JP3303763B2 - Road surface photographing 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 continuous traveling type photographing device for observing a road surface condition, and more particularly to a photographing device for easily observing the presence of a defect on a road surface such as a scratch on a road surface or a crack with a simple device configuration. Road surface photographing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a television camera, a line sensor camera, or the like has been used as a sensor for observing the presence of a defect such as a scratch or a crack on a road surface. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a schematic diagram in which the optical path of the road surface photographing device is developed on a plane, a line sensor camera is attached to the upper outside of the dedicated vehicle with its photographing opening directed downward, and I was shooting the road surface from above.
In this case, the measurement width of the road surface needs to photograph a width wider than that of the vehicle. For example, when the width of the vehicle is about 1.7 m, the photographing width B of the required road surface needs to be about 4 m.
As is well known, the focal length F of the camera lens is a function of the imaging width A, the distance L from the camera to the road surface, and the shooting width B, and has a relationship of F = A / B · L. for,
Since the focal length F decreases as the distance L from the camera to the road decreases, the image distortion increases. Like a road surface photographing device with such a camera,
In order to observe the presence of cracks or the like, image distortion is not preferable. Therefore, usually, the position of the camera is determined so that the distance L from the line sensor camera to the road surface is greater than the photographing width B. For this reason, in the above case, the distance L from the camera to the road surface is equal to or greater than the photographing width B, that is, 4 m. For example, the camera must be installed on the top of a pole 4 m or more higher than the road surface. It should be noted that a high resolution of mm unit is required for observing the road surface for scratches and cracks, but a line sensor of 4000 elements is required for observing the road surface width of 4 m at a time. Therefore, a large car was required for installation of a rugged tall pole and handling of the line sensor camera on the pole.

[0003]

From the above, it has been a problem to mount a line sensor camera on a small car without particularly requiring a large car, to facilitate handling, and to maintain observation accuracy. . The present invention provides a road surface photographing device that solves these problems.

[0004]

In view of the above, the present inventors have made intensive studies and as a result, have solved the above-mentioned problems by the following means. (1) A line sensor camera mounted on a vehicle and a mirror attached to the vehicle are provided, and the mirror projects a road surface in a line shape in a width direction and projects an image of the road surface to a photographing opening of the line sensor camera. A road surface photographing device, which is disposed at a site and is configured to bend an optical path between a line sensor camera and a photographing road surface to photograph the road surface. (2) The road surface photographing device according to the above (1), wherein the mirror is a convex mirror. (3) The line sensor camera is installed on the roof of the vehicle, and is installed so as to provide an optical path parallel to the longitudinal direction of the road surface, and a mirror is provided at a rear corner on the roof of the vehicle to vertically align the optical path. The road surface photographing device according to the above mode (1) or (2), wherein the road surface is photographed by bending. (4) The line sensor camera is installed on the roof of the vehicle and installed so as to provide an optical path parallel to the longitudinal direction of the road surface, and a mirror is attached to a front corner of the roof of the vehicle to vertically align the optical path. The road surface photographing device according to the above mode (1) or (2), wherein the road surface is photographed by bending. (5) The line sensor camera is installed inside the vehicle, and is installed so as to provide an optical path parallel to the longitudinal direction of the road surface. Also, a gap for the optical path is provided at the rear of the vehicle, and a mirror is provided outside the vehicle. The road surface photographing apparatus according to the above mode (1) or (2), wherein the optical path is vertically bent to photograph the road surface. (6) The line sensor camera is installed on the lower outside of the rear part of the vehicle with the shooting opening facing upward, and a mirror is attached above the optical path, and the optical path is bent at an acute angle to photograph the road surface. The road surface photographing apparatus according to the above mode (1) or (2), (7) An angle adjusting device is attached to the mirror so that the bending angle of the optical path between the line sensor camera and the photographing road surface can be adjusted. The road surface photographing device according to claim 1.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A line sensor camera in which hundreds to thousands of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in a line is obtained by moving either the line sensor camera or the subject at right angles to the direction of the line of the line sensor. Make up the image. Therefore, the line sensor camera is mounted on, for example, the upper part of the vehicle so that the line sensor is perpendicular to the traveling direction, and the road surface is photographed as the vehicle moves. Further, since the optical path of the line sensor camera is not a plane but a line, the space between the road surface and the camera is a planar triangle. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a road surface photographing device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram in which an optical path of a conventional road surface photographing device is developed on a plane. In the figure, 1 is a line sensor camera, 2 is a road surface, 3 is an optical path, 4 is a road surface photographing line, and 5 is a bending line. As shown in the drawing, the line sensor camera 1 is located at a high position in the vertical direction with respect to the road surface, but it is noted that the space of the optical path is a planar triangle, and a halfway of the optical path is formed by a bending line 5 with a mirror. The plane can be divided into a plane different from the plane by 90 °, for example, and a vertical plane, and the total optical path length is the same as before the bending. Therefore, the conventional optical path having only the height can be divided into two directions, that is, between the road surface and the mirror (vertical) and between the mirror and the line sensor camera (horizontal).

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a road surface photographing apparatus according to the present invention when the optical path is bent. In the drawing, 6 is a convex mirror, 7 is a subject reflection line of the mirror, 8 is a vertical optical path between the road surface and the mirror, and 9 is a horizontal optical path between the mirror and the line sensor camera. As shown, the vertical optical path 8;
When the line sensor camera 1 is installed at the image forming portion of the horizontal optical path 9 bent by the convex mirror 6, the position is at the height of the optical path 8 from the road surface 2. The mirror may be a flat mirror. In this case, in order to observe a wide road surface width, divided observation of the road surface or use of a plurality of line sensor cameras and mirrors will be used (not shown). ). If the convex mirror (6) is used, it is possible to photograph a road surface width wider than the vehicle width with a simple configuration, obtain much information, and reduce the size of the mirror.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a convex mirror of the road surface photographing apparatus. In the figure, 10 is a mirror surface, 11 is a short side, 1
2 indicates a long side, and 13 indicates a curved line. The convex mirror 6 is a belt-shaped mirror in which both ends of the long side 12 are curved like a curved line 13 in order to project a road surface width wider than the vehicle width. Further, the length 12 of the long side can be extended to, for example, the same as the vehicle width.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings according to the structure of various devices. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a road surface photographing device in which a line sensor camera is installed on the roof of a vehicle and a convex mirror is installed at a rear corner on the roof of the vehicle, as viewed from the rear. In the figure, 14 is a mounted vehicle, 15 is a convex mirror mounting tool, and 17 is an angle adjusting device. The vehicle 1 is controlled by the convex mirror 6 adjusted by the angle adjusting device 17.
The road surface photographing line 4 projected in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the photographing line 4 is photographed by the line sensor camera 1 and sent to a processing unit (not shown) as image information. As shown in the figure, the use of the convex mirror 6 allows the setting position of the line sensor camera 1 to be the height of the roof of the small vehicle 14, and the depth of focus can be adjusted by changing the front and rear setting positions. . Furthermore, it can be easily installed on a ready-made vehicle, and maintenance, inspection and the like can be easily performed.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus in which a line sensor camera is installed on the roof of a vehicle and a convex mirror is installed at a front corner on the roof of the vehicle. The above is a mechanism for photographing the road surface 2 immediately before traveling, and can be installed in the same manner as in FIG. 4 depending on the structure of the vehicle. Further, there is a feature that it is not necessary to photograph the running trace of the own vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus in which a line sensor camera is installed inside a vehicle, a gap for an optical path is provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a convex mirror is installed outside the gap. In the figure, reference numeral 16 denotes an optical path gap. As shown, the road surface photographing line 4 projected on the convex mirror 6
Is photographed by the line sensor camera 1 through the optical path gap 16 at the rear of the vehicle. In addition, the lower end of the convex mirror 6 can be lowered by the mirror angle adjusting device 17 during non-observation to close the optical path gap 16. With the above mechanism, all operations including cleaning of the convex mirror 6 can be performed in the vehicle, so that adjustment and maintenance are easy regardless of the weather.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which a line sensor camera is installed inside a vehicle with its photographing surface facing upward, a second convex mirror is provided in the vehicle so as to pass through a gap for a rear optical path, and a convex mirror is provided outside the second convex mirror. FIG. 1 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus provided with a camera. In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes a second convex mirror, and 19 denotes a vertical optical path in the vehicle. As shown in the drawing, the road surface photographing line 4 projected on the convex mirror 6 is bent by a second convex mirror 18 provided in the vehicle as in an optical path 9, and is further bent vertically as in an optical path 19. The image is taken by the line sensor camera 1. The second convex mirror 18 may be smaller than the convex mirror 6 installed outdoors. This mechanism can be operated in the vehicle as in FIG. 6 and the line sensor camera 1 can be installed at a low position and in a convenient place in the vehicle by adding the second convex mirror 18. can do.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus in which a line sensor camera is installed at a low position outside the rear of the vehicle with the photographing surface facing upward, and a convex mirror is installed above the line sensor camera in parallel with the road surface. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a mount for a line sensor camera. As shown, the road surface photographing line 4 projected on the convex mirror 6 is bent at an acute angle like an optical path 9 and photographed by the line sensor camera 1. In this mechanism, since the line sensor camera 1 can be installed at a low position outside the vehicle, operation, detachment, and the like are simple. Also, since the road surface observation will not be performed in case of rainy weather,
There is no particular problem even if the line sensor camera 1 is installed facing upward.

The state of the road surface photographed by the line sensor camera 1 is sent to the processing section as image information. This image information is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-129845, a road surface state inspection device and a Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-268955, and a road surface imaging device by the same applicant. The recording device is provided with two buffer memories and a video recorder for recording the read-out output thereof, which are obtained in synchronization with the moving speed of the on-board vehicle, and synchronized with the sweep signal of the line sensor by the control circuit of the buffer memory. The two buffer memories are alternately controlled to be in a write and read state, a write address synchronized with the sweep signal is written in the buffer memory in the write state, and a standard T address is written in the buffer memory in the read state.
By providing a read address signal synchronized with the V signal, the state of a long road surface or the like is continuously recorded on a video recorder, and reproduced and displayed as an image that is easy to see and understand.

According to the present invention, the present invention can be applied not only to the observation of the road surface but also to the photographing of a narrow place. For example, a wall or the like of a narrow space sandwiched between two buildings is projected on a mirror, the optical path is bent, and the image is photographed by a line sensor camera. Then, by moving the position of the mirror, it is possible to continuously and easily photograph the wall surface with high accuracy.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the following excellent effects are exhibited. 1. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a line sensor camera mounted on a vehicle and a mirror for projecting a line width of a road surface width in an optical path thereof and projecting the image to a photographing opening of the line sensor camera are installed. By bending the optical path between the line sensor camera and the road surface for shooting, the need for a robust high pole with a line sensor camera installed on the top and a large vehicle equipped with those facilities, which were required in the past, becomes unnecessary. Since the position of the line sensor camera can be lowered to the height of the roof of the vehicle, a small vehicle can be adopted, and equipment, operation, adjustment, and maintenance are simple and easy. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the mirror is a convex mirror, it is possible to photograph a road surface width wider than the vehicle width,
Further, the size of the mirror can be reduced. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the line sensor camera is installed on the roof of the vehicle, an optical path is provided in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the road surface, and a mirror is installed at a rear corner on the roof of the vehicle, so that the optical path is vertical. By setting the line sensor camera height to the height of the rooftop of a small vehicle by photographing the bent road surface, the depth of focus can be adjusted by changing the setting position back and forth. Further, maintenance, inspection, and the like are facilitated, and the apparatus can be easily installed on a ready-made vehicle. According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the line sensor camera is installed on the roof of the vehicle, an optical path is provided in parallel with the road surface, and a mirror is installed on a front corner of the vehicle roof, and the optical path is bent vertically. , The line sensor camera can be set at the height of the roof. Further, since the road surface in front of the vehicle is photographed, the traveling trace of the own vehicle is not photographed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the line sensor camera is installed inside the vehicle, an optical path is provided in parallel with the road surface, and a gap for the optical path is provided at the rear of the vehicle, and a mirror is provided outside the optical path. In order to bend the optical path vertically and photograph the road surface, adjust the mirror setting angle and at the time of non-observation,
The lower end can be lowered to close the optical path gap,
All operations, including cleaning the mirror, can be performed in the vehicle. Therefore, adjustment and maintenance are easy regardless of the weather. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the line sensor camera is installed at the lower portion outside the rear of the vehicle with the shooting opening facing upward, and a mirror is installed above the optical path, and the optical path is bent at an acute angle to form a road surface. Since the image is taken, the line sensor camera can be installed at a low position outside the vehicle, and the operation, detachment, and the like are easy. According to the seventh and seventh aspects of the present invention, since the angle adjustment device for the mirror mounted on the vehicle is provided, the bending angle of the optical path can be finely adjusted, and the position of the observation road surface can be set accurately. As described above, the road surface photographing apparatus of the present invention greatly contributes to the development of the industrial field in the field.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram in which an optical path of a conventional road surface photographing device is developed on a plane.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a road surface photographing apparatus when the optical path of the present invention is bent.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a convex mirror of the road surface photographing device.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a road surface photographing device in which a line sensor camera is installed on a roof of a vehicle and a convex mirror is attached to a rear corner of the roof of the vehicle;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus in which a line sensor camera is installed on the roof of a vehicle and a convex mirror is attached to a front corner of the roof of the vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus in which a line sensor camera is installed inside a vehicle, a gap for an optical path is provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a convex mirror is provided outside the gap.

FIG. 7: A line sensor camera is installed inside a vehicle with a photographing surface facing upward, a second convex mirror is provided in the vehicle so as to pass through a rear optical path gap, and a convex mirror is provided outside the second mirror. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a road surface photographing apparatus in which a line sensor camera is installed at a low position outside the rear of the vehicle with the photographing surface facing upward, and a convex mirror is attached above the line sensor camera in parallel with the road surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Line sensor camera 2: Road surface 3: Optical path 4: Road surface photographing line 5: Bending line 6: Convex mirror 7: Mirror object reflection line 8: Vertical optical path between road surface and mirror 9: Horizontal between mirror and line sensor camera Optical path 10: Mirror surface 11: Short side 12: Long side 13: Curved line 14: Mounted vehicle 15: Convex mirror attachment 16: Optical path gap 17: Mirror angle adjustment device 18: Second convex mirror 19: Vehicle vertical optical path 20: Mount for line sensor camera

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01C 7/02 G01B 11/30

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A line sensor camera mounted on a vehicle,
A mirror attached to the vehicle, and the mirror projects the road surface in a line shape in the width direction, and the mirror is disposed at a position where the image is projected to a shooting opening of the line sensor camera. A road surface photographing apparatus characterized in that an optical path between them is bent to photograph a road surface. 2. The road surface photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mirror is a convex mirror. 3. A line sensor camera is installed on the roof of a vehicle and installed so as to provide an optical path parallel to the longitudinal direction of the road surface, and a mirror is attached to a rear corner on the roof of the vehicle.
The road surface photographing device according to claim 1, wherein the optical path is bent vertically to photograph a road surface. 4. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the line sensor camera is installed on the roof of the vehicle, and an optical path is provided in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the road surface, and a mirror is provided at a front corner of the roof of the vehicle.
The road surface photographing device according to claim 1, wherein the optical path is bent vertically to photograph a road surface. 5. A line sensor camera is installed inside a vehicle, and is provided so as to provide an optical path parallel to the longitudinal direction of a road surface. Further, a gap for an optical path is provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a mirror is provided outside the gap. The road surface photographing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the road surface is photographed by additionally bending the optical path vertically. 6. A line sensor camera is installed at a lower portion on the outside of a rear portion of a vehicle with a photographing opening facing upward, and a mirror is provided above the optical path so that the optical path is bent at an acute angle to photograph a road surface. The road surface photographing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an angle adjusting device is mounted on the mirror so that a bending angle of an optical path between the line sensor camera and the photographing road surface can be adjusted. Road surface photographing device.