JP2020114778A - Projection instruction device, goods assort system and projection instruction method - Google Patents

Abstract

To assort goods further efficiently and accurately to support a further increase in a distribution amount of goods.SOLUTION: A projection instruction device 30 for forming a projection image to be projected to goods based on sensing information of goods and goods identification information for identifying goods in the image includes a processor 34 and a memory 36. The processor 34 collaborates with the memory 36 to determine a direction of picking up goods based on the goods identification information and forms a projection image indicating a picking up direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present disclosure relates to a projection instruction device, a package sorting system, and a projection instruction method useful for sorting packages.

With the increase in economic activity in recent years, the distribution volume of luggage is increasing. In the distribution process of packages, sorting work for sorting packages according to destinations is a time-consuming process, and has conventionally relied on manual work, but a technique for automating at least part of the sorting work has also been proposed.

Patent Document 1 tracks a moving baggage, determines an image to be displayed based on the information about the baggage read from the baggage and the information on the position of the baggage, projects the image from the projector onto the baggage, and places the image on the baggage. A display system is disclosed.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,134

However, with the recent increase in the distribution volume of luggage and various types of luggage, there is a demand for a technology that sorts the luggage more efficiently and accurately.

The present disclosure relates to a technique for more efficiently and accurately sorting packages.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction device that generates a projection image to be projected on a package based on sensing information of the package, and includes a processor and a memory, and the processor cooperates with the memory to The position where the projection image is projected is calculated based on the first time information corresponding to the time when the parcel is sensed.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on sensing information of the package, the first time corresponding to a time when the processor cooperates with a memory to sense the package. The position where the projection image is projected is calculated based on the information.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction device that generates a projection image to be projected on a package based on sensing information of the package, and includes a processor and a memory, and the processor cooperates with the memory to Based on the sensing information, it is determined whether the package is picked up, and when it is determined that the package is picked up, a projection image including detailed information of the package is generated.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on the sensing information of the package, wherein a processor cooperates with a memory to determine whether the package is picked up based on the sensing information. If it is determined that the package has been picked up, a projection image including detailed information of the package is generated.

The present disclosure is a projection instructing device that identifies the position of a package based on an image including the package, and includes a processor and a memory, and the processor cooperates with the memory to provide each of the images. Whether or not the pixel is a pixel included in the processing target space where the baggage should exist is determined based on the coordinates of each pixel, and only the pixel included in the processing target space is regarded as a processing point to be processed, The package is registered in the memory, the image of the package is acquired based on the registered processing point, and the position of the package is specified.

The present disclosure is a projection instructing device that specifies the position of a package based on an image including the package, and a processor cooperates with a memory so that each pixel of the image is in a processing target space where the package should exist. Whether or not it is a pixel included is determined based on the coordinates of each pixel, only pixels included in the processing target space are regarded as processing points to be processed, and are registered in the memory, and the registered processing points are registered. Based on the above, the image of the package is acquired and the position of the package is specified.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction device that generates a projection image to be projected on a package based on sensing information of an image including the package, and includes a processor and a memory, and the processor cooperates with the memory. Then, a specific surface including the parcel is extracted from the sensing information of the parcel, and a process for generating a projection image based on only the specific face is performed.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on sensing information of an image including a package, wherein a processor cooperates with a memory to include the package from the sensing information of the package. A process for identifying a specific surface and generating a projection image based on only the specific surface is performed.

The present disclosure is a projection instructing device that generates a projection image to be projected onto a package based on package sensing information and package identification information that identifies the package in the image, the processor including a processor and a memory. The processor cooperates with the memory to determine a pickup direction of the package based on the package identification information, and generates a projection image indicating the pickup direction.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected onto a package based on package sensing information and package identification information that identifies a package in the image, wherein the processor cooperates with a memory to A direction for picking up the package is determined based on the package specifying information, and a projection image showing the direction for picking up the package is generated.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction device that generates a projection image to be projected onto a package based on an image including the package and package identification information that identifies the package in the image, the processor including a processor and a memory. The processor cooperates with the memory to determine a specific area in which the package should be picked up based on the package identification information, and projects the projection image when the package exists in the specific region.

The present disclosure is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected onto a package based on an image including a package and package identification information for identifying the package in the image, wherein the processor cooperates with a memory to A specific area in which the package should be picked up is determined based on the package specific information, and the projection image is projected when the package exists in the specific area.

Further, the present disclosure, the projection instruction device described above, a label reader that reads the luggage specific information from the label attached to the luggage, an image sensor that acquires an image, a video output device that projects the projected image on the luggage, It is a luggage sorting system equipped with.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to sort packages more efficiently and accurately, and it is possible to cope with a further increase in the distribution amount of packages.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a package sorting system according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a projection instruction apparatus according to an embodiment. (A) is a conceptual diagram which shows the state in which a package sorting system is installed in the distribution center and is operating, and (b) is a figure which shows the state which projected the projection image containing an arrow on the upper surface of a package. The flowchart which shows the outline procedure of operation mainly performed by a projection instruction|indication apparatus. The conceptual diagram which shows the process target space which a projection instruction|indication apparatus should process. The flowchart which shows the detailed procedure of step S20 of FIG. The conceptual diagram which shows the modification of the throwing process target space. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure in steps S70 and S100 of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment (hereinafter referred to as “the present embodiment”) specifically disclosing a projection instruction apparatus, a baggage sorting system, and a projection instruction method according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed description than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed description of well-known matters and duplicate description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is for avoiding unnecessary redundancy in the following description and for facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings and the following description are provided for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the claimed subject matter by them.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

[Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a package sorting system according to an embodiment. The luggage sorting system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is installed in, for example, a distribution center. The baggage sorting system 100 includes a label reader 10, a distance image sensor 20, a projection instruction device 30, and a projector 40. The baggage sorting system 100 is a system that assists the work of a worker who sorts packages transported by a transport conveyor. The package sorting system 100 is installed in, for example, a distribution center owned by a retailer, a wholesaler, an Internet distributor, or the like. The parcels to be sorted generally have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, but their outer shape is not particularly limited, and the type of parcel is not particularly limited. The configuration of the package sorting system is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, the number of each component can be appropriately changed according to the purpose, such as connecting a plurality of range image sensors 20, the projection instruction device 30, and the projector 40 to one label reader 10.

The label reader 10 as a reading device is a device including various elements such as a lens and an image sensor (not shown). By using the label reader 10, it is possible to read the label record information in which various kinds of information regarding the parcel are recorded from the label attached to the parcel conveyed by the conveyor. It is possible to identify the parcel by using the read label record information. The parcel identification information is defined by the read information.

The range image sensor 20 is an imaging device including various elements such as a lens and an image sensor (not shown). The range image sensor 20 is generally configured as an imaging camera. The imaging camera is a three-dimensional camera, a plurality of two-dimensional cameras, or the like. The distance image sensor 20 captures information about the position of the package, the distance to the package, the size of the package, and the like when imaging the package conveyed by the conveyor and generating the range image. The “distance image” refers to an image containing distance information indicating the distance from the imaging position to the position indicated by each pixel (including the surface of the luggage) (that is, in the present disclosure, the term “image” is a distance image). including). In the present disclosure, the range image sensor 20 is used to identify the position of the luggage. Therefore, the distance image sensor 20 can be replaced with another sensing device (ultrasonic sensor, infrared sensor, stereo camera, monocular video camera). In the present disclosure, information output from a sensing device including these range image sensors is referred to as sensing information. In the present embodiment, the distance image sensor 20 will be described as an example of the sensing device. Further, in the present embodiment, a description will be given using a distance image output from the distance image sensor 20 as an example of sensing information.

The projection instructing device 30 serves as a computing device in the baggage sorting system 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the projection instruction device 30 includes an input unit 32, a processor 34, a memory 36, and an output unit 38 that are connected via a bus. The input unit 32 receives the parcel identification information that can identify the parcel acquired from the label recording information read by the label reader 10 and the range image generated by the range image sensor 20. The processor 34 is configured by a general arithmetic unit and generates a projection image to be projected on the package based on the package identification information and the distance image. A memory 36, which is a storage device, is used by the processor 34 to perform operations such as reading control programs necessary for various processes and saving data. That is, the processor 34 and the memory 36 cooperate to control various processes by the projection instruction device 30. The output unit 38 outputs the projection image generated by the processor 34 to the projector 40. It should be noted that in the present disclosure, “processor” does not mean only a single processor. The “processor” is a plurality of processors having the same purpose or processors having different purposes (for example, a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing)).
(Unit) and GPU (Graphic Processing Unit)) are also used as a word that means an operating entity when performing processing in collaboration.

The projector 40 is configured by a general projection device, projects the projection light including the projection image received from the projection instruction device 30 onto the luggage, and displays it on the luggage.

The luggage sorting system 100 can be constructed by connecting the label reader 10, the distance image sensor 20, the projection instruction device 30, and the projector 40 by wire communication or wireless communication. Further, any two or more of the label reader 10, the distance image sensor 20, the projection instructing device 30, and the projector 40 can be constructed as an integrated device. For example, the distance image sensor 20 and the projector 40 can be combined to construct an integrated image-projection device (see FIG. 3A).

[System overview]
FIG. 3A is a conceptual diagram showing a situation in which the parcel sorting system 100 is installed in a distribution center and is operating. According to the conventional method, each worker M visually checks the label attached to each package P conveyed in the direction of the arrow X by the conveyor 50, and the worker himself/herself delivers the package. Then, it was necessary to pick up the luggage (pickup) and place it temporarily near the worker's feet, a car, a truck bed, or the like. However, in the case of sorting by the operator's visual inspection, there is a limit to the working efficiency of the operator, so it is necessary to suppress the transport speed to a predetermined value or less. As a result, the limit value of the amount of luggage that the worker can sort in a unit time is low. Further, the operator may make a mistake when visually recognizing the labels, which may cause an error in sorting. In recent years, the distribution volume of luggage has been increasing, and these problems are getting more attention.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the label reader 10 arranged above the transport conveyor 50 reads the label attached to each package P transported by the transport conveyor 50. The label has label record information including various information regarding the parcel. The label record information includes information similar to the parcel identification number, the sender's name, address, telephone number, the recipient's name, address, telephone number, type of parcel, etc., which is individually assigned to the parcel. The reading of the label may be performed by a worker in charge manually reading the barcode in the label with a barcode reader as the label reader 10.

Further, the distance image sensor 20 captures an image (distance image) of the parcel P conveyed by the conveyor 50, and the position of the parcel P, the distance to the parcel P, the size of the parcel P (when the parcel P is a rectangular parallelepiped, Information such as (length of three sides) is acquired. The arrangement positions of the label reader 10 and the distance image sensor 20, the types of sensing devices, and the order of processing are not particularly limited to the illustrated form. As described above, in the present example, the range image sensor 20 and the projector 40 are constructed as an integrated type image projection device 60, and are arranged above the transport conveyor 50.

The projection instruction device 30 not shown in FIG. 3 is configured by, for example, a computer placed in the vicinity of the transport conveyor 50 or in another room, and has information for identifying the parcel acquired by the label reader 10 and the distance image sensor 20. A projection image to be displayed on the baggage P (for example, the top surface when the baggage P is a rectangular parallelepiped) is generated based on the distance image generated by. The projection instruction device 30 sends to the projector 40 a projection instruction to project the projection image on the luggage P.

Upon receiving the projection instruction, the projector 40 as a video output device projects the projection light including the projection image generated by the projection instruction device 30 onto the luggage P and displays the projection image on the luggage P. The projection image displayed on the package P here is, for example, an image of an arrow (right or left with respect to the transport direction of the transport conveyor 50) indicating the sorting directions A, B, and C corresponding to the delivery address of the package P. (See FIG. 3B). Of course, various types of projection images are displayed depending on the situation. It should be noted that in the present disclosure, the “video output device” is not limited to a device that directly projects light rays onto luggage. In the present disclosure, the “video output device” also includes glasses capable of displaying an image. That is, in the present disclosure, when it is expressed that the projection light is projected on the luggage, the image is displayed on the luggage, the image is projected on the luggage, etc., the expression is simulated through the glasses capable of displaying the image. , Including causing the worker to recognize as if the projection light is projected on the luggage. That is, when the worker wears special glasses capable of displaying an image, the projection image here may be superposed on the image of the luggage P visually recognized through the glasses.

Hereinafter, in the package sorting system 100 of the embodiment, an outline of the package sorting operation performed by the projection instructing device 30 will be described.

[Outline of operation]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of an operation procedure mainly performed by the projection instruction device 30 of the present embodiment, particularly the processor 34 of the projection instruction device 30. First, after the label reader 10 reads the label record information of the label of the package, the input unit 32 of the projection instruction device 30 acquires the package identification information corresponding to the label record information from the label reader 10 (step S1). The parcel identification information is at least one piece of information similar to the parcel identification number, the sender's name, address, telephone number, the recipient's name, address, telephone number, type of parcel, etc., which is individually assigned to the parcel. This is information that includes one. The processor 34 adds an ID as a package identification number for identifying the package to the package identification information, and records it in the memory 36 together with time information corresponding to the time when the ID is provided (step S2). The ID recorded in the memory 36 may be the package identification number originally recorded in the package identification information, or the projection instruction device 30 may generate and give a new ID.

On the other hand, in parallel with step S1 and step S2, after the distance image of the baggage is captured by the distance image sensor 20, the input unit 32 of the projection instruction apparatus 30 acquires the distance image as the sensing information from the distance image sensor 20 (step S20). The processor 34 determines whether or not the ID corresponding to the package existing in the distance image exists in the memory 36.

As an example of a method of determining whether or not the ID corresponding to the package present in the distance image exists in the memory 36, the following procedure can be mentioned. That is, the processor 34 uses the distance between the label reader 10 and the distance image sensor 20 (known) and the speed of the transport conveyor 50 to move the package between the label reader 10 and the distance image sensor 20. Calculate the time required. Then, by subtracting the time from the time when the distance image is acquired, it is possible to estimate the time when the luggage existing in the distance image is given the ID by the label reader 10 (and the processor 34). Then, it is possible to presume that the ID given close to the estimated time is the ID corresponding to the package present in the distance image. Further, as another example, a method of installing another range image sensor in the vicinity of the label reader 10 can be cited. That is, since the label reader 10 gives the ID (and the processor 34), the distance image sensor installed near the label reader 10 is used to track the package to which the ID is given, so that The distance between the luggage (and ID) and the label reader 10 is measured. The processor 34 determines a predetermined distance from the measured distance between the luggage (and ID) and the label reader 10, the distance between the luggage in the distance image acquired in step S20, and the distance between the two distance image sensors (known). The ID of the parcel in the range image acquired in step S20 can be estimated.

In this way, the processor 34 determines whether or not the ID corresponding to the package included in the distance image exists in the memory 36 (step S30). That is, as described in step S2, the memory 36 stores in advance the package identification information, the ID, and the time information corresponding to the time when the ID is assigned. On the other hand, for example, as described above, the processor 34 subtracts the time required for the package to move between the label reader 10 and the range image sensor 20 from the time when the range image is acquired, so that the package existing in the range image can be detected. The time when the ID is given by the label reader 10 (and the processor 34) can be estimated. The processor 34 compares the time information recorded in advance in the memory 36 with the estimated time, and when these values are close (for example, when the time difference is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold time), the package included in the distance image It can be determined that the corresponding ID exists in the memory 36. When it is determined that the ID corresponding to the package exists in the memory 36 (step S30; Yes), the process proceeds to step S60 and subsequent steps.

When it is determined that the ID corresponding to the parcel does not exist in the memory 36 (step S30; No), the processor 34 re-specifies the position of the parcel on the assumption that the parcel does not have the ID (step S30; No). S40), ID is given to the package (step S50). Details of steps S30 to S50 will be described later.

Further, the processor 34 traces the ID-carried package conveyed by the conveyor 50 and moving based on the distance image from the distance image sensor 20 acquired by the input unit 32 at a predetermined interval (step S60). Then, the processor 34 also determines, based on the distance image, whether or not the tracked luggage has been picked up by the worker (step S70). When it is determined that the parcel has not been picked up by the worker (step S70; No), the processor 34 determines whether the parcel exists in a specific region (a specific region where the parcel should be picked up) described below. .. Then, when it is determined that the package exists (has arrived) in the specific region (step S80; Yes), the processor 34 generates a projection image and transmits it to the projector 40 (step S90). The package exists in the specific region (step S90). If it is not determined that it has arrived (step S80; No), the process returns to step S60, and the processor 34 continues the tracking of the package.

If it is determined in step S70 that the package has been picked up by the worker (step S70; Yes), the processor 34 reads detailed information of the package from the memory 36 (step S100) and generates a projection image including the detailed information. Then, the projection image generated by the output unit 38 is output to the projector 40 (step S90). The projector 40 that has obtained the projection image from the projection instruction device 30 projects the projection image onto the corresponding luggage.

The above is the outline of the operation procedure performed by the processor 34 or the like of the projection instruction device 30, and the detailed procedure of each process will be described below.

[Obtain range image]
The processor 34 can process the data of the entire range image of the range image acquired by the range image sensor 20 and track the movement of the package. However, the data acquired by the distance image sensor 20 includes a large amount of data unrelated to the movement of luggage, and it takes time to process the entire area of the captured distance image. In consideration of such circumstances, the processor 34 does not necessarily have to process all the range image data acquired by the range image sensor 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the processor 34 reduces the processing load of the processor 34 itself by processing only a partial area of the distance image acquired by the distance image sensor 20.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a processing target space S which is a set of coordinate points corresponding to pixels to be processed by the projection instructing device 30 in a distance image obtained by the distance image sensor 20. The object to be sorted by the package sorting system 100 is the package P on the transport conveyor 50, and if the package P can be recognized, the original purpose can be achieved. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the distance image acquired by the distance image sensor 20, only the processing target space S, which is a partial region, is limited to the processing target by the processor 34 of the projection instructing device 30, so that the load on the processor 34 is reduced. Will be reduced. The coordinate point of the distance image acquired by the distance image sensor 20 is defined as (x, y, d) consisting of coordinate positions x and y on the plane and d which is the depth. The values of the coordinate points (x _i , y _i , d _i ) that define the processing target space S can be calculated based on the measurement performed in advance and stored in the memory 36 or the like. The processor 34 can perform the process described in FIG. 6 with reference to the values of the coordinate points (x _i , y _i , d _i ) recorded in the memory 36.

In the present embodiment, the processing target space S is defined by a space within the surface of the transfer conveyor 50 and divided into a range from the transfer conveyor 50 to a predetermined height H and width W. This is because it is considered that the luggage P on the transport conveyor 50 can be captured in this space. The range of the height H is not particularly limited, but if the height H is too large, the processing load of the processor 34 becomes heavy, and if the height H is too small, it may be difficult to capture the luggage P. Therefore, the height H is set to, for example, about 50 cm, but is not particularly limited. The width W is not limited to the actual width of the conveyer conveyor, and may be a width with or without a predetermined play width, or may have a slight width error.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed operation procedure performed by the processor 34 in cooperation with the memory 36 in the acquisition of the range image in step S20 of FIG. First, the processor 34 acquires range image data from the range image sensor 20 (step S21). Then, the processor 34 refers to the values of the coordinate points (x _i , y _i , d _i ) recorded in the memory 36, and there is an unprocessed point group that is a group of coordinate points that have not been processed yet. It is determined whether or not (step S22). When there is no unprocessed point group (step S22; No), the process proceeds to step S30.

When there is an unprocessed point group (step S22; Yes), the processor 34 acquires one coordinate point from the unprocessed point group (step S23). Then, the processor 34 determines whether or not the acquired coordinate point is included in the processing target space S (step S24). If this coordinate point is not included in the processing target space S (step S24; No), information indicating that processing has been completed is added to the coordinate point, and then the process returns to step S22, and the processor 34 again determines in the range image. It is determined whether or not there is an unprocessed point group. When the coordinate point acquired in step S23 is included in the processing target space S (step S24; Yes), the processor 34 records the coordinate point in the memory 36 as the processing target coordinate point included in the processing target space S. (Register) (step S25). Information indicating that the processing has been completed is also added to the coordinate point.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a modified example of the processing target space S. In this example, the processing target space S is further limited by being divided into a range of a predetermined length L in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 50. As a result, the number of coordinate points to be processed by the processor 34 can be further reduced, and the processing load on the processor 34 can be reduced. One distance image sensor 20 may change an area corresponding to a predetermined length L to be imaged according to the passage of time, or a plurality of distance image sensors 20 each correspond to a predetermined length L in charge. You may image each area to do.

According to the present embodiment, the processing target space S to be processed by the processor 34 can be limited, the processing target can be reduced, and as a result, the packages can be sorted more efficiently and accurately. Note that, for example, since the processing capacity of the processor 34 is high, if the processing of FIGS. 5 to 7, particularly the determination processing of step S24 is not performed, step S20 is an operation of simply acquiring a distance image as sensing information, and thereafter, In the processing, basically all the coordinate points of the acquired distance image are to be processed. As a result, step S100 of FIG. 4 and steps S101 and S102 of FIG. 8, which will be described later, can be carried out for the packages picked up from the conveyor 50. Of course, such a fact does not deny the idea of FIGS. 5 to 7, and the idea of FIGS. 5 to 7 is independent of the operation effect of steps S100 to S102 of reducing the processing load of the processor 34. The effect is obtained. From the opposite point of view, by applying the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7, the operations of steps S100 to S102 are not performed in principle, but of course, this negates the idea of steps S100 to S102. It is not done.

[Grant ID]
When the input unit 32 of the projection instructing device 30 acquires the package identification information corresponding to the label recording information from the label reader 10 (step S1), an ID corresponding to the package identification information (package identification number) is usually added to the memory. It is recorded in 36 (step S2). However, if the label reader 10 fails to read the label or the label to be read is not attached to the luggage in the first place, even if the distance image of the luggage is acquired in step S20, it corresponds to the distance image of the luggage. The ID does not exist in the memory 36 (step S30; No). In this case, the processor 34 again acquires the distance image of the parcel from the distance image sensor 20 and specifies the position of the parcel again on the assumption that the parcel has not been given an ID (step S40). Is assigned an ID and is recorded in the memory 36 (step S50). After that, the processor 34 tracks the ID-carried package conveyed by the conveyor 50 and moving based on the distance image from the distance image sensor 20 acquired by the input unit 32 at a predetermined interval (step S60).

[Extraction of projection plane]
After the processor 34 assigns the ID to the package and tracks the package (step S60), the processor 34 may track the movement of the package based on the distance image of the entire image of the package acquired by the distance image sensor 20. it can. However, since the data amount of the distance image of the whole image is large, tracking of the package based on the distance image of the whole image requires a large amount of processing and may be difficult. Further, it is considered that the distance image of the whole image is not always necessary for tracking the movement of the luggage, and that the projection surface on which the projection image should be projected can be tracked in step S90 of FIG. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in step S60, the processor 34 extracts a projection surface, which is a specific surface on which the projection image is to be projected, from the distance image of the entire image of the package acquired in cooperation with the memory 36. Track the package based only on the extracted projection plane. By tracking the package based only on the projection plane (specific surface) from which the package is extracted in this manner, the package can be tracked with a processing amount smaller than that of tracking the package based on all the projection planes. In the present disclosure, the load of the processor 34 can be reduced by performing the processes (including the generation of the projection image itself) necessary for generating the projection image, such as tracking of luggage, based on only a specific surface. ing.

A typical example of the projection surface is the upper surface (top surface) of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped luggage. The processor 34 can extract such an upper surface on the basis of a point group of coordinates having a constant height in the distance image. The processor 34 can also extract such an upper surface based on a point group of coordinates forming a surface parallel to the transport conveyor 50 in the distance image.

The projection plane may be, for example, one side surface of a rectangular parallelepiped luggage. The processor 34 can extract such a side surface based on a point group of coordinates forming a surface perpendicular to the transport conveyor 50 in the distance image. It is preferable to extract the upper surface in advance because the upper end of the side surface can be defined by extracting the upper surface in advance by the method described above.

The orientation of the projection plane can be defined in relation to the velocity vector obtained from the locus of movement of the luggage.

Further, the upper surface and the side surface of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped luggage can be extracted after the circumscribed rectangular parallelepiped of the luggage is acquired. The "circumscribing rectangular parallelepiped" is a rectangular parallelepiped having a side parallel to the principal axis of inertia and in which a load is put, that is, each of the six faces of the rectangular parallelepiped is in contact with the surface of the load at at least one point. The processor 34 coordinate-expands the distance image of the package in the three-dimensional matching space, generates the circumscribed rectangular parallelepiped of the final image of the coordinate-developed package, and calculates the dimensions of the three sides of the circumscribed rectangular parallelepiped. As a result, the upper surface and the side surface of the luggage can be acquired.

The selection of the projection plane is arbitrary, and in the case of luggage having a shape other than the rectangular parallelepiped, various surfaces to be selected can be considered. Also, the projection plane can be selected in consideration of the convenience of the operator. For example, when the load is located far from the worker, the processor 34 can select the front surface (the side closest to the worker in the case of a rectangular parallelepiped) viewed from the worker as the projection surface. Further, when there is a load at a position near the operator, the processor 34 can select the upper surface as the projection surface. By such processing, after step S90, the projector 40 can project the projection image on the surface most easily recognized by the operator. Further, the positions of the workers around the luggage may be recognized at the same time, and the projection plane may be switched based on the information.

Further, by narrowing the projection plane to only one plane, the processing load on the processor 34 can be reduced, and a projection image suitable for the selected plane can be generated later.

According to the present embodiment, by extracting the projection plane on which the projection image should be projected, the processor 34 does not need to perform the processing on the distance image displaying the entire package, and the processing load is reduced. However, as long as there is no processing load problem, not only one surface but also a plurality of surfaces may be selected as the projection surface, and the projector 40 may project the projection image on the plurality of projection surfaces in step S90. Therefore, the specific surface on which the projection image is projected includes not only one surface but also a plurality of surfaces.

However, even if the projection plane is not extracted as in the present embodiment, as long as the processor 34 operates, the processing of step S70 and thereafter can be performed. Therefore, the processing described below does not necessarily assume the extraction processing of the projection surface.

[Determination of projection position]
Further, the processor 34 tracks the parcel, and basically when the parcel is not picked up (step S70; No) and the parcel exists in a specific area described later (step S80; Yes), a projection image corresponding to the parcel is generated. Then, the data is transmitted to the projector 40 (step S90). The processor 34 can determine the position where the projection image is projected by using the position of the distance image acquired last.

However, it takes a certain amount of time to generate and acquire the distance image, and the luggage moves by the transport conveyor 50 during that time. Therefore, when the projection image is projected at the position of the last acquired distance image, the position is actually already at that position. There is a possibility that the luggage has been moved from. In particular, the faster the moving speed of the luggage, the greater the deviation between the actual luggage position and the position where the distance image was last acquired, and the projection position where the projection image should be projected may deviate from the original position. growing.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the processor 34 predicts the predicted projection position, which is the position where the projection image should be projected, in consideration of the moving speed of the package and the position of the package already acquired, and sets the predicted projection position to the predicted projection position. The projected image is projected, and the projected image is appropriately projected on the luggage.

In step S20 of FIG. 4, the processor 34 adds the time stamp TS1 which is the first time information corresponding to the time when the distance image sensor 20 acquires the distance image to the distance image and records it in the memory 36. .. Further, at the time of generating the projection image (step S90), the processor 34 acquires the time stamp TS2 which is the second time information corresponding to the time at the time of generation, from the acquisition time TS1 of the distance image to the generation time TS2 of the projection image. In the meantime, that is, the difference between the first time information and the second time information is calculated (TS2-TS1). Based on this difference, the processor 34 can cooperate with the memory 36 to acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the originally projected image should be projected. Note that in the present disclosure, “corresponding to time” is not limited to representing the temporary point. “Corresponding to the time” also includes the case where the time point is a predetermined time away from the time point when some event occurs.

Specifically, when the moving speed of the load (the transfer speed of the transfer conveyor 50) is v, the moving distance D of the load can be calculated by D=(TS2−TS1)×v. The moving distance D may be calculated as a distance with a direction (eg, 2 cm to the east), and particularly when the moving direction of the parcel is substantially the same as the carrying direction of the carrying conveyor 50. May be calculated as a distance that does not define (v may be defined as a speed with a direction in order to calculate the movement distance D as a distance with a direction). The predicted projection position P2 of the baggage on which the projection image should be projected can be obtained by adding D to the position P1 of the distance image.

In order to enable the above-described calculation of D, it is necessary to determine the value of v by estimation or actual measurement. The following method can be used to determine the value of v.
1) While tracking the package (S60), v is calculated from the moving distance and direction per unit time.
2) Considering that the luggage moves in a predetermined speed and direction, let the speed be v.
3) The convey speed and direction of the conveyor are monitored from the output of the motor and the like, and the speed is v (assuming that the speed of the load is the same as the speed of the conveyor).

The processor 34 calculates the predicted projection position (P1+D), which is the position where the projection image should be projected, by calculating D as described above. According to the present embodiment, the projector 40 can more accurately project the projected image on the luggage along the movement thereof, so that the projected image can be seen smoothly by human eyes. Become.

Note that D may be calculated by D=(TS2+Δt−TS1)×v. Here, Δt can be the transmission time of the projection image from the projection instructing device 30 to the projector 40. Alternatively, Δt may be a delay time due to processing inside the projector. Alternatively, Δt may be the time obtained by adding the delay time due to the processing in the projector to the transmission time of the projection image from the projection instruction device 30 to the projector 40. By determining Δt in this way, the predicted projection position can be calculated more accurately.

[Projection in specific area]
In the present embodiment, further in step S80 of FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the projection image should be projected or the projection image should be changed according to the position of the tracked luggage. By this processing, the projector 40 projects a projection image on the parcel when the parcel is moving within a specific region (specific section) to be sorted for the parcel on the transport conveyor 50, or the specific region. The projected image will be changed as compared with the case where there is luggage outside.

The parcel identification information read by the label reader 10 is similar to the parcel identification number given to each parcel, the sender's name, address, telephone number, recipient's name, address, telephone number, type of parcel, etc. Including at least one of. These pieces of information are recorded in the memory 36 in association with the package ID as described in step S2 and step S50.

The specific area in which the parcel is to be picked up corresponds to a region where the worker in charge of the parcel picks up from the transport conveyor 50. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the regions on the transport conveyor 50 are regions A, B, which are regions partitioned by a specific length in the transport direction X of the transport conveyor 50, respectively. It is divided into five specific areas, area C, area D, and area E.

Based on the parcel specific information recorded as described above and the partitioned specific regions, in order to determine in which specific region on the conveyor 50 the specific parcel is to be sorted, the following is performed. Techniques can be used.

Firstly, there is a method of preliminarily associating the parcel identification information with each specific region and recording it in the memory 36. For example, it is conceivable to record in the memory 36 that "if the package is bound for the XX district, it will be sorted in the area ◯."

Secondly, there is a method of (1) identifying a worker existing in the specific region, and (2) previously associating the luggage specifying information with each worker and recording the information in the memory 36. In order to specify the worker, an input device may be provided in each specific area so that the worker can register the worker ID (or register by acquiring the worker ID from a wireless device owned by the worker). As another method, the worker ID may be specified using an image recognition technique from a distance image or an image including a specific region and a worker acquired separately. Further, as another method, it may be specified that a specific worker exists in a specific area at a predetermined time. In order to associate the luggage specifying information with each worker in advance, it is conceivable to record in the memory 36, for example, "the worker A sorts the packages destined for the XX district". By integrating the data using the above information, the processor 34 can determine that "a package bound for the XX district is subject to sorting in the area ◯".

Thirdly, there is a method of (1) identifying a transporting truck that is close to each specific area, and (2) associating the luggage identifying information with each transporting track in advance and recording it in the memory 36. In order to identify the transportation track that is close to each specific area, the license plate or the marker attached to the track is specified using the image recognition technology from the distance image or the image including the specific area and the transportation track acquired separately. It may be specified by the above, or may be specified as a predetermined transport truck existing in a predetermined specific area at a predetermined time. In order to previously associate the luggage specifying information with each transport truck, it is conceivable to record in the memory 36, for example, "transport truck A sorts luggage destined for XX district". By integrating the data using the above information, the processor 34 can determine that "a package bound for the XX district is subject to sorting in the area ◯".

As described above, the processor 34 can determine in which specific area on the transport conveyor 50 the specific load should be sorted based on the load specifying information.

Based on the package identification information, the processor 34 determines in step S80 of FIG. 4 whether the specific package is present in the specific area where the package should be picked up. Then, when it is determined that the package exists (has arrived) in the specific area (step S80; Yes), the processor 34 generates a projection image and transmits it to the projector 40. When it is not determined that the package exists (has arrived) in the specific area (step S80; No), the process returns to step S60, and the processor 34 continues the tracking of the package.

A case where a projection image is projected on a parcel when the parcel is moving in a specific region (specific section) that is a sorting target will be described with reference to FIG. In the scene of FIG. 3A, the five packages P1 to P5 on the transport conveyor 50 are projection targets of the projected image, but in the present embodiment, each package reaches the specific area to be picked up for the first time. The projector 40 (imaging projection device 60) will project the projected image on the luggage.

In FIG. 3A, a worker in charge of picking up the parcels stands up beside the conveyor 50 in each region, and the parcels reaching the respective parcels are indicated by arrows A, B, C, and D. , Picked up from the conveyor 50 as indicated by arrow E. In FIG. 3A, the personnel in the areas A, C, and D are standing on the right side of the transport conveyor 50 with the transport direction X as a reference, and the personnel in the areas B and E are on the left side of the transport conveyor 50. Although standing, for convenience sake, illustrations of the area E other than the person in charge M are omitted.

For example, the baggage P1 has the baggage identification information "AAA111" on the label. Based on the method described above, it is assumed that the parcel identification information of “AAA111” is specified to be sorted in the area A. Therefore, when the parcel P1 arrives at the (specific) area A, the processor 34 transmits the generated projection image to the projector 40. Then, the projector 40 projects the projection image on the luggage P1. Therefore, the worker in the area A can easily pay attention to the luggage P1 that he/she should pick up when he/she arrives at the specific area in charge, and as a result, sorts the luggage more efficiently and accurately. It will be possible.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the presence or absence of projection of a plurality of specific areas may be switched for one projector 40, and the plurality of projectors 40 are respectively in charge. The presence/absence of projection in the specific area may be switched.

According to the example described with reference to FIG. 3, it becomes easy for the worker to identify the package to be picked up by performing the projection only when the package is moving within the specific area to be sorted. .. Further, in the case of performing projection for all packages regardless of conditions, it is necessary for the operator to prepare projection images of various patterns in order to make it easy for the operator to distinguish the packages. However, depending on the number of workers and delivery destinations, it is conceivable that a high degree of designing power is required for the projected image for distinguishing packages. However, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to minimize the number of patterns of the projected image by limiting the luggage to be projected.

It should be noted that the method of the present disclosure is not limited to performing projection only when the parcel exists in the specific area. Even if the luggage exists both inside and outside the specific area, the projection is performed on the luggage, but when it exists inside the specific area, the projected image is changed as compared with the case where the luggage exists outside the specific area. The present disclosure may be applied.

Note that the process of step S90 can be performed as long as the processor 34 operates even if it is not determined whether the parcel exists in the specific area as in the present embodiment. That is, a projection image may always be generated and projected. Therefore, the processing described below is not necessarily based on this processing (determination of the presence of a package in a specific area).

[Generation of projected image including arrow]
When generating the projection image in step 90 of FIG. 4, the processor 34 considers the workability of the worker who picks up the parcel and, in view of the direction in which the worker exists, that is, a projection including an arrow as an image indicating the direction in which the parcel is picked up. Images can be generated.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the direction in which a package is picked up in each specific area is recorded in the memory 32, corresponding to each specific area. That is, it is assumed that the direction in which the parcel is picked up in the area A is right with respect to the direction X, and the direction in the area B is left in the memory 32 in association with each other.

According to the above-described method of determining in which specific area on the transport conveyor 50 the specific cargo should be sorted, in which specific area the specific cargo is sorted. Since it can be determined whether it should be, it can also be determined in which direction of the conveyor the particular load is picked up. That is, the processor 34 can determine the direction in which the package is picked up from the package identification information. The processor 34 can then define the image of the arrow to be projected based on the determination. Note that, in the present embodiment, an arrow is used as an example of a projected image showing the picking up direction, but the image showing the picking up direction is not limited to this. For example, an image forming a video scrolling in a predetermined direction may be used as an example of a projected image showing the picking-up direction, or an image formed in a color different in only the predetermined direction compared to other directions is used. You can also

To give an example of a specific method for generating a projected image, for example, a template image of an arrow pointing in two directions (right side and left side of the transport conveyor) is recorded in advance in the memory 36, and the processor 34 stores the transport direction and the load. It is possible to select one of the template images from the package specifying information of 1 to generate a projection image including an arrow. Further, for example, an image of an arrow that can be rotated freely in advance is recorded in the memory 36 in advance, and the processor 34 can turn the image of the arrow that can be rotated in an appropriate direction based on the transport direction and the package identification information of the package. Alternatively, the projection image including the arrow may be generated. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is possible to project the projection image including the arrow A image and the arrow B image on the upper surfaces of the parcels P1 and P2.

It should be noted that the processor 34 may change the size or shape of the image indicating the pickup direction based on the size of the projection plane extracted in step S50. In this way, it is possible to prevent the direction indicated by the image indicating the pickup direction of the luggage from not being displayed on the projection surface, or to prevent the arrow from being projected smaller than necessary on the projection surface.

According to the present embodiment, a worker can generate a projection image that makes it easy for the worker to identify the luggage to be picked up, and it is possible to suppress mistakes in sorting work and improve efficiency. However, the generation of the arrow as in the present embodiment is not indispensable for implementing the other embodiments, and it is also possible to project information of another pattern other than the arrow indicating the direction in which the luggage is picked up.

[Grant detailed information]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed operation procedure performed by the processor 34 in steps S70 and S100 of FIG. Generally, the worker M of FIG. 3 loads the picked-up luggage P on the truck once by arranging the luggage at a nearby position such as a foot and loading the luggage P in consideration of the order of delivery. For example, it is common for an operator to load the last package to be delivered at the deepest position of the truck bed and the first package to be loaded near the exit of the truck bed. Such loading requires some degree of habituation and information about the delivery area, and it is difficult to maintain a certain level of efficiency in view of the circumstances such as the change of the worker in charge.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, further detailed information is acquired regarding the parcel picked up from the transport conveyor 50, and this detailed information is projected onto the parcel. By looking at the projected image including the detailed information, the worker can easily grasp the order to be loaded on the truck, so that the luggage P can be efficiently loaded on the truck, and the efficiency of the loading operation is improved. be able to.

Steps S71 to S74 in FIG. 8 correspond to step S70 in FIG. The processor 34 continues to acquire the distance image of the upper surface of the package from step S60 during tracking the package (step S71). Here, the distance image sensor 20 captures a distance image for each frame at a predetermined time, and the processor 34 receives the distance image for each frame, and extracts the difference between the preceding and following frames. (Step S72). Then, in the present embodiment, the difference between the load in the distance image of the latest frame and the load in the previous frame is extracted, and it is determined whether or not the load is moving in a uniform linear motion from the difference. Yes (step S73).

The transport conveyor 50 is moving in the direction of arrow X in FIG. 3, and during the period when the load is being transported on the transport conveyor 50, the load should also move at a constant linear velocity in the direction of arrow X. That is, since the luggage is imaged in the state of linear uniform motion in the arrow X direction, it is possible to detect the uniform linear motion of the luggage from the front and rear frames. When the processor 34 determines that the difference is a constant-velocity linear motion (step S73; Yes), the processor 34 generates a projection image (step S90).

On the other hand, when the processor 34 determines that the difference is not the constant-velocity linear motion (step S73; No), it determines that the parcel has been picked up by the worker from the transport conveyor 50 (step S74). Of course, after it is determined that the difference is not the uniform velocity linear motion, the distance image of the package may be tracked, and it may be determined that the package has been separated from the transport conveyor 50, and it may be determined that the package has been picked up by the operator.

Step S101 and step S102 in FIG. 8 correspond to step S100 in FIG. When it is determined that the package has been picked up (step S74), the processor 34 specifies the position of the upper surface of the package again (step S101). Then, the processor 34 reads out detailed information regarding the package, which is recorded in the memory 36 in advance (step S102). Various information is included in the detailed information, but here, it is useful information when the worker loads the package, and for example, detailed information of the delivery destination such as the street level lower than the town name of the delivery destination is applicable. .. Since the read detailed information is included in the projection image in step S90, the convenience of the operator's sorting is improved. That is, the detailed information includes information on the position where the package should be placed, corresponding to the package identification information.

In particular, the detailed information may include information indicating to which position the worker should temporarily put the luggage. For example, if the worker loads the luggage at his/her feet before placing it on the truck bed, the location information of where the luggage should be placed at the feet, or if the operator places the luggage directly on the truck bed, It is also possible to include information on a specific position of the place where the luggage of the user should be placed.

The detailed information may be read from the label of the parcel by the label reader 10 and recorded in the memory 36, but the acquisition method is not particularly limited, and may be acquired from another recording location via the network.

It should be noted that in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the package is picked up by tracking the image of the package, but as another example, the behavior analysis technique can be applied. That is, an operation pattern related to an action such as a worker's contact with a baggage, a lifting of a baggage, a carry-out, and the like is recorded in advance in the memory 36 or the like, and the processor 34 recognizes an operation of a worker similar to such an operation pattern. If detected, it is possible to determine that the parcel has been picked up. It is also possible to determine that the package has been picked up when a part of the package goes out of the processing target space S shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the projection instructing device 30 also projects the projected image by tracking, for example, the parcel that has gone out of the processing target space S shown in FIG. When carrying out such an aspect, as described above, the processing of FIGS. 5 to 7, particularly the processing of step S24 of FIG. 6 is not performed, and the operation of FIG. 6 is not substantially performed. Coordinate points of all distance images are targeted for processing. For example, in consideration of the processing load of the processor 34, when the processing of FIGS. 5 to 7, particularly the determination processing of step S24, is performed, the package picked up from the transport conveyor 50 is basically removed from the processing target. S100 to S102 will not be performed. Of course, such a fact does not deny the idea of the processing of steps S100 to S102, and the processing of steps S100 to S102 improves the efficiency of the loading operation based on the detailed information. An effect that is independent of the effect is obtained. From the opposite point of view, in order to apply the embodiment of steps S100 to S102, the operations of FIGS. 5 to 7 and step S24 would not be performed in principle in step S20, but of course, 5 to FIG. 7, the idea of step S24 is not denied.

According to the present embodiment, the operator can grasp more detailed attributes of the package by referring to the detailed information as well as whether or not the package should be picked up, and improve the efficiency of sorting the package and loading the package. be able to. However, the addition of detailed information as in the present embodiment is not essential for implementing other embodiments.

In the above embodiment, the distance image sensor 20 acquires the distance image, and the projection instructing device 30 processes the distance image to generate the projection image. However, the image to be acquired is not necessarily limited to the distance image, and a two-dimensional image that does not include distance information may be the processing target depending on the type of processing. Therefore, the distance image sensor 20 may be an image sensor that acquires a two-dimensional image, and the projection instructing device 30 can process a two-dimensional image with a light processing load.

[Summary of this embodiment]
As described above, the projection instructing device 30 of the present embodiment is a projection instructing device 30 that generates a projection image to be projected onto the package based on the image including the package and the package identification information that identifies the package in the image. The processor 34 and the memory 36 are provided, and the processor 34 cooperates with the memory 36 to acquire the first time information corresponding to the time when the image is acquired, and to generate the projection image to be projected on the luggage. The second time information corresponding to the time when the projection image is generated is acquired, and the position at which the projection image is projected is calculated based on the difference between the first time information and the second time information.

As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected. As a result, the projector 40 can more accurately project the projection image along the movement of the luggage, and the projection of the image can be seen smoothly by human eyes.

The processor 34 may further calculate the position at which the projection image is projected based on the moving speed and moving direction of the luggage. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The image may be a range image including distance information indicating the distance from each pixel to the image capturing position. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The package sorting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the projection instruction device 30 described above, a label reader 10 that reads package identification information from a label attached to a package, an image sensor 20 that acquires an image, and a projected image on a package. And a projector 40 that operates. As a result, it is possible to more accurately project the projection image along with the movement of the luggage, and the projection of the image can be seen smoothly by human eyes.

The projection instructing method of the present embodiment is a projection instructing method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on an image including the package and package identification information for identifying the package in the image, and the processor 34 is a memory 36. In cooperation with the first time information corresponding to the time when the image is acquired, generating a projection image to be projected on the package, and acquiring second time information corresponding to the time when the projection image is generated. , The position at which the projection image is projected is calculated based on the difference between the first time information and the second time information.

As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projected image should be projected. As a result, the projector 40 can more accurately project the projection image along with the movement of the luggage, and the projection of the image can be seen smoothly by human eyes.

As described above, the projection instructing device 30 of the present embodiment is a projection instructing device 30 that generates a projection image to be projected onto the package based on the image including the package and the package identification information that identifies the package in the image. The processor 34 and the memory 36 are provided, and the processor 34 cooperates with the memory 36 to determine whether the package is picked up based on the image of the package in the image, and determines that the package is picked up. In this case, a projection image including detailed information about the package is generated.

As a result, the worker can grasp more detailed attributes of the package by referring to the detailed information as well as whether or not the package should be picked up, and can improve the efficiency of sorting the package and loading the package.

The detailed information may include information on the position where the package should be placed, corresponding to the package identification information. As a result, the worker can smoothly arrange the loads at appropriate positions, and can improve the efficiency of sorting the loads and loading the loads.

The detailed information may include information on a position where the package should be placed near the worker who picks up the package. As a result, the worker can smoothly arrange the loads at appropriate positions, and can improve the efficiency of sorting the loads and loading the loads.

The placement position may include information on a specific position of the bed of the truck for loading the load. As a result, the worker can smoothly arrange the loads at appropriate positions, and can improve the efficiency of sorting the loads and loading the loads.

The image may be a range image including distance information indicating the distance from each pixel to the image capturing position. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The package sorting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the projection instruction device 30 described above, a label reader 10 that reads package identification information from a label attached to a package, an image sensor 20 that acquires an image, and a projected image on a package. And a projector 40 that operates. As a result, the worker can grasp more detailed attributes of the package by referring to the detailed information as well as whether or not the package should be picked up, and can improve the efficiency of sorting the package and loading the package.

The projection instruction method according to the present embodiment is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on an image including the package and package identification information for identifying the package in the image. When the package is picked up, it is determined whether the package is picked up based on the image of the package in the image, and when it is determined that the package is picked up, a projection image including detailed information of the package is generated.

As a result, the worker can grasp more detailed attributes of the package by referring to the detailed information as well as whether or not the package should be picked up, and can improve the efficiency of sorting the package and loading the package.

As described above, the projection instruction device 30 according to the present embodiment is the projection instruction device 30 that specifies the position of the package based on the image including the package and the package identification information that identifies the package in the image. , A memory 36, and the processor 34, in cooperation with the memory 36, determines whether or not each pixel of the image is a pixel included in the processing target space S in which the package should exist, the coordinates of each pixel. Based on the above, the pixels included in the processing target space S are regarded as processing points to be processed, registered in the memory 36, the image of the package is acquired based on the registered processing points, and the position of the package is specified. To do.

As a result, the processing target space S to be processed by the processor 34 can be limited, the processing target can be reduced, and as a result, the packages can be sorted more efficiently and accurately.

The processing target space S may be a space that is partitioned in a range from a transport conveyor that transports parcels in the image to a predetermined height. As a result, it is possible to further limit the processing target space S to be processed by the processor 34 and further reduce the processing target.
Projection instruction device.

The processing target space S may be a space partitioned into a range of a predetermined length in the transport direction of the transport conveyor in the image. As a result, it is possible to further limit the processing target space S to be processed by the processor 34 and further reduce the processing target.

The processing target space S may be a space divided into a range of a predetermined width in the transport direction of the transport conveyor in the image. As a result, it is possible to further limit the processing target space S to be processed by the processor 34 and further reduce the processing target.

As described above, the processing target space S is preferably a space partitioned based on the transport conveyor in the image.

The image may be a range image including distance information indicating the distance from each pixel to the image capturing position. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The processor 34 produces|generates the projection image projected on a parcel. This makes it possible to sort the packages more efficiently and accurately.

The package sorting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the projection instruction device 30, the label reader 10 that reads package identification information from a label attached to a package, an image sensor 20 that acquires an image, and a projected image on a package. And a projector 40 that operates. As a result, the processing target space to be processed by the processor 34 can be limited, the processing target can be reduced, and as a result, the packages can be sorted more efficiently and accurately.

The projection instruction method according to the present embodiment is a projection instruction device that specifies the position of a package based on an image including the package and package identification information that identifies the package in the image. The processor 34 cooperates with the memory 36. Then, it is determined whether or not each pixel of the image is a pixel included in the processing target space in which the package should be present, based on the coordinates of each pixel, and only the pixel included in the processing target space is processed. It is regarded as a point, registered in the memory 36, an image of the package is acquired based on the registered processing point, and the position of the package is specified.

As a result, the processing target space to be processed by the processor 34 can be limited, the processing target can be reduced, and as a result, the packages can be sorted more efficiently and accurately.

As described above, the projection instructing device 30 of the present embodiment is a projection instructing device 30 that generates a projection image to be projected onto the package based on the image including the package and the package identification information that identifies the package in the image. The processor 34 and the memory 36 are provided, and the processor 34 cooperates with the memory 36 to identify the image of the package from the image including the package, extract a specific surface of the package, and extract the specific surface of the package. Generate a projected image for projection.

As a result, the projection plane on which the projection image should be projected is extracted, and the processor 34 does not need to perform processing on the distance image that displays the entire package, and the processing load is reduced.

When the luggage has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, the specific surface may be the top surface of the luggage. This makes it easier for the operator to see the projected image.

When the luggage has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, the specific surface may be one side surface of the luggage. This makes it easier for the operator to see the projected image.

The image may be a range image including distance information indicating the distance from each pixel to the image capturing position. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The package sorting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the projection instruction device 30 described above, a label reader 10 that reads package identification information from a label attached to a package, an image sensor 20 that acquires an image, and a projected image on a package. And a projector 40 that operates. As a result, the projection plane on which the projection image should be projected is extracted, and the processor 34 does not need to perform processing on the distance image that displays the entire package, and the processing load is reduced.

The projection instructing method of the present embodiment is a projection instructing method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on an image including the package and package identification information for identifying the package in the image, and the processor 34 is a memory 36. In cooperation with, the image of the parcel is extracted from the image including the parcel, a specific surface of the parcel is specified, and a projection image that is projected on the specific surface is generated based on only the specific surface.

As a result, the projection plane on which the projection image should be projected is extracted, and the processor 34 does not need to perform processing on the distance image that displays the entire package, and the processing load is reduced.

As described above, the projection instructing device 30 of the present embodiment is a projection instructing device 30 that generates a projection image to be projected onto the package based on the image including the package and the package identification information that identifies the package in the image. A processor 34 and a memory 36 are provided, and the processor 34 cooperates with the memory 36 to determine a pickup direction of the package based on the package identification information, and generates a projection image including an arrow corresponding to the pickup direction. ..

This makes it possible for the worker to generate a projection image that makes it easy for the operator to identify the luggage to be picked up, and it is possible to suppress errors in sorting work and improve efficiency.

The processor 34 may select a template image of an arrow prepared in advance corresponding to the picking-up direction and generate a projection image including the arrow. Thereby, the arrow can be easily generated.

The processor 34 may rotate the image of the rotatable arrow prepared in advance in accordance with the picking-up direction to generate a projection image including the arrow. Thereby, the arrow can be easily generated.

The processor 34 changes the size of the arrow according to the size of the surface on which the projection image is projected. This makes it possible to generate an arrow having an appropriate size.

The image may be distance information indicating the distance of each pixel from the imaging position. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The package sorting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the projection instruction device 30 described above, a label reader 10 that reads package identification information from a label attached to a package, an image sensor 20 that acquires an image, and a projected image on a package. And a projector 40 that operates. This makes it possible for the worker to generate a projection image that makes it easy for the worker to identify the luggage to be picked up, and it is possible to suppress errors in sorting work and improve efficiency.

The projection instructing method of the present embodiment is a projection instructing method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on an image including the package and package identification information for identifying the package in the image. In cooperation with the above, the pickup direction is determined based on the luggage identification information, and a projection image including an arrow corresponding to the pickup direction is generated.

As a result, the projection plane on which the projection image should be projected is extracted, and the processor 34 does not need to perform processing on the distance image that displays the entire package, and the processing load is reduced.

As described above, the projection instructing device 30 of the present embodiment is a projection instructing device 30 that generates a projection image to be projected onto the package based on the image including the package and the package identification information that identifies the package in the image. The processor 34 and the memory 36 are provided, and the processor 34 cooperates with the memory 35 to determine a specific area in which the package should be picked up in a specific direction based on the package identification information, and the package exists in the specific area. Only in this case, the projection condition information for projecting the projection image is generated.

This makes it easy for the worker to specify the load to be picked up by projecting only to the load that the individual worker must pick up. In addition, it is possible to minimize the number of patterns of the projected image.

The specific region may be a region partitioned by a specific length in the transport direction of the transport conveyor. This makes it easy for the worker to specify the load to be picked up by projecting only to the load that the individual worker must pick up.

The image may be a range image including distance information indicating the distance from each pixel to the image capturing position. As a result, the projection instruction device 30 can accurately acquire the projection position of the baggage on which the projection image should be originally projected.

The package sorting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the projection instruction device 30 described above, a label reader 10 that reads package identification information from a label attached to a package, an image sensor 20 that acquires an image, and a projected image on a package. And a projector 40 that operates. This makes it easy for the worker to specify the load to be picked up by projecting only to the load that the individual worker must pick up.

The projection instruction method according to the present embodiment is a projection instruction method for generating a projection image to be projected on a package based on an image including the package and package identification information for identifying the package in the image,
The processor 34 cooperates with the memory 36 to determine a specific region in which the package should be picked up in a specific direction based on the package identification information, and the projection condition for projecting the projection image only when the package is in the specific region Generate information.

This makes it easy for the worker to specify the load to be picked up by projecting only to the load that the individual worker must pick up. In addition, it is possible to minimize the number of patterns of the projected image.

Although the embodiment of the transaction processing system according to the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to such an example. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modification examples, modification examples, substitution examples, addition examples, deletion examples, and equivalent examples can be conceived within the scope of the claims. Of course, it is understood that it belongs to the technical scope of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure is useful as a size measuring device and a size measuring method capable of appropriately measuring the size of a cargo or a cargo with a cargo bed.

10 Label Reader 20 Distance Image Sensor (Image Sensor)
30 Projection Instructing Device 32 Input Unit 34 Processor 36 Memory 38 Output Unit 40 Projector 50 Conveyor Conveyor 60 Imaging Projection Device 100 Package Sorting System P Package

Claims (4)

A processor,
With memory,
The processor, in cooperation with the memory,
Based on the label of the package, identify the package identification information of the package,
Generate a projection image based on the luggage sensing information and the luggage identification information,
The shape of the package is specified based on the three-dimensional coordinates obtained from the sensing information of the package,
Extracting a specific surface of the package based on the shape of the package,
A projection instructing device for projecting the projection image on the specific surface. The projection instruction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The projection instruction apparatus, wherein the processor adjusts the size of the projection image based on the specific surface. The projection instruction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A projection instructing device, wherein the package is a package to be transported. The processor cooperates with the memory,
Based on the label of the package, identify the package identification information of the package,
Generate a projection image based on the luggage sensing information and the luggage identification information,
The shape of the package is specified based on the three-dimensional coordinates obtained from the sensing information of the package,
Extracting a specific surface of the package based on the shape of the package,
A projection instruction method for projecting the projection image on the specific surface.

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