowfall is delayed, and during that time the snow attached to the equipment under the floor of the vehicle is thick and it is difficult to tell if it is likely to fall, so the deceleration required to prevent falling is In some cases, it may not be possible or the vehicle may run with deceleration even though there is almost no snowfall. For this reason, there was a problem that it was necessary to be able to grasp the amount of snow accumulation more quickly and accurately.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and a measurement sensor is provided in an area where a lot of snow accumulates on a vehicle to monitor snow accretion on a specific portion of a train passing by. In this case, it is an object of the present invention to obtain an accurate and economical train snowfall monitoring device that allows the monitoring center to quickly know the amount of snowfall.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A train snow accretion monitoring apparatus according to the present invention is installed along a track so as to be able to photograph a first specific portion of a running train vehicle under a floor where snow tends to adhere. A high-speed imaging unit using a camera with an electronic shutter, a visual sensor unit that receives and detects infrared light emitted toward the train and reflected from a second specific part of the vehicle, and the electronic sensor based on a detection signal from the visual sensor unit. Control means for generating an image pickup timing signal of a shutter, communication means for transmitting a still image of the first specific portion photographed by the high-speed image pickup section to a monitoring center by a signal from the control means, and this communication And means for processing the still image sent by the means to obtain and output the state of snow accretion on the vehicle. In another invention of the present invention,
A still image to which a measurement scale is added at the time of shooting by the high-speed imaging unit is displayed on a snow accumulation monitor. Further, in another invention, the high-speed imaging unit and the visual sensor unit are installed in a precise positional relationship using a housing.

[0006]

According to the train snow accretion monitoring apparatus of the present invention, when the visual sensor unit detects the second specific portion of the running train vehicle, the control unit generates an imaging timing signal, and the high-speed imaging unit detects the under-floor of the vehicle. The first specific part to which snow easily adheres is photographed, a still image is transmitted to the monitoring center via the communication means, and the still image is subjected to image processing to obtain and output a snowing situation on the vehicle. In another invention of the present invention,
A measurement scale is added to a still image when photographing is performed by the high-speed imaging unit, and this still image is displayed on a snow monitor. further,
In another invention, a high-speed imaging unit and a visual sensor unit are installed in a precise positional relationship using a housing.

[0007]

【Example】

Embodiment 1 FIG. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a track, 2 is a train car running on the track 1, 3 is a legal construction limit indicating a limit of building another along the track 1, and 10 is an operation of the vehicle 2. A monitoring center for centralized monitoring, 11 is a line terminal unit serving as an entrance of a signal of the monitoring center 10, 12 is a still image storage unit for storing a still image signal received by the line terminal unit 11,
Reference numeral 13 denotes a surveillance recording unit that records an image signal indicating a snow accretion state stored in the still image storage unit 12 as a reproduced image of the standard television system, and 14 denotes a snow accretion that displays the reproduced image stored in the surveillance recording unit 13. A monitor 15 is a measurement scale displayed on the screen of the snowfall monitor 14, 16 is an image processing digitizing means for digitizing the amount of snowfall from a still image signal, and 17 is each of the above-mentioned units installed in the monitoring center 10. Control means for controlling.

[0010] 100 is an arbitrary observation point A along the orbit 1
A measurement sensor (hereinafter abbreviated as an A measurement sensor) installed in the vehicle, 101 is a housing for accommodating each part of the A measurement sensor 100, and 102 is a first side to which snow tends to adhere, such as a front side of a device mounted under the floor of the vehicle 2. High-speed imaging unit with a camera with an electronic shutter installed so as to be able to shoot a specific part of
Reference numeral 103 denotes a still image storage unit that stores a still image captured by the high-speed imaging unit 102; 104, a line terminal unit that transmits the still image signal stored in the still image storage unit 103 to the monitoring center 10; Control means for controlling each part of the sensor 100; 106, a case provided in the housing 101; 107, a train 2 installed in the case 106;
High-speed vision sensor that emits infrared light toward and detects infrared light reflected from a second specific portion of the train 2;
10 is a communication line between the monitoring center 10 and the A measurement sensor 100, 200 is exactly the same as the A measurement sensor 100, and is a measurement sensor (hereinafter, referred to as B measurement) installed at an arbitrary observation point B along the track 1 210, a communication line between the monitoring center 10 and the B measurement sensor 200; 300, a C measurement sensor; 310, a communication line;
Is a D measurement sensor, and 410 is a communication line.

Next, the operation will be described. A measurement sensor 100 is installed at a point A which is a necessary observation place for a train 2 traveling on a track 1 day and night. The positional relationship with the track 1 is such that the front surface of the housing 101 and the rail are parallel to each other, and the optical axis of the camera of the high-speed imaging unit is set at right angles. In order to increase the measurement accuracy, it is provided outside of the track-maintenance side road so as not to be far after observing restrictions such as the building limit 3. As in the case of the point A, the height, interval, and direction from the rail surface of the track 1 are the same in a plurality of areas such as the points B, C, and D, and the measurement sensors 200, 300, and 4, respectively.
00 is installed. As described above, by unifying the installation of the measurement sensors, the accuracy of the correlation between the data of a plurality of districts and the analysis of the change is improved. In some cases, the lights may be provided at night, but in order to avoid dazzling the crew of the train, the continuously waiting visual sensor 107 uses infrared light, which is invisible light, while the high-speed imaging unit 102 uses photography. The light was emitted by visible light only for a moment. In the simplest example, the visual sensor 107 can detect the second specific portion of the vehicle 2 with a general infrared sensor. However, as the second specific portion, in order to reduce the size of the housing 101 of the measurement sensor 100, the first specific portion is used. In the vicinity of the specific portion, the high-speed vision sensor 107 can accurately detect the reflected light of infrared light of a predetermined level or more.
Could be set without the need for any processing such as attaching individual sensors to the camera. In addition, the use of the optical sensor as the high-speed vision sensor 107 provided good separation from existing track equipment. The positional relationship between the high-speed imaging unit 102 attached to the housing 101 and the high-speed visual sensor 107 is determined based on the positional relationship between the first specific portion and the second specific portion determined as described above.

When the second specific portion is detected by the high-speed vision sensor 107, the control means 105 supplies a photographing timing signal to the electronic shutter of the camera of the high-speed image pickup section 102, and the high-speed image pickup section 102 outputs one frame of the first frame. Is taken and stored in the still image storage means 103. The higher the time from the detection of the second specific portion by the high-speed vision sensor 107 and the control means 105 to the execution of imaging by the high-speed imaging unit 102, the higher the accuracy of the imaging of the first specific portion. The high-speed imaging unit 102 adds a signal of a measurement scale when capturing a still image, which will be described later in detail. The signal of the still image stored in the still image storage unit 103 is transmitted from the line terminal unit 104 to the line terminal unit 1 of the monitoring center 10 via the communication line 110.
1 and is stored in the still image storage unit 12 and then stored in the monitoring and recording unit 13 as a reproduced image of the standard television system. The transmitted still image signal is subjected to determination and recording of the value of the amount of snow accumulation by the image processing numerical means 16 and the control means 17, and together with the reproduced image stored in the monitoring and recording unit 13, the snow accumulation monitor 14. Will be displayed on the screen.
The display of the screen of the snow accumulation monitor 14 is performed by the high-speed imaging unit 102.
Are displayed together with the measurement scale 15 added by. As an example, when the fine scale line of the measurement scale 15 is displayed with a thickness of 50 mm corresponding to the snow thickness and the fine line interval is set at 10 mm, the thickness of the snow accumulation can be read more accurately. Snow arrival monitor 1
The signal of the measurement scale 15 to be displayed on the A
The communication line 1
10 is not affected by phase distortion, waveform distortion, and the like, and even if there is a deflection distortion of the snow accumulation monitor 14, it is not affected because it is subtracted. Further, since the measurement scale 15 is a vertical scale, the accuracy is further improved without interference with the scanning line.

In the first half of the measurement of the amount of snow accumulation, the measurement sensor collects the object to be measured first and divides the latter into analysis and judgment of the distant monitoring center 10, thereby providing a number of important advantages. come. In particular, the effect of reducing the size and weight of the measurement sensor is great, and the practicality on the track side where there are many restrictions, such as reduction in the degree of freedom of installation, cost, and maintenance, is enhanced. This is achieved by distributing and associating devices to the monitoring center 10 and the measuring sensors at the respective points as shown in FIG. 1, thereby increasing the efficiency by concentrating the analysis and judgment of measurement on the monitoring center 10. It is also effective for stabilization, etc., and results from the synergistic work of each department. In addition, the snowfall is mainly on the front side of the equipment under the floor of the vehicle 2, and the optical axis of the observation field of view of the thickness of the snowfall is substantially perpendicular to the subject,
Since the vehicle 2 having the maximum speed crosses the field of view just at the maximum angle, the image is taken in one frame with a sufficiently short time by a high-speed and stable electronic shutter and stored in the image storage means 103. A clear one-frame still image signal is obtained without blurring. Since the still image signal can be gradually decomposed and transmitted, a low-cost communication line 110 having a narrow frequency bandwidth can be used, and the combination with the monitoring center 10 becomes practical. In particular, since the image data can be transmitted and received while the train intermittently passes, the efficiency of the system increases. Further, it is faster and more stable in one frame shooting than in searching for a required image after taking a plurality of frames, and the visual measurement with the snow monitor 14 can be measured most accurately. Then, the determination result can be output quickly and accurately. As described above, it is very significant that a moment of a monitoring target moving very quickly is captured in one frame of a still image.

For reference, the results of experiments using a prototype will be described. Assuming that the speed of the vehicle 2 is from 70 km to 220 km,
The shutter speed at the time of imaging was 1/10000, and the image could be displayed on the snow accretion monitor 14 sufficiently clearly without blurring. The measurement range was about several tens cm, and the measurement error was about several mm, which was sufficient for practical use and good results were obtained. There is considerable room for the speed of the vehicle 2 described above, and it seems that the vehicle 2 can be used at a higher speed. The communication line 110 has a frequency bandwidth of 3.
In the case of 4 KHz, a very clear image could be transmitted in about 90 seconds per color image.

Embodiment 2 FIG. A plurality of A measurement sensors 100 and B measurement sensors 200, C measurement sensors 30
Communication lines 110, 21 such as 0, D measurement sensor 400
0, 310, 410, etc. are merged in the area, or the measurement sensors are sequentially traced along the orbit 1, merged in series, and then connected to a distant monitoring center 10 to form an economical configuration.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, the train snow monitoring system is configured so that the amount of snow on the train of a running train can be quickly and accurately grasped by the monitoring center. Necessary deceleration and a situation in which the snow that has arrived on the track falls and damages the vehicle can be prevented beforehand, so that there is an effect that what is effective for improving train operation services and improving safety can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a train snow accumulation monitoring device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 track 2 train car 10 monitoring center 11 line terminal unit 12 still image storage unit 13 monitoring and recording unit 14 snow accretion monitor 15 measurement scale 16 image processing and digitizing unit 17 control unit 100 A measurement sensor 101 housing 102 high-speed imaging unit 103 still Image storage unit 104 Line terminal unit 105 Control unit 107 High-speed vision sensor 110 Communication line 200 B measurement sensor 210 Communication line 300 C measurement sensor 310 Communication line 400 D measurement sensor 410 Communication line

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ihiko Tsuribe 2-3-2 Tajima, Urawa-shi, Saitama (72) Inventor Mitsuo Kurai 4-126, Matsumi-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken (72) Inventor Masaru Mori JP-A-60-113679 (JP, A) JP-A-2-306399 (JP, A) JP-A-3-138509 (JP) 2-2-13-301, Seiryodai, Tarumi-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo , A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01V 9/04 G06T 1/00 H04N 7/18 B61D 49/00 B61F 19/00 B61K 13/00 B61L 23/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A high-speed imaging unit using a camera with an electronic shutter installed along a track so that a first specific portion of a running train under a floor to which snow tends to adhere can be photographed, and emits light toward the train. A visual sensor unit for receiving and detecting infrared light reflected from a second specific portion of the vehicle, a control unit for generating an imaging timing signal of the electronic shutter based on a detection signal from the visual sensor unit, Communication means for transmitting, to the monitoring center, a still image of the first specific portion photographed by the high-speed imaging unit in response to the signal of (i), and processing the still image transmitted by the communication means to perform snow processing on the vehicle. Train snowfall monitoring device equipped with means for obtaining and outputting the result. 2. A high-speed imaging unit using a camera with an electronic shutter installed along a track so as to photograph a first specific portion of a running train where snow tends to adhere under a floor, and emits light toward the train. A visual sensor unit for receiving and detecting infrared light reflected from a second specific portion of the vehicle, a control unit for generating an imaging timing signal of the electronic shutter based on a detection signal from the visual sensor unit, Communication means for transmitting a still image of the first specific portion photographed by the high-speed imaging unit to the monitoring center in accordance with the signal of the above, and a measurement scale added by the high-speed imaging unit to the still image transmitted by the communication means A train snowfall monitoring device equipped with a snowfall monitor to be displayed together with. 3. A high-speed imaging unit using a camera with an electronic shutter installed along a track so as to capture a first specific portion of a running train where snow tends to adhere under a floor, and emits light toward the train. A visual sensor unit for receiving and detecting infrared light reflected from a second specific portion of the vehicle, a control unit for generating an imaging timing signal of the electronic shutter based on a detection signal from the visual sensor unit, Communication means for transmitting, to the monitoring center, a still image of the first specific portion of one frame photographed by the high-speed imaging section in response to the signal of A train snow accretion monitoring device including means for obtaining and outputting a snow accretion state, and a housing for accommodating at least the high-speed imaging unit and the visual sensor unit and for setting both units in a predetermined positional relationship. Place.