JPH06251284A - Automatic measuring instrument for various vehicle elements - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device which is speedy and economical by automating the measurement of various vehicle elements. CONSTITUTION:This device is equipped with a vehicle detection part 2 which detects the position of a vehicle, an image pickup part 4 which photographs the vehicle through plural cameras according to the detection result of the vehicle detection part 2, a measurement control part 6 which finds the height, width, and length of the vehicle from the image data obtained by the image pickup part 4, and a data processor 7. The measurement control part 6 has an edge detection part which detects the edge from the input image data and a control and arithmetic part which finds the height, width, and length of the vehicle from feature points of the edge corresponding to the cameras. Consequently, various vehicle elements can automatically be measured without touching the vehicle, so the labor required for the measurement of the vehicle elements and data gathering is reduced to shorten the time required for one vehicle to be supervised.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic measurement device for vehicle specifications,
In particular, the present invention relates to a vehicle parameter automatic measuring device capable of measuring vehicle parameters with a minimum of human hands.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For a vehicle traveling on a road, a toll is charged at a fixed rate depending on the size of the vehicle, etc.
Especially for large vehicles, measure the height, width, and length of each vehicle under the direction of the supervisory authority,
A sticker or the like is used to indicate that the vehicle is a large vehicle and has been measured. In measuring the specifications of such a vehicle, conventionally, the vehicle to be measured is pulled into the field for inspection, and a staff member uses a measuring tape or a graduated rod to measure vehicle height, vehicle width, and vehicle length, respectively. Was being measured. On the other hand, regarding the vehicle height, for example, prepare a measuring instrument configured by arranging a plurality of light emitters in the vertical direction, stop the vehicle before it, and observe from the opposite side,
The measurement was carried out by checking how many light emitters were blocked by the vehicle, and was partially automated.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional method for automatically measuring vehicle specifications, the height, width, and length of the vehicle are measured with the help of a person, so that the work is complicated. In addition, there was a problem that expenses such as personnel expenses were required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a quick and economical apparatus for automating measurement of vehicle specifications.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a plurality of cameras, a measurement control unit, a light projector, a light receiver, a signal processing unit, and a data processing device. Edge detection processing is applied to stereo image data obtained by multiple cameras, vehicle height and vehicle length data are calculated from the feature points in the corresponding vehicle rear edge of multiple cameras, and vehicle width is calculated. The vehicle width is calculated from the characteristic points of the corresponding edges on both the left and right sides, and the obtained vehicle height, vehicle width, and vehicle length data is output to the data processing device, and the data processing device outputs the vehicle height and vehicle height based on these data. The gist is an automatic vehicle parameter measurement device that determines the parameters of vehicle width and vehicle length.

[0006]

[Operation] With the above configuration,

[0007]

1 to 7 are views for explaining an embodiment of an automatic vehicle parameter measuring device according to the present invention. Of these figures, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic vehicle parameter measurement device according to this embodiment. Reference numeral 1 in this figure
Reference numeral a is a light projector, and reference numeral 1b is a light receiver for detecting the front end of the vehicle that has entered the vehicle measurement field together with the light projector 1a. The light projector 1a and the light receiver 1b constitute a vehicle detection unit 2. Reference numeral 3 is a signal processing unit that processes signals from the light projector 1a and the light receiver 1b, and 4 is an image capturing unit that captures a vehicle that has entered the vehicle measurement field. CCD cameras 4a, 4b ...
...... is composed of. 5 is an axle load / weighing scale that is installed on the road surface of the vehicle measurement field and measures the weight of the vehicle, and 6 is a detection of the entry of the vehicle into the vehicle measurement field and CC
A data processing device that obtains a measurement result by calculation based on data from the measurement control unit 7 and the measurement control unit 6 that controls the operation of the D camera 4.

The light projector 1a and the light receiver 1b are composed of a pair of LEDs and a light receiving element. CCD camera 4
Is installed two or more so that the vehicle can be imaged from diagonally behind. As shown in FIG. 2, the measurement control unit 6 has an A / D converter 8 for converting analog signals sent from the CCD cameras 4a, 4b, ... To digital signals.
A frame memory 9 for storing image data digitized by the A / D converter 8;
An edge detection circuit 10 for detecting an edge of an image based on the image data from the above, and a control / arithmetic unit 11 for controlling an image pickup operation and an image data processing operation.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the automatic vehicle parameter measuring device according to this embodiment is installed on the main line. In this figure, reference numeral 12 indicates the main line, and the vehicle enters from the front side of the main line 12 toward the back in the direction indicated by the arrow S.
An axle weight / weighing scale 5 is installed on the ground at the entrance of the main line 12, and a first gate frame 13 that supports each device is provided at this location. CCD cameras 4a and 4b are provided as a pair on both sides of the main line 12 in the width direction on the beam portion of the gate frame body 13, while an ultrasonic vehicle height measuring unit 14 is provided on the same beam portion. There is. In the following description, for ease of understanding, the CCD camera 4a
To the first CCD camera and the CCD camera 4b to the second CC
D camera. The two CCD cameras 4a and 4b are arranged so that the characteristic points of the vehicle can be photographed. Further, since the imaging range in the traveling direction of the vehicle is several meters, the number of CCD cameras arranged in the front-rear direction is determined by the range of the vehicle length to be measured.

A second gate frame body 15 is provided at a position within a predetermined distance (for example, about 12 meters) from the first gate frame body 13 to the back, and a beam portion of the second gate frame body 15 is provided. Is provided with a vehicle detection unit 2 including a light projector 1a and a light receiver 1b. A vehicle measurement field is formed on the main line between the first and second gate frame bodies 13 and 15.

A third gate frame body 16 is provided at a position further away from the second gate frame body 15 by a predetermined distance (for example, about 20 meters), and the third gate frame body 16 is provided. A vehicle detection unit 17 different from the preceding vehicle detection unit 2 is provided on the beam portion of the. Further, a fourth gate frame body 18 is provided in front of the third gate frame body 16, and a beam portion of the fourth gate frame body 18 is used to capture a vehicle number in addition to the image capturing unit 4 previously described. The image pickup section 19 is attached, and the measurement control section 6 is provided on the support portion of the fourth gate frame body 18. The vehicle detection unit 17 and the image pickup unit 19 installed on the third and fourth gate frame bodies 16 and 18 constitute an automatic vehicle number recognition device.

Further, a fifth gate frame body 20 is provided at a position ahead of the fourth gate frame body 18, and a beam portion of the fifth gate frame body 20 defines a measured vehicle. A warning plate 21 is installed to display the fact of the violation when the vehicle violates the dimensions.

The operation of the automatic vehicle parameter measuring device having such a configuration will be described below. In FIG. 3, when the vehicle enters the vehicle measurement field, the infrared light emitted from the projector 1a of the vehicle detector 2 mounted on the second gate frame 15 is received by the light receiver 1b, and the reflected wave of the reflected light is received. The vehicle tip portion is sensed by the change and a vehicle tip detection signal is output. This detection signal is processed by the signal processing unit 3 and sent to the measurement control unit 6.

When the measurement control unit 6 receives the vehicle front end detection signal, as shown in FIG. 4, the first and second CCD cameras 4a, 4a attached to the first gate frame 13 are provided.
b is made to image the rear end and the side surface of the vehicle 22, and stereo image data is obtained. The image data input from the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b are A / D converted by the A / D conversion device 8, and then the frame memory 9 is used.
Stored in. The image data stored in the frame memory 9 is sent to the edge detection circuit 10 one by one. The edge detection circuit 10 detects the edge at the rear end of the vehicle and the edges at the left and right ends of the vehicle, and the result of the edge detection is sent to the control / calculation unit 11.

The control / calculation unit 11 uses the correlation between the edges based on the edge detection results sent by the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b to detect the rear edge of the vehicle corresponding to the two CCD cameras. Find the same point in, that is, the feature point. Then, from the characteristic points of the corresponding edges of the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b, the vehicle height / vehicle width /
The vehicle length is calculated, and the measured vehicle height / vehicle width / vehicle length data is output to the data processing device 7. Further, the control / calculation unit 11 receives the measurement result of the shaft load from the shaft load / weighing scale 5 installed on the road surface, and outputs the data to the data processing device 7. The data processing device 7 collects data and inputs / outputs data to / from an external device.

Here, the first and second CCD cameras 4
Individual operations such as imaging and edge detection when obtaining the vehicle height, vehicle width, and vehicle length using a and 4b will be described in more detail. In this embodiment, the first and second
As shown in FIG. 4, two CCD cameras 4a and 4b are attached in parallel with the traveling direction of the vehicle. The image pickup areas of the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b extend over the ranges shown by A1 and A2 in FIG. 5, respectively. When the front end of the vehicle 22 blocks the projector 1a and the light receiver 1b that detect the front end of the vehicle 22, the first and second
The image of the vehicle 22 at the moment when the light between the light projector 1a and the light receiver 1b is blocked by the CCD cameras 4a, 4b is captured from the rear, and the captured image is the A / D in the measurement control unit 6.
A / D conversion is performed by the conversion device 8 and the still image data is taken into the frame memory 9. The still image data captured in the frame memory 9 is sent to the edge detection circuit 10 to obtain an edge.

In edge detection, vertical edges and horizontal edges are separately detected as shown in FIG. The edges obtained from the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b depend on the correlation, and the two CCD cameras 4a and 4b are used.
The correspondence of each edge between b is taken. The same point in the real space where the first CCD camera 4a and the second CCD camera 4b correspond to each other on the obtained edge is called a feature point. Since the image data obtained by the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b are obtained through the lens system as shown in FIG. 7, the edge in the real space is different if the distance from the lens to the vehicle 22 is different. However, if CCD cameras installed at two different points can correspond to the same point in the real space, the point can be specified as a unique point in the real space.

Here, in order to facilitate calculation, 2
The CCD cameras 4a and 4b are mounted on the vehicle 2 as shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the installation height from the ground surface and the horizontal direction of the image pickup screen are the same between the CCD cameras 4a and 4b, which are installed parallel to the traveling direction of 2.

4 and 7, reference numeral f is the focal length of the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b, d is the distance from the lens center in the real space to the characteristic point of the vehicle, and r is the first. The horizontal distance from the lens center of the CCD camera 4a to the feature point, v is the horizontal distance from the lens center of the second CCD camera 4b to the feature point, and s is the pixel from the CCD center of the feature point of the first CCD camera 4a. Number, u is second
Represents the number of pixels from the CCD center of the characteristic point of the CCD camera 4b.

From FIGS. 6 and 7, the pixel corresponding to the feature point in the real space and the pixel on the CCD are obtained as f / s = d / r f / u = d / v r + v = Xcc. However, Xcc is a center distance at the time of installation between the first CCD camera 4a and the second CCD camera 4b.

Lens focal length f, first and second C
Since the number of pixels s and u from the center on the CCD of the CD cameras 4a and 4b to the feature point to be obtained and the installation distance Xcc between the first and second CCD cameras 4a and 4b are known, the unknowns are r, There are three v and d, on the other hand, since there are three equations as shown above, r,
v and d are uniquely determined.

Here, when the vertical magnification of the CCD camera is Mv, the horizontal magnification is Mh, the number of pixels from the CCD center at the rear edge of the vehicle is w, and the distance in real space is Y, d = Xcc · Mh / (S + u) r = Xcc · s / (s + u) v = Xcc · u / (s + u) Y = Xcc · w · Mh / (s + u) · Mv.

That is, the desired vehicle height H, vehicle length L, vehicle width D
Is H = (installation height of the CCD camera from the ground plane) -d L = (distance from the projector / receiver to the center of the CCD camera) + Y D = (r on the right edge of the vehicle)-(on the left edge of the vehicle) r) is obtained.

In this measurement work, even if the vehicle specification automatic measuring device erroneously detects the shadow of the vehicle as a characteristic point on the rear part of the vehicle or on the side surface of the vehicle, the resulting height of the vehicle from the ground surface (that is, Vehicle height) is zero. Then, since there is no vehicle having a vehicle height of zero, the measured value is omitted, the result is not adopted, and the correct feature point is obtained again, so that no inconvenience occurs.

In this way, the coordinates of the three-dimensional space can be easily obtained by matching the installation heights of the two CCD cameras and the horizontal direction of the image pickup screen.

As described above, when the measured vehicle height, vehicle width, and vehicle length are larger than the regulation values, the vehicle number automatic installed in the forward direction of the vehicle specification automatic measuring device according to this embodiment is set. A command is sent to the recognition device to capture an image of the license plate on the front surface of the vehicle, the vehicle detection unit 17 detects the front end of the vehicle, and the image capturing unit 19 captures an image of the front plate of the vehicle. The vehicle number automatic recognition device automatically recognizes all characters in the imaged license plate by the recognition processing unit. The characters of the recognized license plate, the contents of the vehicle height / vehicle width / vehicle length violation and guidance for guiding to the control base are displayed on the warning plate 21, and the violating vehicle is guided to the control base.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By implementing an automatic vehicle parameter measurement device, it is possible to automatically measure vehicle parameters such as vehicle height, vehicle width, and vehicle length, reducing the number of personnel required to measure vehicle parameters and collect data, The time required for each vehicle can be reduced. Further, since no human is involved in collecting the vehicle data, the reliability of the measurement data can be improved, and various effects can be obtained such that the special vehicle can be cracked down efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic vehicle parameter measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a measurement control unit used in the automatic vehicle parameter measurement device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example in which the automatic vehicle parameter measuring device according to the embodiment is installed on the main line.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the vehicle and the first and second CCD cameras measured in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows the first and second CCDs in the above embodiment.
Diagram showing the imaging range and installation position of the camera

FIG. 6 is a view showing edge detection processing in a vertical and horizontal directions of an image pickup screen by a CCD camera in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between an image pickup surface of a camera and an edge in real space in the lens system in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a Light emitter 1b Light receiver 2,17 Vehicle detection part 3 Signal processing part 4,19 Imaging part (CCD camera) 5 Axial load / weighing scale 6 Measurement control part 7 Data processing device 8 A / D conversion device 9 Frame memory 10 Edge detection Part 11 Control / arithmetic unit 12 Main line yoke 13, 15, 16, 18, 20 Gate frame 14 Vehicle height detector 21 Warning plate

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location G08G 1/017 2105-3H 1/04 D 2105-3H

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle detection unit that detects the position of the vehicle, an image capturing unit that captures the vehicle with a plurality of cameras based on the detection results of the vehicle detection unit, and a vehicle height / vehicle of the vehicle based on the image data obtained by the image capturing unit. The measurement control unit includes a measurement control unit that obtains a width and a vehicle length, and a data processing device, and the measurement control unit includes an edge detection unit that detects an edge in image data obtained by the imaging unit, and a vehicle corresponding to the plurality of cameras. It has a control / calculation unit that calculates vehicle height and vehicle length data from the same point in the rear edge, and that obtains the vehicle width from each characteristic point of the left and right edges corresponding to the vehicle width. The device is an automatic vehicle parameter measuring device characterized by collecting vehicle parameter data and inputting / outputting data to / from an external device. 2. The first and second CCDs installed in the image pickup section above the vehicle at regular intervals in the vehicle width direction.
2. An automatic vehicle parameter measuring device according to claim 1, wherein a camera is installed and stereo image data of a rear end and a side surface of the vehicle is obtained by both CCD cameras.