JP4799160B2 - Vehicle measurement device, vehicle measurement method, and vehicle measurement program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle measurement device, a vehicle measurement method, and a vehicle measurement program for measuring an outer dimension of a vehicle.

As a technique for measuring the outer dimension of a vehicle, a vehicle measuring device that captures a vehicle and measures the outer dimension of the vehicle from the image is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, a reflecting plate is installed on the road surface, and a camera for photographing the vehicle and the reflecting plate from an oblique direction is installed above the road surface. In this technique, the vehicle width and the like are determined based on the gray value of the photographing result.
Japanese Patent No. 3276696

However, the above-described technique cannot accurately measure the vehicle. That is, in the above-described technology, since the reflecting plate is fixed to the road surface, the color of light from the reflecting plate may vary depending on the surrounding environment such as weather and time, and the reflected light from the reflecting plate and the vehicle The reflected light can be the same color. In these cases, the reflected light from the reflecting plate and the reflected light from the vehicle cannot be distinguished, so that it is impossible to accurately determine the vehicle width or the like in the image processing.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of measuring the external dimensions of a vehicle with high accuracy with a simple configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a background in which the color can be changed is set in the shooting range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means, and a one-dimensional image is taken from a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. To do. And the image of a vehicle is extracted by removing the said background color from the image | photographed image, and the external dimension of a vehicle is measured based on the extracted image of the vehicle.

  That is, if a vehicle that crosses between the background and the image sensor is photographed by an image sensor that is one-dimensionally arranged from a direction perpendicular to the vehicle travel direction, the vehicle is viewed from a direction parallel to the vehicle travel direction. Can be obtained. Here, since the background color can be changed, if the background color is set to be different from the color of the vehicle in advance, the vehicle image is accurately extracted from the image including the vehicle and the background. Based on the vehicle image (e.g., vehicle length (length in the traveling direction of the vehicle body), vehicle height (length in the vehicle body vertical direction), vehicle width (length in the vehicle body left-right direction). )) Can be measured accurately.

  It should be noted that the background color may be configured to be one color when a vehicle image is taken, and the options for changing the color may be at least two or more colors. . That is, when a background is extracted from the photographing result obtained by the one-dimensional image acquisition unit, it is only necessary to detect a specific color included in the image and remove that color. Any color that falls within a predetermined color difference range may be used. If the background color can be selected from at least two colors, even if one of them matches the color of the vehicle, the background color is set to a different color by setting the background color to the other color. can do.

  The one-dimensional image acquisition unit is only required to capture a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. For example, a color line sensor camera (hereinafter referred to as a line sensor) can be employed. Of course, a two-dimensional sensor may be used to extract a photographing result in a specific direction from the image, and various configurations can be employed. However, generally, if a line sensor is used, processing for acquiring an image can be performed at a higher speed than when a two-dimensional sensor is used, and an image can be acquired with a short sampling period.

  In the present invention, since the color of an image is evaluated, the one-dimensional image acquisition means needs to be able to acquire color information. Various sensors can be used as sensors for acquiring color information. For example, each pixel includes three color sensors such as RGB (red, green, blue) and CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow). An image sensor or the like can be used. Of course, the color is not limited to the above color, and for example, a sensor that forms one pixel by adding a green sensor to the three colors of CMY, a sensor that detects lightness, saturation, and hue may be used.

  Furthermore, in the one-dimensional image acquisition means, it is only necessary to capture a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle. Therefore, an image sensor is arranged at a position that does not interfere with the traveling of the vehicle, and in its field of view. It only needs to be installed so that the background is included. Therefore, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which sensors are installed on a pillar installed on the side of the road surface or a beam extending in the road surface direction from the top of the column installed on the side of the road surface.

  The background color control means only needs to be able to install a background whose color can be changed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means. Therefore, the background may be set on the road surface, or the background may be set on a pillar or the like extending in a direction perpendicular to the road surface, or may be set on both sides. In addition, the background set in the shooting range of the one-dimensional image acquisition unit may be colored so that it can be detected as one specific color during shooting, and a paint may be applied to the member. , A sheet having a surface of a specific color, etc., a light emitting element as a background, a member that reflects light may be illuminated, and various configurations can be adopted. .

  The image extraction means only needs to be able to form a two-dimensional image from data accumulated by photographing a vehicle crossing a one-dimensional photographing range and remove the background color. At this time, various configurations can be adopted to specify whether or not the background color is in the image. For example, when selecting a background color from predetermined choices, image data corresponding to each choice color is grasped in advance and a determination is made based on whether or not this image data exists in the image. do it.

  In addition, when an arbitrary color can be set in the background by a light emitting element or the like, the control data for controlling the light emission of each light emitting element and the light emitting element emitting light in this control data are captured by the one-dimensional image acquisition means. The image data at that time may be associated with each other in advance, and determination may be made based on whether this image data exists in the image. Of course, only the background may be photographed when the operation of the vehicle measurement device is started or started, or at regular intervals, and image data indicating the background color may be specified based on the photographing result.

  Further, the measuring means only needs to be able to calculate the outer shape of the vehicle from the image of the vehicle. For example, since the number of pixels in the traveling direction in the image of the vehicle corresponds to the length of the vehicle, the vehicle length may be calculated from the number of pixels in the traveling direction. Similarly, since the number of pixels in the height direction in the vehicle image corresponds to the height of the vehicle, the vehicle height may be calculated from the number of pixels in the height direction. Further, since the number of pixels in the width direction in the vehicle image corresponds to the width of the vehicle, the vehicle width may be calculated from the number of pixels in the width direction.

  The one-dimensional image acquisition means can be arranged in various directions, but is arranged so as to photograph a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to the road surface, and is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle and to the road surface. The vehicle length and the vehicle height may be measured simultaneously by photographing a predetermined range in a vertical direction. Further, the one-dimensional image acquisition means is arranged so as to photograph a predetermined range in a direction parallel to the road surface, and photograph a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle and parallel to the road surface. Thus, the vehicle length and the vehicle width may be measured simultaneously.

  Furthermore, the measuring means may be configured to acquire the vehicle speed in order to calculate the vehicle length. In this case, the speed of the vehicle is acquired by a speed measuring unit that measures the speed of the vehicle, and the length in the vehicle traveling direction in one line is calculated from the sampling period of the one-dimensional image acquisition means and the speed of the vehicle. If the length in the vehicle traveling direction in one line can be calculated, the vehicle length can be calculated from the number of lines in the vehicle length direction in the vehicle image. When acquiring the number of lines in the traveling direction of the vehicle, lines (pixels) located at both ends in the traveling direction are extracted from the two-dimensional image of the vehicle with the background removed, and both lines are included. What is necessary is just to calculate the number of lines in between.

  The vehicle speed measuring unit only needs to be able to acquire the vehicle speed, and various sensors can be employed. For example, if sensors that determine the presence or absence of a vehicle are installed side by side in the traveling direction of the road surface, the time during which the vehicle is passing is measured, and the distance between the two sensors is divided by the measured value of that time Good. Further, the speed of the vehicle may be measured based on a sign attached to the vehicle. That is, a sign with a known length is attached to the outer surface of the vehicle, a one-dimensional image acquisition means captures an image of the vehicle including the sign, and an image extraction means acquires a vehicle image including the sign. . In the vehicle image thus obtained, the sign image serves as an index of length, and therefore the vehicle length can be calculated by using the ratio between the sign image and the vehicle image.

  Furthermore, when the color is changed by the background color control means, the color of the vehicle may be detected. That is, if the color of the vehicle traveling on the road surface is detected by the vehicle color detection unit, a color different from the color of the vehicle can be selected from the colors that can be selected as the background color, and the background color can be changed. . According to this configuration, it is possible to accurately distinguish the background and the vehicle in the image regardless of the color of the vehicle.

  The vehicle color detection unit only needs to be able to detect the color of the vehicle traveling on the road surface. For example, a configuration in which the outer surface of the vehicle is photographed by an image sensor that can detect light using a plurality of (for example, three colors) color components. Etc. may be adopted. In the present invention, since the vehicle is photographed by the one-dimensional image obtaining unit, the color of the vehicle may be detected before photographing by the one-dimensional image obtaining unit. For example, a vehicle color detector may be installed on the road surface on the near side of the one-dimensional image acquisition means (the opposite side of the vehicle traveling direction) to photograph the vehicle.

  Furthermore, various configurations can be adopted as a configuration for changing the background color by the background color control means, and for example, it can be configured by a display device including a plurality of light emitting elements for each pixel. That is, if the light emission intensity of a multi-color light emitting element is changed, the color can be changed for each pixel. Therefore, a background is formed by a plurality of pixels, and the background color is changed by adjusting the color of each pixel. Is possible.

  In this configuration, the background color can be changed very easily by data for controlling the light emitting elements (for example, RGB (red, green, blue) gradation data). In addition, since a large number of colors can be displayed, a color different from the color of the vehicle can be selected very easily. The light emitting element can employ various display means capable of displaying multiple colors, such as LED, LCD, PDP, and organic EL.

  Furthermore, in the configuration in which the vehicle color detection unit detects the color of the vehicle, it is preferable to control the light emission intensity of the light emitting element and display the complementary color of the detected vehicle color as the background. That is, when comparing the color of the vehicle with other colors in the image, if the comparison target is a complementary color of the color of the vehicle, the difference between the two colors is large, and the color and background of the vehicle are extremely easy and accurate. Can be distinguished from other colors.

  Various configurations can be adopted as the configuration for specifying the complementary color of the vehicle color detected by the vehicle color detection unit, and the vehicle color detection unit specifies the color of the vehicle by lightness, saturation, and hue. It is possible to employ a configuration in which the light emitting element is controlled so that the color obtained by converting the hue by 180 degrees is displayed as the background color. Of course, the vehicle color detection unit specifies the color of the vehicle by RGB gradation values, the R component of the complementary color is (R + G + B) -R, the G component of the complementary color is (R + G + B) -G, and the B component of the complementary color is (R + G + B)- It may be calculated by B, and various configurations can be adopted.

  Furthermore, as a configuration for changing the background color, it is possible to employ a configuration in which a plurality of colored members are prepared and any one of them is used as the background portion. For example, a columnar background portion is installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition unit, and the background portion is colored with a plurality of colors to form a colored surface. At this time, the coloring is performed so that each of the colored surfaces constitutes one background. Therefore, the background color can be changed to a different color by rotating the columnar background portion by the rotating portion.

  In addition, although the number of a colored surface should just exist at least 2 or more, of course, the number of a colored surface should just be a several number, and the number is not limited. Moreover, the aspect at the time of coloring each coloring surface is not specifically limited, Various color materials can be employ | adopted and a colored sheet | seat may be affixed on a columnar background part. Furthermore, each colored surface may be a flat surface or a curved surface. Furthermore, the shape of the columnar background portion is not limited as long as the orientation of the colored surface facing the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means can be changed by the rotation thereof. For example, it may be a cylinder or a polygonal column such as a triangular column or a prism.

  Furthermore, in order to change the background color, the background portion may be illuminated with light of a different color depending on the light projecting portion. That is, if a background part that diffuses light is installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means and illuminated with a different color, the color of the background part can be easily changed. In the light projecting unit, it is only necessary to illuminate the background portion with light of two or more colors, but the number of colors is not limited. Of course, the light projector may be configured so that the vehicle color detector can detect the color of the vehicle and illuminate with multiple colors so that it can be illuminated with its complementary color.

  Furthermore, you may comprise a background part with the sheet | seat wound around two axial parts. That is, in a sheet wound around two shaft portions, a specific unit region larger than the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition unit is used as one background portion, and each unit region is colored with a different color. According to this configuration, it is possible to change the color of the photographing range sandwiched between the two shaft portions by rotating the two shaft portions and feeding the sheet for each unit area. Of course, the number of sheets to be colored is not particularly limited here as long as the background portion can be composed of two or more colors.

  In addition, since the vehicle measurement apparatus mentioned above advances a process in the procedure peculiar to this application, it is realizable also as invention of the method characterized by the procedure. Moreover, it is realizable also as invention of the program for making a computer implement | achieve the procedure. Of course, the vehicle measurement device, method, and program may be realized as a part of another device, method, and program, or may be realized by combining a plurality of devices, methods, and programs, Various modes can be adopted. Of course, the present invention can be realized as a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of the vehicle measurement device:
(2) Vehicle measurement processing:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of the vehicle measurement device:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle measuring apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle measuring device 10 includes a sensor attached to a pillar installed beside the road surface, a background part constituting the background of the sensor, and a computer that performs processing for controlling the color of the background part. That is, a plurality of pillars 20a to 20e are installed on both sides of the road surface 11 on which the vehicle to be measured can travel, and sensors are attached to these pillars 20a to 20e. Further, a beam 20f is attached to the column 20c, and a sensor is also attached to the beam 20f. Further, a column 21 is erected on the opposite side of the column 20c across the road surface 11, and background portions 21a and 21b are formed on the road surface 11 between the one side of the column 21 on the road surface side and the columns 21 and 20c. Yes.

  A pair of approach sensors 30a and 30b is attached to each of the pillars 20a and 20b. The ingress sensor 30a is a sensor that detects the intensity of light for each of a plurality of color components (for example, RGB), and can detect the presence or absence of light incident on the ingress sensor 30a and its color. Further, the ingress sensor 30b outputs a specific color light toward the ingress sensor 30a, and the ingress sensor 30a detects the specific color light. Accordingly, when the vehicle 12 travels on the road surface 11 and blocks the light from the entry sensor 30b, the light of the specific color is not detected by the entry sensor 30a, and the vehicle 12 has entered the measurement system of the vehicle measurement device 10. Can be detected.

  The height ha of the approach sensor 30a from the road surface 11 is different from the height hb of the approach sensor 30b from the road surface 11. Therefore, the light from the approach sensor 30b crosses the road surface 11 while traveling from above to below. As a result, the light from the approach sensor 30b is blocked when traveling on the road surface 11 regardless of the height of the vehicle 12, compared with the case where the approach sensor arranged at the same height is used. Thus, it is possible to detect the approach of the vehicle 12 having a wide range of heights.

Furthermore, since the ingress sensor 30a detects the light intensity for each of the plurality of color components as described above, it can be detected on the side surface of the vehicle 12 by detecting that the vehicle 12 has entered the measurement system of the vehicle measurement device 10. Perform color detection. Therefore, in this embodiment, the approach sensor 30a serves as both a sensor that detects the entry of the vehicle 12 and a sensor that detects the color of the vehicle.
The detection of the color of the vehicle side surface may be performed for a predetermined time after the entry of the vehicle 12 is detected.

  A pair of exit sensors 30c, 30d is attached to each of the columns 20d, 20e. These exit sensors 30c and 30d are sensors that detect that the vehicle 12 has exited the vehicle measurement device 10, and the exit sensor 30d outputs electromagnetic waves (visible light, infrared rays, etc.) toward the exit sensor 30c, and exits. The sensor 30c detects this electromagnetic wave. Accordingly, when the vehicle 12 travels on the road surface 11 and the electromagnetic wave from the exit sensor 30d once blocked reaches the exit sensor 30c, it can be detected that the vehicle 12 has passed through the measurement system of the vehicle measurement device 10. The exit from the vehicle measurement device 10 can be detected.

  Also in the exit sensors 30c and 30d, the height hc of the exit sensor 30c from the road surface 11 is different from the height hd of the exit sensor 30d from the road surface 11. Therefore, it is possible to detect the exit of the vehicle 12 having a wide range of heights compared to the case of using the exit sensor arranged at the same height. The approach sensors 30a and 30b and the exit sensors 30c and 30d are also used to detect the speed of the vehicle 12, and the distance D between the sensors 30a and 30c is known and the height ha of the approach sensor 30a is determined. The exit sensor 30c is installed such that the height hc is the same height, and the height hb of the entry sensor 30b and the height hd of the exit sensor 30d are the same height.

  The column 20c extends perpendicularly to the road surface 11, and a beam 20f extending parallel to the road surface and extending toward the road surface is attached to the upper end of the column 20c. Line sensors 31a to 31d for photographing the vehicle 12 are attached to the pillars 20c and the beams 20f. That is, two line sensors 31a and 31b are attached to the pillar 20c, and two line sensors 31c and 31d are attached to the beam 20f, and a vehicle traveling on the road surface 11 is photographed by these line sensors 31a to 31d.

  The line sensors 31a to 31d in the present embodiment are sensors having a long field of view in one direction, and three color component values (in this embodiment, RGB gradations) for each of a plurality of pixels arranged in one direction. Value). In the present embodiment, one line of data is acquired at every predetermined time interval (sampling period). The visual fields of the line sensors 31a and 31b attached to the column 20c exist on a common straight line, and this straight line coincides with the central straight line of the background portion 21a and the central straight line of the background portion 21b. Accordingly, the line sensors 31a and 31b can take images of the predetermined range on the plane including the straight line at the center of the background portions 21a and 21b as a field of view.

  The visual fields of the line sensors 31c and 31d attached to the beam 20f also exist on a common straight line, and this straight line coincides with the central straight line of the background portion 21b and the central straight line of the background portion 21a. Therefore, the line sensors 31c and 31d can also capture images of the predetermined range on the plane including the straight line at the center of the background portions 21a and 21b.

  In addition, since the plane including these straight lines is perpendicular to the traveling direction G of the vehicle 12 and the line sensors 31a and 31b are directed to the column 21, the line sensors 31a and 31b pass through the road surface 11. The side of the vehicle 12 is photographed. Since the line sensors 31 c and 31 d are directed toward the road surface 11, the line sensors 31 c and 31 d take an image of the upper surface of the vehicle 12 passing through the road surface 11.

  Furthermore, since both line sensors 31a and 31b photograph the side of the vehicle and photograph the same object, the photographed images of the respective line sensors 31a and 31b are combined after correcting the aberration of the lens. Similarly, since the line sensors 31c and 31d both photograph the upper surface of the vehicle, the photographed images of the line sensors 31c and 31d are combined after correcting the lens aberration.

  In the center of the background portions 21a and 21b, a plurality of LEDs are arranged in the longitudinal direction (21a1 and 21b1 in FIG. 1). These LEDs 21a1 and 21b1 constitute one pixel by LEDs of RGB colors, and by providing a plurality of pixels, it is possible to emit light of almost any color. Therefore, it is possible to change the colors of the background portions 21a and 21b to desired colors by controlling the light emission intensities of the RGB LEDs.

  In this embodiment, the vehicle measuring device 10 includes a computer 40, and the computer 40 is connected to the line sensors 31a to 31d, the entrance sensors 30a and 30b, the exit sensors 30c and 30d, and the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1 via cables. Has been. Accordingly, the computer 40 can acquire the output signals of these sensors and perform analysis based on the output signals. Further, the color of the background portion can be controlled by controlling the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the computer 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 40 includes a CPU 41, a ROM 42, a RAM 43, an HDD 44, and I / Fs 45a to 45c. The I / F 45a is an interface between the line sensors 31a to 31d, the ingress sensors 30a and 30b, the exit sensors 30c and 30d, and the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1, and the CPU 41 controls each sensor via the I / F 45a and outputs an output signal thereof. To get. Further, the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1 are controlled to emit light in a desired color.

  The I / F 45b is a connection interface with the display 40a, and the CPU 41 outputs data for performing various displays to the display 40a via the I / F 45b. The display 40a acquires this data and performs various displays. The I / F 45c is an interface with an input device, and the CPU 41 acquires signals from the keyboard 40b and the mouse 40c and grasps the operation contents on the keyboard 40b and the mouse 40c.

  The CPU 41 can execute programs recorded in the ROM 42 and the HDD 44 using the RAM 43 as a work area. In the present embodiment, a vehicle measurement program can be executed as one of the programs, and the vehicle measurement program includes modules of the sensor control unit 41a, the background color control unit 41b, the image extraction unit 41c, and the vehicle measurement unit 41d. It has. This vehicle measurement program is a program for measuring the vehicle length, vehicle height, and vehicle width of the vehicle 12 on the basis of various data recorded in advance in the HDD 44. Image data is generated during the execution process and analyzed. Do.

  That is, the inter-sensor distance data 44e, sampling cycle data 44f, height line length data 44g, and width line length data 44h are recorded in the HDD 44 in advance. The HDD 44 also records data generated during the execution of the vehicle measurement program. In this embodiment, the one-dimensional image data 44a, the two-dimensional image data 44b, the vehicle color data 44c, and the vehicle image data 44d are executed. It is generated in the process and recorded on the HDD 44.

  The inter-sensor distance data 44e is data indicating the distance D between the sensors 30a and 30c. The sampling cycle data 44f is data indicating the sampling cycle of the line sensors 31a to 31d. The height line length data 44g is data indicating a length corresponding to one pixel in the height direction in a one-dimensional image photographed by the line sensors 31a and 31b, and a reference sample having a known length is photographed. Is acquired in advance. The width line length data 44h is data indicating a length corresponding to one pixel in the width direction (the left-right direction of the vehicle body) in a one-dimensional image captured by the line sensors 31c and 31d. It is acquired in advance by photographing a reference sample.

  The sensor control unit 41a is a module that controls the line sensors 31a to 31d, the entrance sensors 30a and 30b, and the exit sensors 30c and 30d. The sensor control unit 41a is configured to make a determination based on a signal from each sensor and to capture images by the line sensors 31a to 31d. Acquisition of an image and generation of a two-dimensional image based on a photographed image are performed. The background color control unit 41b controls the background color by outputting a signal to the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1. The image extraction unit 41c performs a process of removing a background from the two-dimensional image and extracting a vehicle image. The vehicle measurement unit 41d includes a vehicle length calculation unit 41d1, a vehicle height calculation unit 41d2, and a vehicle width calculation unit 41d3. The vehicle length calculation unit 41d1 uses the vehicle length and vehicle height calculation unit 41d2 to execute the vehicle. The vehicle height / vehicle width calculation unit 41d3 calculates the vehicle width of the vehicle 12 and displays it on the display 40a.

(2) Vehicle measurement processing:
Next, processing performed by each unit of the vehicle measurement program in the above configuration will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing of the vehicle measurement program. As shown in the figure, when the vehicle measurement program is executed, the sensor control unit 41a determines whether or not the ingress sensor 30a is on based on a signal from the ingress sensor 30a (step S100). Here, the state in which the vehicle 12 blocks the light from the entry sensor 30b and the electromagnetic wave does not reach the entry sensor 30a is referred to as the entry sensor 30a being on.

  The sensor control unit 41a continues to detect signals from the ingress sensor 30a until it is determined in step S100 that the ingress sensor 30a is turned on. When it is determined that the ingress sensor 30a is turned on, the ingress sensor 30a further Signal detection from 30a is performed to detect the color of the vehicle 12 (step S101). The data indicating the color detected here is the vehicle color data 44c, which is generated in step S101 and recorded in the HDD 44.

  The background color control unit 41b calculates a complementary color based on the color of the vehicle 12 acquired in step S101 (step S102). The complementary color can be calculated by a known method. For example, a configuration in which the color of the vehicle 12 is specified by brightness, hue, and saturation and the hue is changed by 180 degrees can be employed. After calculating the complementary color, the sensor control unit 41a controls the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1 to display the complementary color (step S103). That is, data for outputting the complementary color is output to the LEDs 21a1, 21b1, and each pixel of the LEDs 21a1, 21b1 is caused to emit light with a complementary color.

  Next, the sensor control unit 41a performs photographing with the line sensors 31a to 31d (step S105). Here, the sensor control unit 41a acquires data of a one-dimensional image captured by each of the line sensors 31a to 31d during a predetermined sampling period, and records it in the HDD 44 as one-dimensional image data 44a.

  Further, the sensor control unit 41a determines whether or not the exit sensor 30c is on based on a signal from the exit sensor 30c (step S110). Here again, the state in which the vehicle 12 blocks the electromagnetic wave from the exit sensor 30d and the electromagnetic wave does not reach the exit sensor 30c is referred to as the exit sensor 30c being on.

  When it is determined in step S110 that the exit sensor 30c is on, since the vehicle 12 has reached between the exit sensors 30c and 30d, the sensor control unit 41a determines that the entrance sensor 30a is on in step S100. The time T from when the exit sensor 30c is turned on to when the exit sensor 30c is turned on is acquired (step S115). That is, since the distance D between the approach sensor 30a and the exit sensor 30c is known, the time T is acquired in order to calculate the speed of the vehicle 12 based on the distance D. In addition, since this process should be performed once per vehicle, if the time T has been acquired for each vehicle, step S115 is skipped. In addition, a counter C (default value is 1) for determining the exit of the vehicle 12 is set to 1 (step S117).

  When it is not determined in step S110 that the exit sensor 30c is on, and after executing step S117, the sensor control unit 41a determines whether the exit sensor 30c is off and the counter C is 1 (step). S120). Here, when the vehicle 12 finishes passing between the exit sensors 30c and 30d, and the electromagnetic wave from the exit sensor 30d blocked by the vehicle 12 reaches the exit sensor 30c again, the exit sensor 30c is off. Call. That is, since the counter C is 1 when the vehicle 12 reaches the exit sensor 30c, the completion of the passage of the vehicle 12 is determined by determining that the counter C is 1 and the exit sensor 30c is off. ing.

  If it is not determined in step S120 that the exit sensor 30c is off and the counter C has become 1, the process returns to step S105, and the line sensors 31a to 31d continue to acquire the one-dimensional image data 44a. Therefore, the sensor control unit 41a captures and accumulates the one-dimensional image data 44a from the time when the vehicle 12 enters between the entry sensors 30a and 30b until the vehicle 12 has passed between the exit sensors 30c and 30d. At the same time, the process of acquiring the time T is performed.

  If it is determined in step S120 that the exit sensor 30c is turned off, the image extraction unit 41c generates two-dimensional image data 44b from the one-dimensional image data 44a (step S125). That is, since the one-dimensional image data 44a is a one-dimensional image photographed by the line sensors 31a to 31d, first, the one-dimensional images photographed at the same sampling timing are synthesized. That is, since the captured images by the line sensors 31a and 31b are images of the side surface of the vehicle 12, the one-dimensional images are combined so that the pixels in the common part are overlapped with each other. Similarly, since the captured images by the line sensors 31c and 31d are images on the upper surface of the vehicle 12, the one-dimensional images are combined so that the pixels in the common part are overlapped with each other. Various known techniques can be employed for this connection.

  As described above, when the one-dimensional image of the side surface and the one-dimensional image of the upper surface of the vehicle 12 are generated, the image extraction unit 41c further combines these one-dimensional images to generate a two-dimensional image. That is, since the one-dimensional image of the vehicle side surface and the one-dimensional image of the upper surface of the vehicle having different sampling timings are obtained after the combination is performed, these are arranged in the order of sampling. As a result, a two-dimensional image of the side surface and a two-dimensional image of the upper surface of the vehicle 12 are generated. Therefore, the image extraction unit 41c extracts the image of the vehicle 12 by removing the complementary color of the color of the vehicle 12 from the two-dimensional image data 44b, and records it in the HDD 44 as the vehicle image data 44d (step S130).

  FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a two-dimensional image of the side surface of the vehicle 12 generated in step S125. In the two-dimensional image, portions other than the vehicle 12 correspond to the LEDs 21a1 and 21b1. Further, as described above, each pixel of the LEDs 21 a 1 and 21 b 1 emits light with the complementary color of the vehicle 12. Therefore, all the backgrounds of the vehicle 12 are complementary colors of the vehicle 12. When comparing the color of the vehicle 12 with other colors, the difference between the two is the most significant when the other color is a complementary color of the color of the vehicle 12.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the vehicle 12 and its background can be distinguished very clearly in the two-dimensional image shown in FIG. 4A, and the background can be removed very easily. When extracting the background color from the two-dimensional image, the pixel indicating the complementary color is searched from the two-dimensional image data. In this embodiment, the color of the vehicle 12 and the background color Since they are completely different colors, the possibility of misrecognizing the background and the vehicle is small even if a large margin is provided to determine whether the pixel is a complementary color. Therefore, the background can be removed with extremely high accuracy.

  In FIG. 4B, the background removed in step S130 described above is shown by hatching. The vehicle image data 44d after removing the background may include only the image of the vehicle 12, but considering the ease of handling of data by the computer 40, the removed background data is, for example, black (RGB A configuration in which all gradation values are replaced with “0”) may be employed.

  The vehicle measurement unit 41d calculates the vehicle length, vehicle height, and vehicle width based on the vehicle image data 44d generated as described above. In the present embodiment, first, a vehicle length calculation process is performed (step S135). FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the calculation process of the vehicle length. In the present embodiment, the vehicle length is measured based on the actually measured value of the speed of the vehicle 12, and the vehicle length calculation unit 41d1 of the vehicle measurement unit 41d first calculates the vehicle speed (step S200). Here, the vehicle speed is calculated by D / T using the distance D and time T.

  Next, the vehicle length calculation unit 41d1 calculates the length in the vehicle length direction for one line in the line sensors 31a and 31b (step S210). That is, since an image for one line in the line sensors 31a and 31b is taken at the sampling period, one line in the vehicle length direction in the two-dimensional image of the vehicle 12 is between the sampling periods of the line sensors 31a and 31b. This corresponds to the distance that the vehicle 12 moves. Therefore, by multiplying the sampling period and the vehicle speed, the length in the vehicle length direction for one line can be calculated.

  After calculating the length in the vehicle length direction for one line, the vehicle length calculation unit 41d1 detects the front end and the end of the vehicle from the image of the side surface of the vehicle 12 (step S220). That is, in the image of the vehicle 12 shown in FIG. 4B, since the distance L between the front end and the end of the image corresponds to the vehicle length, the front end and the end are detected. For example, in the two-dimensional image of the side surface of the vehicle 12, the leftmost pixel and the rightmost pixel may be extracted. As described above, when the background is black, the leftmost pixel and the rightmost pixel of the non-black pixels are extracted.

  When the front end and the end of the vehicle 12 are detected in the two-dimensional image, the number of lines (number of samples) in the vehicle body traveling direction in the vehicle 12 is acquired (step S230), and the vehicle length is calculated based on the number of lines (step S230). Step S240). That is, in step S230, the number of lines from the front end to the end including the front and end lines is acquired. Since the length in the vehicle traveling direction in one line has been calculated in step S210, the vehicle length L can be calculated by multiplying the length of the one line by the number of lines from the front end to the end.

  When the vehicle length L is calculated as described above, the vehicle height calculation unit 41d2 calculates the vehicle height based on the side image of the vehicle 12 extracted in step S130 (step S140). That is, in the one-dimensional images taken by the line sensors 31a and 31b, the length corresponding to one pixel in the height direction is described by the height line length data 44g, so the vehicle height calculation unit 41d2 Extracts the top and bottom pixels from the side image of the vehicle 12 and multiplies the number of pixels between them by a length corresponding to one pixel in the height direction (FIG. 4B). ) Of H) is calculated.

  Similarly, the vehicle width calculation unit 41d3 calculates the vehicle width based on the top image of the vehicle 12 extracted in step S130 (step S145). That is, in the one-dimensional images taken by the line sensors 31c and 31d, the length corresponding to one pixel in the width direction is described by the width line length data 44h. The leftmost pixel and the rightmost pixel are extracted from the top image of the vehicle 12, and the vehicle width is calculated by multiplying the number of pixels between them and the length corresponding to one pixel in the width direction.

  Since the vehicle length, the vehicle height, and the vehicle width are calculated by the above processing, in this embodiment, the vehicle measurement unit 41d outputs a control signal via the I / F 45b, and the vehicle length is displayed on the display 40a. , The vehicle height and the vehicle width are displayed (step S150). As a result, the user who uses the vehicle measuring device 10 does not have to perform any artificial work, and can measure the vehicle length, vehicle height, and vehicle width only by traveling on the road surface 11 with the vehicle 12. .

(3) Other embodiments:
The above-described embodiment is an embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, when changing the background color, it is not essential to change the color of the background portions 21 a and 21 b to the complementary color of the vehicle 12. That is, various configurations can be adopted as long as the background portions 21a and 21b and the vehicle 12 are different in color so that the images of the vehicle 12 can be extracted by distinguishing both.

  In addition, it is not essential to provide an LED in order to change the color of the background portion, and various configurations can be employed. FIGS. 6A to 6C show modifications of the background portion that can change the color. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a modification in which the background portion is configured by a triangular prism. As shown in FIG. 6A, the triangular prism 210 is long in one side, and each surface parallel to the longitudinal direction is colored surfaces 210a to 210c. Each of the colored surfaces 210a to 210c is colored with a different color, and the triangular prism 210 can be rotated with respect to its longitudinal axis 210e by a motor 210d.

  The triangular prism 210 is installed in each field of view of the line sensors 31a and 31b and the line sensors 31c and 31d, and a straight line that matches this field of view (a straight line that matches a line in the line sensor) and the longitudinal direction of the triangular prism 210 are parallel. It is. Accordingly, when the triangular prism 210 is rotated by the motor 210d, the colored surfaces 210a to 210c facing the line sensors 31a and 31b or the line sensors 31c and 31d are changed, and the background color is changed.

  In this configuration, the same processing as in FIG. 3 may be performed, but the processing corresponding to step S102 is not performed, and the motor 210d is controlled in step S103 so that a color different from the color of the vehicle 12 becomes the background. The colored surfaces 210a to 210c are selected and directed to the line sensor. As a result, the color of the vehicle 12 is surely different from the color of the background, so that an image of the vehicle can be extracted without causing an error or the like that confuses the background and the vehicle.

  In this embodiment, data for specifying the colors attached to the colored surfaces 210a to 210c is held in advance, and the color most different from the color of the vehicle 12 (for example, a color having a large color difference) is stored. It is preferable to select a colored surface so as to be a background. Further, it is preferable to control the rotation of the triangular prism 210 standing on the road surface 11 and constituting the background portion 21a and the triangular prism 210 embedding in the road surface 11 and constituting the background portion 21b so as to synchronize with each other.

  Furthermore, FIG.6 (b) is a figure which shows the structure which changes the color of a background by illuminating a columnar member. That is, one surface of the prismatic member 211 is arranged in the imaging range of the line sensors 31a and 31b and the imaging range of the line sensors 31c and 31d, and this surface is not constituted by a mirror surface or the like, but is a surface that diffusely reflects (for example, Paint white paint, etc.). Further, this surface is illuminated by a light projecting unit 211a capable of emitting a plurality of colors of light. In this configuration, the background color can be changed by changing the color of the light emitted by the light projecting unit 211a.

  Therefore, the background surface may be illuminated with a color different from the color of the vehicle 12 by performing substantially the same processing as in FIG. Of course, if the light projecting unit 211a is configured to output light of any color, the background color can be complementary to the color of the vehicle 12, and the light projecting unit 211a can output a small number of colors. In other words, the color of the vehicle 12 may be detected and the background color may be at least different from that color. Therefore, if it is the former, the complementary color of the color of the vehicle 12 may be calculated in step S102, and the light projection unit 211a may be controlled in step S103 to illuminate the prismatic member 211 with the complementary color light. If the latter, a color different from the color of the vehicle 12 is determined in step S102, a color different from the color of the vehicle 12 is selected in step S103, and the prismatic member 211 is illuminated.

  Further, FIG. 6C shows an example in which the sheet feeding is controlled by two shaft portions, and the unit area of the sheet is configured to be a background included in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition unit. ing. In this example, a sheet 212 is wound around elongated cylindrical shaft portions 212a and 212b, and the shaft portions 212a and 212b are rotatable about the longitudinal axis. One shaft portion (the shaft portion 212b in FIG. 6C) is connected to the motor 212d and can be rotated by the motor 212d. The other shaft portion 212a is tensioned in the opposite direction to the rotation of the motor 212d by a tension mechanism 212e. Accordingly, the sheet 212 can be sent to one side by rotating the motor 212d, the sheet 212 can be sent to the other side by stopping the rotation of the motor 212d, and the sheet 212 can be sent in the left-right direction on the paper surface.

  In addition, the sheet 212 is colored in a different color for each predetermined unit region 212c. Therefore, the color of the sheet 212 existing between the two shaft portions 212a and 212b can be changed by feeding the sheet 212 by the motor 212d. In the example shown in FIG. 6C, the unit area in the sheet 212 is configured to be included in the photographing ranges of the line sensors 31a and 31b and the line sensors 31c and 31d. As a result, the background color can be changed by the drive control of the motor 212d. Therefore, the background color may be changed by performing substantially the same processing as in FIG. At this time, in step S102, a color different from the color of the vehicle 12 is selected from the colors given to the seat 212, and in step S103, the motor 212d is controlled to send the seat 212, and the selected color is set to 2. What is necessary is just to arrange | position between two axial parts.

  As described above, various configurations can be adopted as a configuration for changing the background color of the line sensors 31a to 31d. In addition, an arbitrary color or a plurality of colors can be used using an optical fiber. A configuration in which light is guided to give a background color can be employed.

  Further, the vehicle length calculation method is not limited to the process shown in FIG. 5 described above, and a sign with a known length and color is attached to the vehicle 12 and imaged by a line sensor, and the vehicle length is calculated based on the image. It may be calculated. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by photographing the vehicle 12 to which a sign is attached. That is, when the vehicle 12 to which the circular sign is attached is photographed by the line sensors 31a and 31b, a two-dimensional image including the circular sign M attached to the vehicle 12 is acquired as shown in FIG. Can do.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, the background is removed from the two-dimensional image, and the image of the sign M is extracted. Since the length of the sign M is known, the number of lines (a) in the vehicle traveling direction is obtained from the extracted image of the sign M, and the number of lines (b) in the vehicle traveling direction is obtained from the image of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle length can be calculated by multiplying the length (diameter) and (b / a) of the sign. In the above vehicle length measurement, the number of signs attached to the vehicle 12 is not limited to one, and the vehicle length may be measured by attaching two or more signs to the vehicle 12. In this case, the vehicle length may be obtained by calculating the vehicle length individually based on each sign and calculating the average, or the vehicle length may be calculated after obtaining the average for the number of lines of the sign. Well, various configurations can be employed. In addition, although the number of signs is less time-consuming for preparation, it is possible to calculate the vehicle length more accurately when the number of signs is large.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the two line sensors 31a and 31b are attached to the column 20c, and the two line sensors 31c and 31d are attached to the beam 20f. However, it is not essential to attach two line sensors to the column 20c and the beam 20f in order to measure the vehicle length, vehicle height, and vehicle width. Therefore, one line sensor may be used, or three or more line sensors may be used. Of course, increasing the number of line sensors makes it easier to improve vehicle measurement accuracy. However, if the number of line sensors is small, the device configuration is simple and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, the configurations of the ingress sensors 30a, 30b and the exit sensors 30c, 30d are not limited to those described above. For example, the ingress sensors 30a, 30b have the same configuration as the exit sensors 30c, 30d and detect only the blocking of electromagnetic waves. In addition, a sensor for detecting the color of the vehicle may be provided separately, and various configurations can be employed.

It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle measuring device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a computer. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a vehicle measurement program. It is a figure which shows the image of a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the calculation process of a vehicle length. It is a figure which shows the modification of a background part. It is a figure which shows the image of a vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle measuring device 11 ... Road surface 12 ... Vehicle 20a-20e ... Column 20f ... Beam 21a, 21b ... Background part 21a1, 21b1 ... LED
30a, 30b ... entry sensors 30c, 30d ... exit sensors 31a-31d ... line sensor 40 ... computer 40a ... display 40b ... keyboard 40c ... mouse 41 ... CPU
41a ... sensor control unit 41b ... background color control unit 41c ... image extraction unit 41d ... vehicle measurement unit 41d1 ... vehicle length calculation unit 41d2 ... vehicle height calculation unit 41d3 ... vehicle width calculation unit 42 ... ROM
43 ... RAM
44 ... HDD
44a ... 1D image data 44b ... 2D image data 44c ... Vehicle color data 44d ... Vehicle image data 44e ... Inter-sensor distance data 44f ... Sampling cycle data 44g ... Height line length data 44h ... Width line length data

Claims (9)

One-dimensional image acquisition means for photographing a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling on the road surface;
Background color control means capable of changing the color of the background installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means;
Image extracting means for acquiring an image of a vehicle crossing between the one-dimensional image acquiring means and the background by the one-dimensional image acquiring means, and extracting a vehicle image by removing the background color from the acquired image. When,
A vehicle measurement apparatus comprising: a measurement unit that measures an outer dimension of the vehicle based on the extracted image.   The background color control means includes a vehicle color detection unit that detects a color of a vehicle traveling on the road surface, and changes a background color so as to be a color different from the detected vehicle color. Item 4. The vehicle measurement device according to Item 1.   The background color control means includes a background portion that is installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means and includes a plurality of colors of light emitting elements for each pixel, and changes the light emission intensity of the plurality of colors of light emitting elements. The vehicle color measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background color is changed according to claim 1. Vehicle measuring device according to claim 3, by controlling the emission intensity before Symbol emitting element, characterized in that to display the complementary color of a vehicle the detected. The background color control means includes a columnar background portion installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means and a rotating portion that rotates the background portion, and each surface of the surface of the columnar background portion is a surface. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a plurality of colored surfaces constituting a background, wherein each of the surfaces is colored in a different color. 4. Measuring device. The background color control unit includes a background unit that diffusely reflects light installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition unit and a light projecting unit that irradiates light of a different color to the background unit. vehicle measuring apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that to change the color of the background by changing the color of light. The background color control means is different for each of two shaft portions installed at positions sandwiching the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means, and a specific unit region that is wound around the two shaft portions and is larger than the photographing range. a sheet colored in color, the a rotating portion for rotating the two shaft portions, according to claim 1 or, characterized in that to change the color of the background by rotating the two shaft portions by the rotary part The vehicle measurement device according to claim 2 . A vehicle measurement method for measuring an outer dimension of a vehicle based on an image,
A one-dimensional image acquisition step of changing a background color in a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of a vehicle traveling on a road surface to a color different from the color of the vehicle and acquiring an image of the vehicle across the background When,
An image extraction step of extracting an image of the vehicle by removing the background color from the image acquired by the one-dimensional image acquisition step;
A vehicle measurement method comprising: a measurement step of measuring an outer dimension of the vehicle based on the extracted image. One-dimensional image acquisition means for photographing a predetermined range in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling on the road surface;
A background portion capable of changing the color of the background installed in the photographing range of the one-dimensional image acquisition means;
A vehicle measurement program for measuring an outer dimension of a vehicle based on an image acquired by an imaging system comprising:
A background color control function for changing the color of the background portion to a color different from the color of the vehicle;
Image extraction for acquiring an image of a vehicle crossing between the one-dimensional image acquisition means and the background by the one-dimensional image acquisition means, and extracting the vehicle image by removing the background color from the acquired image Function and
A vehicle measurement program for causing a computer to realize a measurement function for measuring an outer dimension of a vehicle based on the extracted image.

Images