JPS614929A - Weighing method of loaded-in body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shift measuring equipment in installation position freely by acquiring the loaded-in body as an optical image, extracting an image of the external appearance shape of the uplifted part of the loaded-in body, and measuring the capacity and weight on the basis of the image. CONSTITUTION:A TV camera 2 is installed at a position opposite to a background panel 1 installed at one proper end position on a transport path, a motor scraper M having a transported soil S loaded on a scraper B is stopped in front of the panel 1, and an image recorded by the camera 2 while the transported soil S is in the center is processed by an image processor 3 to extract only an image of the external appearance shape of the part of the transported soil S. Further, a capacity and weight measuring device 4 measures the capacity and weight on the basis of the image obtained by the device 3 and the camera 2 and devices 3 and 4 are controlled by a system controller 5 in this case to control the controller 5 with signals from a repeating controller 7 or central controller 8 which receives a signal from a communication device 6 on the scraper M.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a method for automatically measuring the volume or weight of cargo piled up in a storage section of a carrier using optical means.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a method for automatically measuring the volume or weight of cargo piled up in the storage section of a transporter, in the field of construction and civil engineering, for example, a loading weight needle called a so-called can-can buried in the transport road is used to measure the volume of transported soil. There are known methods for measuring. This is done by measuring the weight of a transport vehicle loaded with a transport vehicle, such as a dump trunk or motor scraper, and subtracting the weight value of the transport vehicle when it is empty without any transport vehicle loaded. This is a method for calculating weight values. In addition, there is also a method of measuring changes in pressure, strain, etc. of the parts that support the weight of the transport vehicle, and measuring the weight of the transport vehicle based on the changes.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above method, since it is necessary to measure the gravity of the transport vehicle or the changes caused by the gravity, the former has the disadvantage that the equipment must become larger and more rigid, and the installation location cannot be easily changed. be. In particular, at construction sites, the transportation route changes depending on the displacement of the face.
Since the installation location of the measuring equipment cannot be easily changed, it is unreasonable to set the transportation route in a detour. In addition, in the latter method, measurement equipment must be installed in each transport vehicle, making it less versatile at construction and civil engineering sites where work is performed with a large number of transport vehicles of various models. poor.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present inventors have conducted extensive research and found that, in place of the conventional measurement using a loaded weight needle, the present inventors have carried out non-contact transportation using optical image processing technology. After discovering that it is possible to measure the volume and weight of objects carried in a body, this invention was completed. The main purpose of this invention is to capture the cargo as an image and measure its volume or weight based on that image. In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, as shown in FIG. In the image input step 100(b), the image measured in the image input step 10 is converted into an electric signal by the image processing means 21.22, and image processing is performed, and the image is stacked in at least the storage section + of the cargo and the raised part is Loaded object image extraction process 20° (c) extracts an image part representing the external shape of the loaded object, and the loaded object image is extracted by volume or weight measuring means based on the image of the loaded object part extracted by the loaded object image extraction step 20. A technical measure is taken to measure the volume or weight of an object, which consists of a 30° volume or weight measurement process. This makes it possible to measure the volume or weight of the loaded object without directly contacting the loaded object or the carrier, and also allows the measuring device to be freely moved and installed.

【Example】

1 to 2 show examples in which the method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to the present invention is applied to a conveyance amount measuring system that measures the amount of conveyed soil piled up on the scraper ball B of a motor scraper M. This will be explained based on the diagram. The conveyed soil volume measurement system is a measurement corner set at an appropriate location on the conveyance path, and a background panel 1, which is installed parallel to the conveyance path to cover the background part, is located at a position opposite to the background panel 1. An image processing device 3 that inputs the installed TV camera 2 and the image (optical image, hereinafter the same) recorded by the TV camera 2 and extracts only the image representing the external shape of the transport ±S portion; It is comprised of a volume or weight measuring device 4 that measures the volume or weight of the transport S based on the extracted transport image. That is, when transporting the background panel 1, the S is the scraper pole B.
This is to make the rear background uniform when the image input means inputs an image of the motor scrapers M stacked on top, and in this embodiment, it consists of a large white rectangular plate. Therefore, the motor scraper M being transported is stopped in front of this background panel 1. The TV camera 2 is an example of the image input means of the present invention, and records an image centered on the transportation top S portion stacked on the scraper pole B of the motor scraper M stopped in front of the background panel L. . This transportation volume measurement system may be operated manually, but the TV camera 2 can be operated using the system control bag W5.
, the image processing device 3 and the volume/weight measurement device 4 may be automatically controlled. In the case of this embodiment, when a predetermined signal is input from the communication device 6 mounted on the motor scraper M to the relay control device 7 installed on the ground near the measurement corner, the relay control device 7
A control command signal for starting measurement is output to the system control device 5. Note that the relay control device 7 may be configured to receive a control command signal sent from a central management control device 8 provided at a central management center or the like at the site. When an instruction to start measurement is given to the system control device 5, the TV camera 2 records the object. When recording is completed, the image processing device 3 operates to analyze and calculate the image, and the volume or weight measurement device 4 calculates the volume or weight. The calculated volume or weight value is transmitted to the relay control device 7, and then manually input to the central management control device 8' and stored as management data. Next, the image recorded by TV camera 2 (hereinafter,
The original image) Ia is input to an image processing device 3 as an image processing means. This image processing device 3 converts an optical image into an electrical signal, performs measurement and analysis using image processing technology, reads the image (original image), and based on it, images (hereinafter referred to as processing) only the upper part of the conveyor. This is a device that performs arithmetic processing to extract Ib (as an image), and there are two types of processing means as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. That is, it is roughly divided into (1) subtraction (difference) processing means 21 and (2) identification element extraction means 22. The first subtraction (difference) processing means 21 is, for example, a TV image processor (TV I P) (trade name; manufactured by Nippon Avionics Mill) or an image frame memory 1M.
Using an image processing device such as the series (product name: Terrestrial Communication Equipment ■), from the original image Ia input by the TV camera 2, the scraper ball B of the same vehicle (TA type) stored in advance by the recording means is Image of empty motor scraper M (hereinafter referred to as a comparison image) Is
'a' is called, the original image Ia and the comparison image Is are converted into electrical signals, the common part, that is, the part that is superimposed as images is deleted, and the remaining part is extracted, the remaining part being The processed image rb is output to the volume or weight measuring device 4. The second identification element extraction means 22 uses, for example, an image processing device such as an automatic visual inspection device (product name: Yujo Tsushinki@). The device uses a CCD camera combined with a wavelength spectral filter instead of a regular TV camera 2 to record the target area, measures the reflection characteristics of the target area for each wavelength, and sends the resulting image to an image processing device. 3, detects a specific wavelength, and extracts and outputs the external shape of the detected part as a processed image, and is put to practical use in screening damage to the peel of oranges, etc. Using this device, it is possible to directly extract the image of the external appearance of the transport vehicle S by setting the wavelength of the color of the transport vehicle S as a detection target. Although the color, that is, the reflection characteristic of a specific wavelength, was used to detect the shape, the identification element is basically any physical characteristic that can identify and extract the transport vehicle from the scraper ball B, the motor scraper M body, or the background panel 1. For example, the processing image Ib may be extracted based on a specific temperature or a specific density of the carrier vehicle.Therefore, if the carrier vehicle S has a specific temperature, detection by infrared rays may be used, and if the carrier vehicle S has a specific density, it may be detected by infrared rays. can be detected by the reflection speed and transmittance of signals and radio waves.Next, in the case of the present invention, the volume or weight of the processed image Ib is measured based on its size and shape. Therefore, it must always be extracted at the same ratio.In addition, in the case of subtraction (difference) processing method, the original image I
It is necessary to record the original image Ia so that the contour shapes of the common portion of a and the comparison image Is match. To do this, for example, the motor scraper M is stopped so that the distance between the TV camera 2 and the transport vehicle S is always kept constant, and the height of the scraper ball B is always set at the highest position. , it is possible to record images in which the common parts are at fixed positions. However, instead of such manual operation, normalization correction means 11 may be provided. This normalization correction means 11 includes (i) scraper ball B
The TV camera 2 is moved or rotated forward and backward, up and down, left and right, with reference to the transport cars piled up on the ground, and the photographing distance (focus) with the subject is kept constant. B) will be at a fixed position on the recorded screen. Control like this. configuration. (ii) Enlarging/reducing the original image Ia recorded by the TV camera 2 or correcting the distortion to create a reference image (a mark of a predetermined color and shape provided at a predetermined position on the motor scraper, etc.) or for comparison. Common parts of the image (such as the shape of certain parts of the rapper without a motor) and the same shooting ratio (same -
The shooting distance is set to 1ii11), and if the position of the comparison image on the recording screen is misaligned with the common part, the image itself is moved based on the common part and corrected so that it can be perfectly overlapped. , the recorded image Ia' under the same conditions. Based on the image Ia' under the same recording conditions obtained in this way, a subtraction process is performed with the comparison image Is, or an extraction process is directly performed based on a specific color or brightness to obtain a processed image Ib. (iii) In the case of using the identification element extraction means 22, in addition to the above, the volume or weight is directly measured by the volume or weight measuring device 4 based on the unmodified original image 1a, and the obtained measurement value is , a configuration in which corrective calculations are performed based on the difference between the original image and a reference value (corresponding to the reference image) to obtain measured values under the same conditions. etc. In this embodiment, since the image is input using one TV camera 2 from the side of the motor scraper M, the image of the contour shape of the transported soil S, that is, the processed image Ib
is recorded as a flat two-dimensional image. The following means 31 and 32 are available to measure 30 the volume or weight of the transported soil S based on this two-dimensional image. (1) Segment the two-dimensional image vertically or horizontally,
A temporary volume is calculated by integrating each area. This provisional volume is based on the assumption that the transported soil is piled up under the same conditions in the three-dimensional direction. Then, from this temporary volume, the temporary center of gravity corresponding position calculation means 3
1, the temporary center of gravity corresponding position is calculated. Based on the temporary center of gravity corresponding position calculated in this way, the loading bag determining means 33 determines the three-dimensional loading bag type stored in advance in the recording means of the volume or weight measuring device 4. A loading bag pattern having the same or most similar tentative center of gravity position is determined from among them, and the three-dimensional shape/shape of the two-dimensional processed image is estimated. Based on this estimated three-dimensional loading bag pattern, the volume calculation means 35 corrects the volume value of the plate and calculates the volume of the transported soil S. In addition, if the experimentally measured volume value or the weight value for each type and condition of each soil to be transported is entered as data in the loading bag pattern, the volume value or weight value corresponding to the selected loading bag pattern will be , it is easy to just call up the weight value. (ii) In addition to the TV camera 2 that records the two-dimensional original image Ia, an auxiliary camera is used to photograph the three-dimensional shape of the transported soil by changing the shooting angle. The loading bag of the transported soil S is captured (the upper surface in the width direction of the soil) (correction means 32 using an auxiliary camera). Thereby, the loading bag measuring means 33° corrects the loading bag in the width direction to measure the three-dimensional loading bag, and the volume calculating means 35 calculates the volume. (iii) Instead of the above method, images of the transported soil S taken from different angles are directly synthesized by the three-dimensional measurement means 34 using two (or more than one) TV cameras with different recording angles, and captured as a three-dimensional image. Of course, the volume value may be measured by the volume calculating means 35. Incidentally, the volume of the part stored in the scraper ball B that does not appear as an image is equal to the volume of the scraper ball B, so by adding that part, the total volume of S for transportation can be calculated. The weight is calculated by inputting data on the type (density) of the transported soil S, porosity data, and weather conditions (in the case of rain, etc.) to the volume value thus measured to the weight calculating means 37. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned individual make-up is input by the operator into the communication device 6 mounted on the motor scraper M, and then input into the weight or volume measuring device 4 via the relay control device 7 and the system control device 8. I'll keep it. A checking means 36 may be provided to check whether the weight value calculated in this manner is correct. Immediately, the estimated amount of excavated soil is measured based on each data of the blade angle and width and excavation distance as working conditions of the motor scraper M. It is determined whether the transported soil volume value is included within a predetermined tolerance range of the measured estimated excavated soil volume, and if it is included, it is determined to be the correct weight, and if it is not, it is determined to be an error and the measurement is performed again. Alternatively, it is preferable to use another measurement method because measurement errors can be prevented. In this embodiment, the weight of the transported soil loaded on the scraper ball B of the motor scraper M is measured, but in this invention, the weight of the transported soil S loaded on the vessel of the dump trunk is measured. It can be similarly applied to measuring the volume (volume) value and/or weight value of various cargoes loaded on various other loading platforms and storage areas, and has excellent versatility. Further, in this embodiment, the image processing device 3 and the volume measuring device 4 are configured as separate bodies, but it goes without saying that one device having both functions may be used. Furthermore, if a plurality of TV cameras (image input means) are installed in a distributed manner and a camera switcher is used to switch between them, the transporter can input images from the nearest TV camera, so that the transport route is not particularly limited. Efficient transportation routes can be set.

【Effect of the invention】

In this way, the present invention uses a TV as an image input means.
Since a mobile device such as a camera can be used, there is no need to fix the measurement location. In addition, it is possible to set up only the image input means in a distributed manner, input an image of the cargo using the image input means located at the shortest distance, and measure the volume or weight based on that image. Excellent practicality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a block diagram of the transported soil volume measurement system, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the processing method of the image processing device. 10... Image input process 11... Normalization correction means

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) A method for measuring the weight of loaded items, which includes the following process of automatically measuring the volume or weight of loaded items piled up in the storage section of a carrier. (a) An image input process of capturing an image, that is, an optical image, of the cargo piled up in the storage section for transported soil using an image input means. (b) A cargo image extraction step of extracting an image of the external shape of at least the raised portion of the cargo piled up on the storage portion using an image processing means from the image measured in the image input step. (c) A volume or weight measurement step in which the volume or weight of the cargo is measured by a volume or weight measuring means based on the image of the cargo portion extracted by the cargo image extraction process. (2) In the loading image extraction process, the loaded image (original image) obtained from the appearance shape of the loaded items stacked in the storage section of the carrier is the same as the loaded image (original image) stored in advance by the recording means. Subtraction (difference) from the pre-loading image (reference image) obtained from the external shape of the empty storage section on the carrier
1. The method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to claim 1, wherein an image portion (processed image) representing an external contour shape of at least a raised portion of the loaded object piled up on the storage portion is extracted through processing. Method. (3) The cargo image extraction process analyzes the image obtained from the image input process to detect identification elements of the cargo and the appearance of the raised portions piled up on at least the storage portion of the cargo. A method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to claim 1, characterized in that an image portion representing a shape is extracted. (4) The method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to claim 3, wherein the identification element is comprised of color (brightness in the case of achromatic color), temperature, signal transmittance, or the like. (5) The image input step includes a normalization correction step in which the image measured by the image input means is corrected by the normalization correction means into a processed image recorded under the same measurement conditions. A method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to claims 1 to 3. (6) When the processed image in the load image extraction process is a flat two-dimensional image, the volume or weight measurement process is performed based on the image representing the external contour shape of the load. A provisional center of gravity position calculation process of calculating a provisional center of gravity corresponding position, and based on the calculated provisional center of gravity position, a loading state that is most similar from the categorized loading state patterns recorded in advance in the storage means. The scope of claim 1 is characterized by comprising a loading form determining process of determining the pattern, and a volume or weight calculation process of calculating the volume or weight of the loaded object based on the determined loading form pattern. The method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to any one of Items 1, 2, 3, and 5. (7) When the processed image in the load image extraction process is a flat two-dimensional image, the volume or weight measurement process supplementally inputs an image of the external shape of a three-dimensional part that does not appear in the image. A loading position correction process that three-dimensionally captures the loading position image of the processed image, and a loading position correction process that is most approximated from a categorized three-dimensional loading position pattern that is pre-recorded in the storage means based on the loading position image. A patent characterized in that the process comprises a loading form determining process for determining a loading form pattern, and a volume or weight calculation process for calculating the volume or weight of the loaded item based on the determined loading form pattern. A method for measuring the weight of a loaded object according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 5.