JPH03250103A - Railroad line abnormality detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain a high speed as well as labor saving on railroad inspecting work, by reading the image of the railroad lines for storage, then comparing the image to be inspected with the stored reference image, and on the basis of the compared result, outputting the image specifying the abnormal part of the railroad line. CONSTITUTION:When a travel vehicle travels on rails 1, 1 with a light source 4 on, infrared light from the light source 4 is emitted toward the ground surface and rails 1, 1, and the image of rails and the like is photographed by an image sensor 6. The image data from the image sensor 6 is stored in an image buffer 7 line by line. The image data stored in the image buffer 7 are then transferred into an image processing part 8 and a storage part 9. The image processing part 8 extracts the data corresponding to inspection items stored in the storage part 9 and compares the extracted data with the inspection item data in the storage part 9 so as to detect its difference. The image processing part 8 further outputs this data to a display device 10 and a printing device 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a railway track abnormality detection device for detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality on a railway track.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, railway inspections such as damage to rails, cracks in sleepers, and loosening of bolts have been carried out by inspection personnel visually while walking along the rails.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional railway abnormality inspection work, the inspection personnel had to walk along the rails, so there was a problem that the inspection took a long time.

Furthermore, since a large number of inspection personnel are required, there is a problem in that the inspection work requires a large amount of expense.

In view of these points, it is an object of the present invention to speed up railway inspection work, save labor, and reduce the cost required for the inspection work.

(Diagrams for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the first objective, the present invention was constructed as follows.

That is, the first invention includes an image reading means for reading an image of a railway track, a storage means for storing the read image, and an inspection image read by the image reading means, which is read in advance by the image reading means and stored in the memory. The apparatus includes a comparison means for comparing with a reference image stored in the means, and an output means for specifying and outputting an abnormal part of the railway track based on the comparison result.

A second invention includes an image reading means for reading an image of a railway track, a storage means for storing inspection item data known in advance regarding the railway track, and an image read by the image reading means is stored in the storage means. an extraction means for extracting data corresponding to inspection item data; a comparison means for comparing the extracted data with inspection data stored in the storage means; and output means for specifying and outputting a location.

(Function) The first invention configured as described above is mounted on a vehicle running on a rail and used as follows.

First, prior to detecting abnormalities in the railway, the image reading means reads an image of the railway in advance, and stores the read image in the storage means as a reference image.

Next, when an abnormality is detected on the track, the image reading means reads the image of the track again as an inspection image. The comparison means then compares the inspection image with the reference image stored in the storage means. The output means identifies and outputs an abnormal location on the line based on the comparison result.

Further, in the second invention, the image reading means reads an image of the railway track. The extraction means extracts data corresponding to inspection item data stored in the storage means and known in advance regarding the railway track from the read image.

The comparison stage compares the extracted data with test item data stored in the storage means. Based on the comparison result, the output means identifies and outputs an abnormal location on the railway track.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the first embodiment of the invention.

In the fjS1 diagram, 1.1 is a pair of left and right rails of the railway laid on the ground via sleepers 2, and 3 is the rail 1 and sleeper 2.
These are the bolts that connect the two, and these are the objects of observation as will be described later.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a light source that irradiates the rail 1.1 in the width direction thereof, and an infrared lamp is suitable as this light source 4.

This is because infrared rays do not dazzle workers when working at night. 5 is a lens that guides reflected light from the ground surface or the rail 1 to the photosensitive surface of the image sensor 6.

The image sensor 6 measures the length of the rail 1 in the width direction (for example, 24
A line sensor that can read 0 cm) in - degrees. The image data read by this image sensor 6 is
Each line is temporarily stored in the image buffer 7. The image buffer 7 can store a certain amount of image data.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an image processing section composed of a microcomputer or the like, which performs predetermined image processing and controls each section as described later.

A storage section 9 stores the image data as analog or digital data when the amount of image data stored in the image buffer 7 reaches a predetermined amount. This storage section 9
Preferably, the storage medium has a large storage capacity, such as an optical disk or a magnetic tape.

Reference numeral 10 indicates a display device such as a CRT for displaying the processing results of the image processing section 8, and 11 indicates a printing device for printing out the processing results.

The embodiment of the present invention, which consists of various parts as described above, is mounted on a traveling vehicle (not shown) running on the rail 1.1, and at the time of observation, the traveling speed is, for example, 50 km/hour (14 m/sec).
The vehicle travels at a constant speed of .

Next, an example of image processing according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

First, Rail 1, I! - Traveling East runs at night with the light source 4 turned on, and takes a reference image.

In this case, the infrared light from the light source 4 is transmitted to the ground surface or the rail 1.
The image sensor 6 captures an image of the rail 1 and the like according to the reflected light.

Then, image data corresponding to the image is output from the image sensor 6, and the image data is stored in the image buffer 7 line by line. When a predetermined amount of image data is stored in the image buffer 7, the image data is transferred to the storage section 9 in units of a predetermined amount.

In this way, when a reference image of a predetermined value corresponding to the track maintenance area is photographed, the photographing is terminated. At this time, all the data of the reference image taken at the time of birth are stored in the storage unit 7 and saved.

Next, for example, after four days have elapsed, the vehicle is driven at night under the same conditions as when the reference image was taken, and a test image is taken.

In this case, the inspection image data obtained by photographing with one image sensor 6 is stored in the image buffer 7 as in the case of two series. When the storage capacity of the image buffer 7 reaches a predetermined value, the test image data and data of a reference image photographed at the same location, which is stored in advance in the storage section 9, are transferred to the image processing section 8.

The image processing unit 8 compares the inspection image data with the reference image data and detects the difference as abnormal image data. Then, based on the detected data, an image of the abnormal location is created and output to the display device 10 and the printing device 11, respectively.

To explain this in detail with reference to Fig. 2, when the reference image A at a predetermined location stored in advance and the corresponding inspection image B currently being photographed are superimposed, and the difference is recognized as significant, The difference is detected as an abnormality and displayed. Therefore, as shown in Figure 2, the cracks in rail 1,
Only abnormalities such as damage and looseness of Porto 3 are displayed and output.

Next, an embodiment of the second invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the image processing section 8 shown in FIG. A storage section 21 is newly provided to store data on inspection items such as width in advance. The other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, so their explanation will be omitted.

Next, an example of image processing in such an embodiment will be described.

Now, when a car runs on rails l and 1 at night with light source 4 on, the infrared light from light source 4 will reach the ground surface and rail 1.
．． 1, and an image of the rail etc. according to the reflected light is photographed by the image sensor 6.

Then, image data corresponding to the image is output from the image sensor 6, and the image data is stored in the image buffer 7 line by line. When a predetermined amount of image data is stored in the image buffer 7, the image data is transferred to the image processing section 8 and the storage section 9, respectively.

The image processing section 8 stores the transferred image data in the storage section 2.
extracting data corresponding to inspection items such as rail spacing and joints stored in advance in the storage unit 21, and comparing the extracted data with inspection item data stored in the storage unit 21;
The difference is detected as abnormal data.

Then, based on the detected data, an image regarding the abnormal location is created and outputted to the display device 10 and the printing device B 111, respectively.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the first invention, a reference image of a reference track is read and stored in advance, and when detecting an abnormality in the track, the image of the track is read and compared with the reference image, Based on the comparison results, abnormalities on the track are identified and output. Therefore, according to the first invention,
It is possible to speed up the inspection work of railway tracks, save labor, and reduce the cost required for the inspection work.

In the second invention, an image of a railway track is read, data corresponding to inspection item data known in advance regarding the railway track is extracted from the image, and the extracted data is compared with inspection item data known in advance. Based on the comparison results, abnormalities on the track can be identified and output.

Therefore, according to the second invention, although the detection part of the abnormal part is limited, there is an advantage that the abnormal part can be detected more easily than the first invention.

1

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of its operation, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the invention. 1...Rail, 2...Sleeper, 3...Bolt, 4...
...Light source, 6...Image sensor, 8.20...Image processing section, 9.21...Storage section, 1
0... Display device, 11... Printing device.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An image reading means for reading an image of a railway track, a storage means for storing the read image, and an inspection image read by the image reading means, read in advance by the image reading means and stored in the storage means. A railway track abnormality detection device comprising: a comparison means for comparing with a reference image; and an output means for identifying and outputting an abnormal part of the railway track based on the comparison result. (2) an image reading means for reading an image of a railway track; a storage means for storing inspection item data known in advance regarding the railway track; and an inspection stored in the storage means based on the image read by the image reading means. an extraction means for extracting data corresponding to the item data; a comparison means for comparing the extracted data with the inspection item data stored in the storage means; An abnormality detection and measurement device for railway tracks, comprising: an output means for outputting the output;