JPH0813838A - Safety device for mechanical parking facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate the occurrence of accidents by a method wherein when a vehicle comes onto a vehicle mounting base from an entry and exit port, images of the interior of the vehicle are picked up by a camera device, whereby a moving object in the vehicle can be sensed automatically, thereby effectively preventing actuation of a parking facility. CONSTITUTION:By operating an operation panel, a vehicle 6 is put into a cage 3 which has been transferred into a cage landing floor pit 5 and an entrance door of an entry and exit port 4 is closed and a floodlight is turned ON. Next, whether or not machines of a parking facility 1 have been actuated is judged, and if the machines have not been actuated, an image processing command is outputted from a controller 18 of a control unit 12 to a CPU 16 of an image processing device 11 so that images in the vehicle 6 having been parked are picked up by an ITV camera 8, following which each image signal is subjected to a binary image processing, which is stored in an image memory 15 and image area is divided into divided areas and a block processing of area is performed and image data are compared with previous data at each area. And when a person is confined in the vehicle, image data generated by the movement of the person are obtained so that an alarm signal is outputted from the CPU 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety device for a mechanical parking facility in which safety is improved by automatically detecting a moving object inside a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, at the entrance / exit position of a mechanical parking facility, it is dangerous if the parking facility is inadvertently driven when a person is inside the parking facility. As a safety device of, the presence or absence of a person in the parking facility at the entrance / exit is detected by a photoelectric tube, mat switch, ultrasonic sensor, pyroelectric sensor, or image processing of ITV camera, etc., and a person is detected in the parking facility. Had an unmanned surveillance system configured so that the parking facilities were not driven.

For example, it is as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-44607.

[0004]

However, the safety device of the conventional unmanned monitoring system described above is intended to detect a person outside the vehicle, that is, in a passage portion outside the vehicle, and inside the vehicle. That is, it did not have any function of detecting whether or not there is a person in the vehicle. Further, it is impossible to detect the presence or absence of a person trapped in the vehicle by the above-mentioned means using the conventional sensor.

Therefore, when a parking facility is accidentally driven by an operator or a driver's carelessness before a person exits the vehicle from the vehicle that has entered the vehicle loading platform through the loading / unloading port, the person trapped inside the vehicle may be If you try to get out of the car in a hurry, an accident such as being caught in the machine or falling may occur.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides a safety device for a mechanical parking facility, which improves the safety by effectively preventing the driving of the parking facility when it is locked in the vehicle. The purpose is to

[0007]

A first technical means for achieving the above object is to store a large number of vehicle mounting bases and transfer them by a driving means so that a vehicle can be loaded and unloaded from a loading / unloading port. In a mechanical parking facility that performs, an image pickup device that picks up an image of the inside of a vehicle that has been put into a vehicle mount from an entrance / exit port, and each image signal that is continuously or intermittently picked up by the image pickup device is binary. An image processing device that performs the binarized image processing and compares the binarized image data, and a control unit that locks the driving unit in a stopped state when the image data do not match in comparison. It is in.

A second technical means for achieving the above object is a mechanical system in which a large number of vehicle mounting bases are stored, and these are transferred by a driving means so that a vehicle can be loaded and unloaded from an entry / exit port. In the parking facility, an image pickup device for picking up an image of the inside of the vehicle that has been loaded into the vehicle loading platform from the loading / unloading port,
Each image signal continuously or intermittently picked up by the image pickup device is binarized and image-processed, and the picked-up image pickup area is divided into a plurality of divided areas. An image processing device for increasing / decreasing and comparing the binarized image data, and a control unit for locking the driving unit in a stopped state when there is a divided area in which the image data is increased / decreased by the comparison for each divided area. Is provided.

Further, a third technical means for achieving the above object is a mechanical system in which a large number of vehicle mounting bases are stored and the vehicles are moved in and out from an entrance and exit by transferring these by a driving means. In a parking facility, an image pickup device that picks up an image of the inside of a vehicle that has been put into a vehicle mount from an entrance / exit, and binarized image processing of each image signal that is continuously or intermittently picked up by the image pickup device. With
An image processing device that compares the binarized image data as distribution data of the image data in the imaging area, and the driving unit is locked in a stopped state when the distribution of the image data does not match in the comparison of the distribution data. And a control unit for controlling the control.

Further, in the above means, a structure may be provided which includes a lighting device for irradiating the interior of the vehicle stored in the vehicle mounting table from the storage port.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is loaded from the loading / unloading port to the vehicle mount, the inside of the vehicle is continuously or intermittently imaged by the imaging device.

The image processing apparatus performs binarized image processing on each image signal picked up by the image pickup apparatus and
The image data subjected to the binarization processing is compared, and if there is no difference in the image data, it is determined that there is no moving object in the vehicle, and the subsequent loading / unloading operation is enabled.

On the other hand, when there is a difference in the image data, it is determined that a moving object such as a person is still present in the vehicle, and the control unit locks the drive means for transferring the vehicle mount in a stopped state. Therefore, the subsequent loading / unloading operation can be prevented, the transfer of the vehicle can be effectively prevented when a person is trapped inside the vehicle, and safety is improved.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the image processing device outputs two image signals captured by the image capturing device.
Along with the binarized image processing, the captured imaging area is divided into a plurality of divided areas, and the binarized image data is increased or decreased for each divided area.

When there is no divided area in which the image data has increased or decreased in the comparison for each divided area, it is determined that there is no moving object in the vehicle, and the subsequent loading / unloading operation is enabled. .

On the other hand, if there is a divided area in which the image data has increased or decreased in comparison for each divided area, it is determined that a moving object such as a person still exists in the vehicle, and the control unit determines that the vehicle mounting base is The driving means to be transferred is locked in a stopped state. Therefore, the subsequent loading / unloading operation can be prevented, the transfer of the vehicle can be effectively prevented when a person is trapped inside the vehicle, and safety is improved.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the image processing device outputs two image signals captured by the image capturing device.
In addition to performing the binarized image processing, the binarized image data is compared as distribution data of the image data in the imaging area, and when there is no difference in the distribution data,
It is determined that there is no moving object in the vehicle, and the subsequent loading / unloading operation is enabled.

On the other hand, when there is a difference in the distribution data, it is determined that a moving object such as a person still exists in the vehicle, and the control unit locks the drive means for transferring the vehicle mount in a stopped state. Therefore, the subsequent loading / unloading operation can be prevented, the transfer of the vehicle can be effectively prevented when a person is trapped inside the vehicle, and safety is improved.

Further, in each of the above inventions, according to the structure provided with the illuminating device for irradiating the inside of the vehicle stored in the vehicle mount from the loading / unloading port, the data at the time of imaging by the imaging device caused by the dark interior of the vehicle. Insufficient amount can be eliminated and reliability is improved.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the invention according to the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 are located at the bottom of a parking structure 2 in a vertical circulation parking equipment 1 as a mechanical parking equipment. Figure 2 shows a plan and side view of the ground floor.

In the parking structure 2, as in the conventional case, a plurality of cages 3 as vehicle mounts arranged in a vertical direction are provided, and the upper and lower sprockets 20 are provided.
A pair of front and rear endless chains wrapped around the space 2
1, the cages 3 are connected to each other via an attachment 22, and the cages 3 are circulated and transferred by the movement of the endless chain 21 by the driving means.

On the ground floor as the vehicle entry position,
A loading / unloading port 4 is provided, and the vehicle 6 is configured to be loaded into the cage 3 transferred from the loading / unloading port 4 to the cage landing pit 5 inside the parking structure 2 and waiting. .

An entrance door (not shown) is provided at the entry / exit port 4.
Is provided so that opening and closing can be controlled, and an operation panel (not shown) for operating the parking facility 1 is provided on the outer wall portion of the parking structure 2.

Further, in front of the parking facility 1 on the back side, an ITV camera 8 (as an image pickup device) is provided in order to take an image of the inside of the vehicle 6, which is seated on the cage 3 located in the cage landing pit 5, that is, the inside of the vehicle. A television camera) is provided, and a floodlight 9 as a lighting device is provided so as to illuminate the inside of the vehicle 6 that has entered the cage 3.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the safety device, which is provided with an image processing device 11 and a control unit 12. Then, the image signal taken in from the ITV camera 8 is, in the A / D converter / binarization processing unit 13,
The image data is converted into digital data and binarized, and the binarized image data is sequentially written and stored in the image memory 15 under the control of the memory controller 14.

Further, the CPU 16 accesses the image memory 15 via the counter 17, sequentially fetches the image data stored therein, and subdivides the image pickup area into a plurality of divided areas, and each divided area. The binarized image data for each area are compared to determine whether there is an increase or decrease.

If there is a divided area in which the image data has increased or decreased, the controller 1 of the control unit 12
An alarm signal is output to 8. On the other hand, when an alarm signal is input to the controller 18, the controller 18 controls the driving means for transferring the cage 3 so as to lock the driving means in a stopped state. Further, by inputting an alarm signal to the controller 18, an alarm may be given by a voice from a speaker or a lamp may be turned on to notify an operator or the like.

Next, the processing procedure of the safety device will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, when the vehicle 6 is stored in the cage 3 transferred to the cage landing pit 5 by operation of the operation panel (step S1) and the entrance door of the loading / unloading port 4 is closed (step S2), step S3. Then, the projector 9 is turned on.
Operated.

Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the machine of the parking facility 1 is activated. If the machine is not activated, the controller 18 of the control unit 12 displays an image on the CPU 16 of the image processing apparatus 11. A processing command is output, the process proceeds to step S5, and the inside of the vehicle 6 stored by the ITV camera 8 is continuously or intermittently imaged. For example, the captured original image in this case is as shown in FIG.

After that, the process proceeds to step S6, where each of the picked-up image signals is subjected to binarized image processing and sequentially written and stored in the image memory 15. in this case,
An edge image as shown in FIG. 7 is obtained.

Next, in step S7, the imaged imaged area is subdivided into a plurality of divided areas, and area blocking processing is performed. For example, as indicated by the phantom line in FIG. 7, the imaging area is divided into 9 to 9 divided areas.

The image data is counted for each block in the divided area (step S8) and compared with the previous image data (step S9). Then, it is determined whether or not the image data has increased or decreased for each of the divided areas divided into blocks (step S10), and if there is no divided area in which the image data has increased or decreased, step S4.
Return to

On the other hand, when a person is confined in the vehicle, the image data as shown in FIG. 8 is obtained by the movement of the person in the vehicle and is compared with the previous image data (eg, FIG. 7). It is determined that there is an increase or decrease in the image data in each divided area of
From this, an alarm signal is output to the controller 18, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the control unit 12 controls the cage 3 based on the alarm signal from the image processing apparatus 11 side.
The driving means for transporting the vehicle is locked in a stopped state, and the operation of the machine of the parking facility 1 is locked.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S12, the entrance door is opened, and the projector 9 is turned off (step S13).

If there is no person in the vehicle, the steps S4 to S10 are repeated. In this state, if there is a warehousing / unloading operation, the machine of the parking facility 1 is started to carry out the steps. The process moves from S4 to step S13, and normal warehousing is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when there is no person confined in the vehicle, the subsequent loading / unloading operation is normally possible, and due to lack of confirmation by the operator or the driver, the vehicle interior should not be accessed. Even if a person is trapped in the car, the moving object inside the vehicle is automatically detected and the driving means is locked in a stopped state, so that subsequent loading and unloading operations can be prevented and an accident will occur in advance. It can be prevented and the safety can be improved.

Further, since the interior of the vehicle is illuminated by the projector 9, the lack of data amount at the time of image pickup by the ITV camera 8 can be eliminated and the reliability is excellent.

Next, another embodiment of the invention according to the present application will be described. At this time, the same components as those of the embodiment of the invention are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

For example, a comparator is used in place of the counter 17 in FIG. 3, and the other parts are constructed in the same manner as the embodiment of the invention.

In this case, the image signal taken in from the ITV camera 8 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter / binarization processing unit 13 and binarized image processing is performed and binarized. The image data is further sequentially written and stored in the image memory 15 under the control of the memory control 14 as distribution data in the imaging area.

Further, the CPU 16 accesses the image memory 15 via the comparator, sequentially takes in the distribution data of the image data stored therein, and compares the distribution data of the binarized image data to make a difference. Determine if there is. The distribution data of the image data is, for example, plane coordinate data in one or both of “0” and “1” of the binarized binary signal, or array data. To do.

When there is a difference in the distribution data, an alarm signal is output to the controller 18 of the control unit 12, and the same processing as that of the above-described embodiment of the invention is performed thereafter.

That is, in the case of this embodiment, since the imaging area is recognized as one area without being divided, the movement of the object in the same area does not increase or decrease the binarized image data and confine the person. Can not be detected as in the previous embodiment of the invention. Therefore, instead of increasing or decreasing the image data,
It is a system in which the position of data is stored as coordinates or an array and compared, and the difference is monitored.

Next, the processing procedure of the safety device in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

Similar to the previous embodiment of the invention, the vehicle 6 is stored in the cage 3 transferred to the cage landing pit 5 by the operation of the operation panel (step S21), and the entrance door of the entry / exit opening 4 is closed. And (step S22), step S2
After shifting to 3, the projector 9 is turned on.

Next, in step S24, it is determined whether or not the machine of the parking facility 1 has been started. If the machine is not started, the controller 18 of the control unit 12 displays an image on the CPU 16 of the image processing apparatus 11. The processing command is output,
In step S25, the inside of the vehicle 6 stored by the ITV camera 8 is continuously or intermittently imaged.

After that, the procedure goes to step S26, and each of the picked-up image signals is binarized.
When the edge image as shown in FIG. 7 is obtained, the process proceeds to step S27, a distribution process for converting the binarized image data into distribution data is performed, and the image data is sequentially written and stored in the image memory 15. .

Next, in step S28, the image data is compared with the previous image data, and it is determined in step S29 whether or not there is a difference in the distribution data. If there is no difference, the process returns to step S24.

If there is a person in the vehicle and the distribution data differs due to the movement of the person, an alarm signal is output from the CPU 16 to the controller 18, and the process proceeds to step S30.

Then, as in the embodiment of the invention described above, in step S30, the control unit 12 locks the drive means for transferring the cage 3 in a stopped state based on the alarm signal from the image processing apparatus 11 side, and the parking facility. Operation of machine 1 is locked. After that, the process proceeds to step S31, the entrance door is opened, and the projector 9 is turned off (step S32).

If there is no person trapped in the vehicle, the processes of steps S24 to S29 are repeated. In this state, if there is a warehousing / unloading operation, the machine of the parking facility 1 is started to perform the steps. The process proceeds from step S24 to step S32, and normal warehousing is performed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the previous embodiment of the invention can be obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 6 is stored in the vertical circulation parking facility 1, image processing is started after the entrance door is closed, and the machine of the parking facility 1 is activated by the subsequent loading / unloading operation. Although the case where the process is continued until immediately before is shown, this process may be started immediately after the vehicle 6 is stopped, or may be terminated after a certain time has elapsed.

Further, the ITV camera 8 and the projector 9 are each provided with one.
Although a structure in which a plurality of units are used is shown, a structure in which a plurality of units are installed may be used. In this case, the reliability of information is further improved.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the vertical circulation type parking equipment 1 is shown. However, a machine such as a multi-layer circulation type parking equipment, a horizontal circulation type parking equipment, or an elevator type parking equipment is used. It may be applied to all mechanical parking facilities that move in and move out the vehicle mount to call in and out of the loading / unloading port 4.

[0058]

As described above, according to the safety device for a mechanical parking facility according to the present invention, even if a person is trapped inside the vehicle, a moving object inside the vehicle can be automatically detected. Thus, the transportation of the vehicle can be effectively prevented, so that the occurrence of an accident can be prevented and the safety can be improved.

Further, in the structure provided with the illuminating device for illuminating the inside of the vehicle stored in the vehicle mounting table from the loading / unloading port, the lack of the data amount at the time of the image pickup of the image pickup device caused by the dark inside of the vehicle can be solved. There is an advantage that reliability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a vertical circulation parking facility as an example of a mechanical parking facility to which the present invention is applied, at a loading / unloading position.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process in the embodiment of the invention according to the present application.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a processed image.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a processed image.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a processed image.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process in another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vertical Circulation Parking Facility 2 Parking Structure 3 Cage 4 Entry / Exit 6 Vehicle 8 ITV Camera 9 Projector 11 Image Processing Device 12 Control Unit 13 A / D Converter / Binary Processing Unit 14 Memory Control 15 Image Memory 16 CPU 17 Counter 18 controller

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a mechanical parking facility in which a large number of vehicle mounting bases are stored and which are transferred by a driving means to load and unload a vehicle from a loading / unloading port, a vehicle loading base is loaded into the vehicle loading base. An image pickup device for picking up an image of the inside of a vehicle, and image processing for binarizing image data of each image signal continuously or intermittently picked up by the image pickup device, and comparing the binarized image data. A safety device for a mechanical parking facility, comprising: a device; and a control unit that locks the drive means in a stopped state when the image data do not match. 2. In a mechanical parking facility in which a large number of vehicle mounting bases are stored and which are transferred by a driving means to load and unload vehicles from the loading / unloading port, the vehicle is loaded from the loading / unloading port to the vehicle loading platform. An image pickup apparatus for picking up an image of the inside of a vehicle, and binarizing image processing of each image signal continuously or intermittently picked up by the image pickup apparatus, and dividing the picked-up image pickup area into a plurality of divided areas. And an image processing device for increasing / decreasing and comparing the binarized image data for each divided area,
A safety device for a mechanical parking facility, comprising: a control unit that locks the drive unit in a stopped state when there is a divided area in which image data has increased or decreased in comparison with each divided area. 3. In a mechanical parking facility in which a large number of vehicle mounting bases are stored and which are transferred by a driving means to load and unload vehicles from the loading / unloading port, the vehicle is loaded from the loading / unloading port to the vehicle loading platform. An image pickup device for picking up an image of the inside of a vehicle, and binarized image processing of each image signal continuously or intermittently picked up by the image pickup device, and the binarized image data in an image pickup area. A mechanical parking facility including an image processing device for comparing as distribution data of image data and a control unit for locking the driving means in a stopped state when the distribution of image data does not match in the comparison of the distribution data. Safety device. 4. The safety device for a mechanical parking facility according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising: a lighting device that illuminates an interior of a vehicle that has been loaded into a vehicle mounting base from the loading / unloading port.