JP6468648B2 - Obstacle detection device for railway tracks - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle detection device that detects and identifies an obstacle in train operation in which structures around a railway track exceed a building limit.

  The “Ministerial Ordinance for Establishing Technical Standards on Railways” stipulates that the scope of building constructions that may impede the safety of vehicle operation as a building limit. Many cases of obstacle contact have been reported. Strict scrutiny of the building limits is performed when designing new structures around railway tracks, but due to the cumulative approach to the surrounding existing structures due to minor changes in track specifications (curve radius, etc.) that are repeated later There is one. Although it is difficult to recognize obstacles that deviate from the building limits of such existing structures, there is a risk of causing a major accident, and a detection means that can be easily identified is desired.

  Conventionally, a position measuring vehicle described in Patent Document 1 is a vehicle that travels on a track, object position measuring means that is mounted on the vehicle and measures the objective position of the object, and is mounted on the vehicle and is on the track of the vehicle. Vehicle position measuring means for measuring the travel position moved, and recording means for recording object location information in which the object position information of the object is associated with the vehicle position information, and measuring the object position of the object In addition, by measuring the vehicle's travel position and correlating these information to record the object location information indicating the location of the object, displacement of surrounding structures due to aging, cracks in the inner wall of the tunnel, peeling off, etc. Is detected.

  Further, Non-Patent Document 1 includes a laser unit that emits a sheet-like laser beam orthogonal to the traveling direction to a road-rail vehicle that can travel on a railroad track, and an optical cutting line that is generated on an object irradiated with the laser beam. Multiple CCD camera units that capture images from different positions, and an image processor that measures the distance from the center point between the tracks to the object by image analysis and continuously acquires the cut shape of the laser light along the course of the combined vehicle A device on which is mounted is described.

Japanese Patent No. 3619061 IEEJ Paper C, Vol. 113, No. 12, Special Explanation “II. Detection of Obstacles Around Railroad Tracks” by Yuichiro Goto and Yasuo Tanma

In the former of the above conventional devices, the scanning laser measuring distance meter, which is the object position measuring means, scans the laser by rotating forward and backward 360 degrees with the traveling direction of the vehicle as an axis. Also, overhead train lines such as butterfly wires, hangers, droppers, curved fittings, steady rests, etc., and their surrounding metal fittings are also considered as objects, requiring identification work from obstacles, I have to rely on visual confirmation.
In the latter case, the optical cutting lines appearing on the object are captured by a plurality of CCD camera units and the image analysis is performed, so that the apparatus becomes large and complicated, which hinders downsizing of the apparatus and reduction in manufacturing cost.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle detection device for a railway track that can reliably identify only obstacles that deviate from the building limit and that is inexpensive and has a simple configuration.

The apparatus of the present invention is provided with a rotary encoder 4 that obtains position data from a reference position in conjunction with an axle on a carriage 2 having wheels 2a that can roll on rails R, R of a railway track. A range sensor 3 that scans the periphery of the railway track with the laser beam L1 and measures the distance and angle of the objects O1 and O2 irradiated with the laser beam L1 is mounted on the carriage 2. Based on the position data by the rotary encoder 4 and the measurement data by the range sensor 3 corresponding thereto, the position of the objects O1 and O2 is calculated and processed, and the object O2 deviates from the building limit B that ensures the safety of train operation. The control device 5 for extracting only the obstacle O2 in the train operation by excluding the measurement data corresponding to the overhead train line and its peripheral brackets obtained simultaneously with the measurement data of the object O2 2 on board.
Further, a laser rangefinder 6 for measuring the amount of intrusion in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction from the construction limit B of the obstacle O2 specified by the control device 5 is mounted on the carriage 2.

  In the present invention, since the overhead train line and its peripheral metal fittings are excluded from the object irradiated with the laser beam, only obstacles on the train operation can be specified, facilitating and improving the efficiency of the corresponding work, Speed can be achieved. Moreover, it can be reduced in size with a relatively simple configuration, can be provided at low cost, and has the effect of being easy to handle for transportation, use, and the like.

1 is a schematic front view of an obstacle detection device for a railway track according to the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a measurement process. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the identification process of the measurement data regarding an overhead train line and its periphery metal fittings.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, an obstacle detection apparatus 1 includes a hand-drawn cart 2 that can move on a rail R of a railroad track, a fixed cart 2 and a laser beam L that is scanned to scan the distance of an object to be irradiated. And a range sensor 3 that can measure the irradiation angle, a rotary encoder 4 that is linked to the axle 2a of the carriage 2 in order to obtain distance data from the reference position, and a position that is fixed on the carriage 2 to calculate the position of the irradiation target, etc. And a laser distance meter 6 for measuring the amount of intrusion in the horizontal and vertical directions from the building limit B of an object that deviates from the building limit B specified by the control device 5.

  The carriage 2 includes wheels 2 a that can roll on the rail R. The carriage 2 includes a rotary encoder 4 that is linked to the axis of the wheel 2a in order to obtain position information at the time of measurement relative to the measurement start position. The output pulses of the rotary encoder 4 are counted by the control device 5 fixed to the carriage 2, and the distance from the reference position is calculated by the control device 5 and acquired as distance data.

  The range sensor 3 scans with the laser light L1 projected while rotating in one direction around the horizontal axis of the traveling direction, and receives the reflected light from the irradiated object O, thereby irradiating the laser light L1. The relative distance and relative angle are measured for each step angle. The range sensor 3 of the present embodiment scans the fan-shaped range excluding the rails R and R at regular short intervals. This range sensor 3 is fixed to the upper end of a support column 7 that is erected substantially vertically on the front side of the carriage, and is disposed in the center between the rails R and R with the wheel 2a placed on the rail R. The

  The control device 5 includes a computer 5a mounted on a pedestal 2b fixed on the carriage 2 and a control panel 5b attached in the pedestal 2b. In the control device 5, the computer 5 a receives these outputs via the control panel 5 b that controls the operation of the rotary encoder 4 and the range sensor 3, counts the output pulses of the rotary encoder 4, and uses the measurement start position as a reference. Distance data and measurement data from the range sensor 3 are acquired. Further, the computer 5a associates these data, compares the position of the building limit B with the distance data, specifies the position of the object that deviates from the building limit B, and calculates the trolley line, auxiliary bridge line, Executes an inspection program that identifies obstacles by identifying the position data of overhead train lines such as butterfly wires, hangers, droppers, curved brackets, steady rests, etc., and their surrounding brackets. Control such as outputting these data or recording them on a recording medium (not shown).

  The laser distance meter 6 is fixed on the carriage 2 and measures the relative distance and the relative angle of the object by irradiating the object with the laser beam L2 and receiving the reflected light. The laser beam is directed toward the object. A rotation mechanism for irradiating L2 is provided. The laser distance meter 6 measures the relative distance and the relative angle of the obstacle determined by the control device 5 with higher accuracy. The control device 5 calculates the distance and height from the center of the track from the relative distance and the relative angle measured by the laser distance meter 6 and presents the horizontal and vertical intrusion amounts from the building limit B in detail.

  In this obstacle detection device 1, when the carriage 2 is placed at the measurement start reference position on the rails R, R of the railroad track and the inspection is started as shown in FIG. 2 (step S1), the operator moves the carriage. While measuring the relative distance and the step angle of the objects O1 and O2 irradiated with the laser beam L1 by the range sensor 3 while moving on the rail R by pressing 2, the control device 5 acquires measurement data ( Step S2). At the same time, the control device 5 counts the pulse output of the rotary encoder 4 that accompanies the movement of the carriage 2, calculates the movement distance from the reference position, and acquires position data relating to the measurement position (step S3). When the control device 5 detects the object O2 that deviates from the building limit B by comparing the measurement data of the objects O1 and O2 with the position of the building limit B and performing arithmetic processing, the control device 5 associates the measurement data with the position data, The data of the train line and its surrounding metal fittings are identified and excluded to determine the presence of the obstacle O2 (step S4). When the obstacle O2 is detected, the operator is requested to stop the carriage 2 by sounding a buzzer or the like as necessary (step S5). The operator returns the carriage 2 to the position of the determined obstacle O2 (step S6), and the laser distance meter 6 irradiates the obstacle O2 with the laser beam L2 to measure the relative distance and the relative angle with high accuracy. (Step S7), the control device 5 calculates the distance and height from the center of the track from the obtained data (Step S8), and the amount of intrusion in the horizontal and vertical directions from the building limit B is displayed in detail on the monitor ( Step S9). As a result, a necessary removal range for the obstacle O2 is clarified, so that it can be appropriately dealt with. On the other hand, if the object O2 that departs from the building limit B is not detected (step S4), the inspection is terminated (steps S10 and S11), or the measurement operation is continued (step S12).

  2 is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, which is the detailed contents of step S <b> 4 in FIG. 2. That is, when the process is started (step S20), if the objects O1 and O2 that deviate from the building limit are confirmed by the range sensor (step S21), do they belong to the angle range and the height range of the horizontal position of the trolley line? By determining whether or not the object corresponds to the trolley line (step S22), the object corresponding to the trolley line is excluded from the obstacle (step S23). For an object that does not correspond to the trolley line (step S24), it is determined whether or not the object belongs to the vicinity range that exceeds the angular range of the position of the trolley line in the horizontal direction. It is determined whether it corresponds to (the overhead line, dropper, auxiliary overhead line, hanger) (step S25), and the object corresponding to the overhead line other than the trolley line is excluded from the obstacle (step S26). This considers the installation state when overhead lines other than the trolley line are positioned above the trolley line and positioned outside the trolley line. For an object that does not correspond to an overhead line other than the trolley line (step S27), the object is determined by determining whether or not it belongs to a range that is continuous from the trolley line and is higher than the trolley line. (Step S28), the objects corresponding to these metal fittings are excluded from the obstacles (step S29), and the objects not corresponding to the metal fittings are determined. It is determined as an obstacle (step S30).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Measuring apparatus 2 Bogie 2a Wheel 2b Pedestal 3 Range sensor 4 Rotary encoder 5 Control apparatus 5a Computer 5b Control panel 6 Laser rangefinder 7 Strut R Rail O1 Object O2 Object

Claims (2)

A carriage equipped with wheels that can roll on rails of a railway track;
A rotary encoder linked to the axle of the carriage to obtain position data from a reference position;
A range sensor that is mounted on the carriage, scans the periphery of the railway track with laser light, and measures the distance and angle of the object irradiated with the laser light;
Based on the position data by the rotary encoder and the measurement data by the range sensor corresponding thereto, the position of the object is calculated, and the object deviating from the building limit to ensure the safety of train operation is extracted, Obstacle detection on a railway line, characterized by comprising a control device that excludes the measurement data corresponding to the overhead train line and its peripheral brackets from the measurement data of this object and identifies obstacles in train operation apparatus.   2. The railway track according to claim 1, further comprising a laser rangefinder that measures a horizontal and vertical intrusion amount from a building limit of an object that deviates from a building limit specified by the control device. Obstacle detection device.

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