JP3914944B2 - Crossing road information communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention accurately predicts whether or not there is a possibility that the object may hinder the traveling of the approaching vehicle by predicting a change in the position of an object that crosses a crossing path installed on a traveling path such as a track. Regarding technology.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a crossing obstacle detection device that detects an automobile or a pedestrian existing on a crossing when a train approaches the crossing and generates an alarm. Such a crossing obstacle detection device is configured to transmit a radar wave while scanning a railroad crossing, and to receive a radar wave reflected by an obstacle in the crossing road, and receive the reflected radar wave. In such a case, it is recognized that an obstacle is present in the railroad crossing, and whether the obstacle is a car, a pedestrian, a bicycle, or the like is identified (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, although it is not specified in the above-mentioned patent document 1 about identification of such an obstacle, if the position of an obstacle is specified from the irradiation time of a laser wave and the time required to receive the laser wave, Guessed. In addition, based on the reception result of receiving the laser wave during a period of scanning the laser wave on the railroad, it is estimated that the size of the obstacle is estimated to identify whether the obstacle is a car, a pedestrian or a bicycle. Is done.

Further, in the above-described crossing obstacle detection device, when the reflected radar wave is continuously received for a certain period of time, an alarm is generated for the obstacle to alert the user to evacuate from the crossing road.
JP 2002-37078 A (3rd and 4th pages, FIG. 1)

  However, the level crossing obstacle detection apparatus as described above has a problem that it cannot be accurately predicted whether or not a passerby or the like existing on the level crossing may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle approaching the level crossing. That is, when a plurality of obstacles are close to each other, it is difficult to accurately identify individual passers-by, for example, the plurality of obstacles are recognized as one obstacle. In addition, it is impossible to determine whether a passerby or a car is moving toward the center of the railroad crossing or moving outward from the railroad crossing. Furthermore, when a passerby exists close to an installation such as an alarm or a breaker, there is a possibility that the passerby may be mistaken for an installation. In addition, as described above, when it is impossible to accurately recognize whether or not a passerby or the like may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle approaching the railroad crossing, the special signal light emitter may be erroneously operated.

  Such problems are not limited to railroad crossings installed on tracks, but also crosswalks installed on roads such as pedestrian crossings installed on roads and crossways installed on premises roads such as factories. The same problem may occur in

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and the object of the present invention is to predict a change in the position of an object that crosses a crossing path installed on a traveling path, so that the object is approaching. The object is to accurately predict whether or not there is a possibility of hindering the traveling of the vehicle.

The information communication device for a crossing road according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, “predicts whether there is a possibility of hindering the traveling of the vehicle from a change in position of the moving object, and accurately identifies the moving object Thus, for example, it is possible to prevent the special signal light emitter from being erroneously operated ".

Specifically, vehicle approach determination means (40: In this column, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the reference numerals used in the “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” column are attached as necessary. This code does not mean that the scope of claims is limited.) However, it is determined whether or not a vehicle traveling on the traveling road is approaching a crossing road installed on the traveling road. Further, the object detection means (10, 20) detects at least the position of the object existing in the monitoring area set to include the crossing path. Here, when the vehicle approach determining means determines that the vehicle is approaching the crossing road, the moving object determining means (20) is a small movement in which the object detected by the object detecting means is moving. It is determined whether or not it is an object. Specific examples of the above-mentioned “moving object” include an automobile, a two-wheeled vehicle, and a pedestrian. Specific examples of the fixed object that is an object that is not a moving object among the above-mentioned “objects” include an alarm device, a breaker, a sign, a breaker, an operating device, a fence, and a curb. Furthermore, a pedestrian etc. are mentioned as a specific example of a small moving object. Further, when the moving object determining means determines that the object is a small moving object, the position change predicting means (51, 52) predicts the position change of the small moving object, and the interference predicting means (53 ) Predicts whether there is a possibility that the small moving object may hinder the traveling of the vehicle based on the position change of the small moving object predicted by the position change prediction means.
Then, the information contact means (60, 70) can contact information indicating that there is a moving object on the crossing road that may hinder the traveling of the vehicle, and the contact control means (54, 55) Controls such as A) to (C) are executed. That is, (A) when it is predicted by the interference prediction means that a small moving object may interfere with the running of the vehicle, the communication control means controls the information communication means to the driver of the vehicle to that effect. And let me know. (B) When it is predicted by the interference predicting means that there is no possibility that the small moving object will interfere with the traveling of the vehicle, the communication control means controls the information communication means from the crossing path to the small moving object. Ask them to evacuate. (C) When the moving object determining means determines that the object is not a small moving object, the communication control means informs the driver of the vehicle that the moving object exists on the crossing path. Control and contact.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not there is a possibility that the object may interfere with the traveling of the approaching vehicle by predicting a change in the position of the object that crosses the crossing path installed on the traveling path. It can be predicted, and by accurately identifying the moving object as described above, it is possible to prevent, for example, erroneous operation of the special signal light emitter.

  In this case, specific examples of the above-mentioned “travel road” include a track on which a railway vehicle travels, a “road” on which a vehicle such as an automobile travels, and a “premises road” on which a transport vehicle travels on a premises such as a factory. Can be mentioned. Specific examples of the crossing include a “crossing road” installed on a track, a “crosswalk” installed on a road, and a “crossing road” installed on a campus road such as a factory.

Predicting that a moving object as described above may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle may be performed as follows. That is, (a) When a moving object is moving toward the center of a crossing road, it can be predicted that the moving object may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle. Specifically, as described in claim 2, the position change predicting unit tracks the position change of the small moving object by the object detecting unit, so that the small moving object is moved from an arbitrary point in the monitoring area to the center of the crossing path. If it is determined by this position change predicting means that a small moving object is moving from an arbitrary point in the monitoring area toward the center of the crossing It is conceivable that the interference prediction means predicts that the small moving object may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to accurately predict whether or not there is a possibility that the object may interfere with the traveling of the approaching vehicle.

(B) When a small moving object is slowly moving outside the crossing road, it can be predicted that the small moving object may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle. Specifically, as in claim 3, the position change predicting means tracks the position change of the small moving object by the object detecting means, so that the small moving object moves from the central part of the crossing path to the outside of the monitoring area. is possible to determine whether a moving toward small when the moving object size is determined to be moving toward the central portion of the transverse passage to the outside of the monitoring area by the position change predicting means when the moving speed of the moving object is smaller than a predetermined value, interference prediction means, moving objects that small it is considered to be predicted that may interfere with the running of the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to accurately predict whether or not there is a possibility that the object may interfere with the traveling of the approaching vehicle.

  By the way, for example, when the moving object is a pedestrian, the object detection device may erroneously recognize that the two legs of the pedestrian are separate moving objects. Note that this is remarkable when the object detection area set by the object detection device is set to be low from the ground. Therefore, when the position change predicting means extracts two moving objects that move in the same direction according to a specific rule among the objects detected by the object detecting means, as in claim 4, the extracted two It can be considered that the moving object constitutes one pedestrian. In this way, it is possible to prevent the pedestrian's two legs from being mistakenly recognized as separate moving objects.

  There may be a plurality of the object detection means described above. In this case, it is conceivable that the moving object determination unit determines whether or not the detected object is a moving object by integrating the detection results of the objects by the plurality of object detection units. ). In this way, by installing a plurality of object detection means at different positions, a specific object can be detected from different directions, and the recognition accuracy of the moving object can be improved. In addition, even if any of the object detection means fails, the detection of the object can be continued by the other object detection means, so that the reliability of the moving object detection device on the crossing road can be improved.

  Further, when there are a plurality of object detection means as described above, it is conceivable that at least two of the plurality of object detection means are installed so as to face each other across the central portion of the crossing path. (Claim 6). In this way, for example, even when a plurality of moving objects are present close to each other, the plurality of moving objects can be detected from two opposing directions, and each of the plurality of moving objects can be detected more accurately. be able to.

  Further, when there are a plurality of object detection means as described above, it is conceivable that at least two of the plurality of object detection means are installed on either one of the sides of the crossing path. (Claim 7). In this way, it is not necessary to lay the cable connecting the object detection means so as to cross the crossing path, and the installation of the object detection means can be facilitated.

  By the way, for example, in a crossing road moving object detection device installed at a railroad crossing, etc., by diagnosing that each component part of the crossing road moving object detection device such as an object detection means is operating normally, Failure of the component parts is detected to ensure the safety of vehicle operation. As such a diagnostic method, for example, a fixed object such as a pillar is installed in the monitoring area and detected by the object detection means, and when the detected fixed object is detected at the same position, the moving object detection of the crossing road is performed. There is known a method for determining that each component of the apparatus is operating normally. However, such a determination method has a problem that a fixed object for diagnosis such as a pillar needs to be installed in the monitoring area.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to diagnose that each component part of the moving object detection device of the crossing path is operating normally using a fixed object already installed in the monitoring area. Specifically, as in claim 8, one position of a fixed object that is an object other than a moving object among the objects detected by the object detecting means is constantly monitored, and the specific fixed is based on the monitoring result. It is conceivable to include self-diagnosis means (80) for determining that each component part of the moving object detection device in the crossing path is operating normally when the object is detected at the same position.

  In this way, each component part of the moving object detection device such as the object detection unit in the crossing path is operating normally without installing a diagnostic fixed object such as a pillar in the monitoring area. Whether or not can be diagnosed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an alarm generation device 1. 2 is an explanatory view showing a railroad crossing in which the alarm generating device 1 is installed, FIG. 3A is an explanatory view showing a structure of the sensor 10, and FIG. FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing a monitoring area by the sensor 10, and FIG. 5A shows a detection state of a large obstacle present at a railroad crossing. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram illustrating a detection state of a small obstacle present at a level crossing, and FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating detection of an obstacle present at a level crossing by one sensor 10. FIG. 6B is an explanatory diagram showing a result of detecting a pedestrian present at a level crossing by one sensor 10 and analyzing it by a Kalman filter.

[Description of Configuration of Alarm Generation Device 1]
The alarm generation device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes N sensors 10, N object detection units 20, an information integration unit 30, an identification unit 40, a small obstacle processing unit 50, and a light emission control unit 54. And a voice control unit 55, a special signal light emitter 60, a voice generation unit 70, and a soundness self-diagnosis unit 80, which are installed in a railroad crossing (see FIG. 2). Note that N object detection units 20 can be connected to the information integration unit 30 described above, and the sensor 10 can be connected to each object detection unit 20. In the present embodiment, one object detection unit 20 is connected to the information integration unit 30 described above, and one sensor 10 is connected to the object detection unit 20. In addition, the identification unit 40, the small obstacle processing unit 50, the light emission control unit 54, the voice control unit 55, and the soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 are connected to the CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and their configurations, respectively. It is constructed around a known microcomputer comprising a bus line or the like.

  In addition, among the parts constituting the alarm generation device 1 described above, N sensors 10, N object detection units 20, an information integration unit 30, an identification unit 40, and a small obstacle processing unit. 50 and the soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 constitute the obstacle detection device 2. The obstacle detection device 2 corresponds to a moving object detection device on a crossing road.

[Description of Configuration of Sensor 10]
The sensor 10 is a laser irradiation type sensor as illustrated in FIG. Specifically, the sensor 10 includes an irradiation unit 10a that irradiates a laser toward a monitoring region including a railroad crossing, a drive unit 10b that rotates the irradiation unit 10a in a horizontal direction, and a laser irradiated from the irradiation unit 10a. Reflecting mirrors 10c and 10d for changing the traveling direction, and a receiving unit 10e for receiving the laser beam reflected by the object after being irradiated by the irradiation unit 10a. The reflection mirror 10c also has a function of transmitting the laser reflected by the object and guiding it to the receiving unit 10e.

  As for the above-mentioned monitoring area, as illustrated in FIG. 2, “objects” such as passers-by and bicycles existing on a railroad crossing (crossing road) installed on a track (traveling path) for a train to travel. In consideration of the number of sensors 10, the installation location of each sensor 10, the laser irradiation direction of each sensor 10, and the like, at least a railroad crossing is set (see FIG. 4A). . In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, one sensor 10 is installed in the vicinity of a railroad crossing device box.

  The “object” existing in the monitoring area is classified into “fixed object” and “moving object”. Among these, fixed objects are those that are installed within the limits of construction and should be excluded from obstacle detection targets. Specifically, various structures, alarms, breakers, signs, blocks Examples include fences, controls, fences, curbs. In the obstacle detection by the laser radar as in the present embodiment, it is conceivable that an object that does not move for a certain period of time when the alarm generation device 1 is activated is recognized as a fixed object and is processed separately from the moving object. . As a result, for example, even when a fixed object such as a traffic light, signs, or an ATS ground controller is present in the monitoring area, only a moving object can be selectively set as a detection target. The moving object refers to an object obtained by removing a fixed object from the above-mentioned objects, and specific examples include an automobile, a two-wheeled vehicle, and a pedestrian. Note that an object dropped by a moving object in a railroad crossing is identified separately from a fixed object. Further, the train passing through the railroad crossing is excluded from the obstacle detection target by masking the output to the special signal light emitter 60 using the signal condition, as in the conventional obstacle detection device.

  The sensor 10 configured as described above can detect an object present on a railroad crossing. That is, in the sensor 10, the irradiation unit 10a irradiates the laser at a high speed and a high density for each rotation direction in a range of about 180 degrees in the horizontal direction toward the monitoring region including the level crossing road. Is reflected by an object present on the railroad crossing, the receiving unit 10e receives the reflected laser, and measures the time required from receiving the laser to receiving it (FIG. 3B). reference). If the sensor 10 receives the irradiated laser, the sensor 10 outputs an output signal indicating the irradiation angle of the received laser and the time required for reception to the object detection unit 20.

[Description of Configuration of Object Detection Unit 20]
The object detection unit 20 has a function of detecting the position of a moving object present on a railroad crossing based on an output signal from the sensor 10. Specifically, the object detection unit 20 calculates the distance from the sensor 10 to the object that has reflected the laser based on a signal indicating the time required to receive the laser among the output signals from the sensor 10, and Based on the calculated distance to the object and a signal indicating the laser irradiation angle among the output signals from the sensor 10, the position of the object in the monitoring region is calculated. Then, the object detection unit 20 converts the position of the object existing in the monitoring area into a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). Note that the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system in FIGS. 6A and 6B are set to represent a bird's-eye view of the monitoring area from above, and specifically, the X-axis is an extension of the trajectory. It is set so as to make a predetermined angle with respect to the direction, and the Y axis is set so as to make a predetermined angle with respect to the extending direction of the railroad crossing. Then, the object detection unit 20 identifies whether the object existing in the monitoring area is a fixed object or a moving object as follows. That is, based on the information indicating the position of the object after conversion, the object detection unit 20 identifies an object whose position does not change for a predetermined time such as several seconds as a “fixed object” and indicates the position of the object. The “moving object” is identified by updating the information and calculating the difference from the fixed object. Further, the object detection unit 20 outputs information indicating the position of the identified moving object to the information integration unit 30. The object detection unit 20 corresponds to the object detection unit together with the sensor 10. The object detection unit 20 corresponds to a moving object determination unit.

[Description of Configuration of Information Integration Unit 30]
The information integration unit 30 has a function of integrating output signals from the N object detection units 20 and outputting information indicating the positions of the integrated objects to the identification unit 40. Note that when the alarm generation device 1 includes one sensor 10 and one object detection unit 20 as in the present embodiment, the information integration unit 30 outputs an output signal from one object detection unit 20. The data is output to the identification unit 40 as it is.

[Description of Configuration of Identification Unit 40]
The identification unit 40 is connected to an external level crossing control device 100 that executes level crossing control such as raising and lowering the barrier rod, and can obtain information indicating that the level crossing is ringing from the level crossing control device 100. . And when the identification part 40 acquires the information which shows that a level crossing is ringing from the level crossing control apparatus 100, while determining whether a moving object exists in a monitoring area | region, the moving object is small in size. A function of identifying whether the object is a moving object or a large moving object. Specifically, the identification unit 40 determines that the moving object is a small obstacle based on the distance from the sensor 10 to the moving object and the laser irradiation angle, as described in “Pedestrian identification method” described later. Whether or not there is is identified (see FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C). When the moving object is not a small obstacle, it is assumed that the moving object is a large moving object (see FIG. 5A). Here, the “small moving object” refers to a relatively small moving object that passes through the railroad crossing, and specifically includes a pedestrian. The “large moving object” refers to a relatively large moving object that passes along a railroad crossing, and specifically includes an automobile. Further, when the moving object is a small moving object, the identification unit 40 outputs the fact to the small obstacle processing unit 50, while when the moving object is a large moving object, the fact is notified. It has a function of outputting to the light emission control unit 54.

The identification unit 40 corresponds to a vehicle approach determination unit and a moving object determination unit.
[Description of pedestrian identification]
Next, a method for identifying whether or not the moving object is a pedestrian will be described.

In this method, a tracking method using a Kalman filter is applied to track a moving pedestrian by digital signal processing.
In addition, the pedestrian model used in this method is described by three types of parameters: the left and right foot positions (P _L and P _R ), speed (V _L and V _R ), and acceleration (a _L and a _R ). Has been. While the position vector and velocity vector of each pedestrian continuously change, the acceleration vector changes discontinuously during the process of the pedestrian swinging his / her foot.

Here, with respect to the Kalman filter, a Kalman filter such as Equation (1) is defined by dividing the state vector into a vector S _{k, n} and a vector u _{k, n} .

However, the vector S _{k, n} represents the vector of the position P and the speed V of the left and right feet of the pedestrian n in step k, the vector u _{k, n} represents the vector of the acceleration a, and ω represents the estimation error. The transition matrix Φ is a matrix that plays a role of associating the position / velocity vector in the previous step with the position / velocity vector in the current step, and the matrix Ψ is a matrix that associates the acceleration value with the change in the position / velocity vector. .

Incidentally, the vector S _k described _{above, n} and the vector u _k, for _n are defined as in each formula (2) and (3).

  Further, the above transition matrix Φ is defined as shown in Equation (4). Further, the above-described matrix Ψ is defined as Expression (5). Note that Δt is a state parameter update interval.

The acceleration vector uk _{, n} described above is defined separately depending on whether the foot that the pedestrian swings is in front or behind the body. That is, the rear foot is swung out from the stationary state toward the front at a constant acceleration, and when coming out from the body, a constant deceleration acts, so that it comes to a stationary state again when landing. Such a swing-out motion is repeatedly performed on the left and right feet in the process of the pedestrian moving smoothly.

In addition, the state vector S _{k, n} is updated by Equation (6) by the Kalman filter based on the observed value.

However, the vector m _{k, n} is the position vector of the foot of the pedestrian n at step k (observed value), the matrix H is a matrix that relates the state vector observations. A numerical value ε represents a measurement error.

Further, the above-described vector m _{k, n} is defined as in Expression (7), and the above-described matrix H is defined as in the following Expression (8).

  And the identification part 40 performs the following procedures for every (DELTA) t using the Kalman filter defined as mentioned above, and obtains the state vector of each pedestrian from the observed value which observed the position of the foot. Update and perform tracking of moving objects.

(A) A state vector is predicted, and a range for searching for the positions of both feet of the pedestrian is determined.
(B) A foot observed within the search range is set as a candidate for the pedestrian's foot.
(C) The state vector is updated using the foot candidate set in the procedure (b) above that is closest to the predicted foot position vector. When the pedestrian's foot cannot be found within the above search range, the state vector is updated using the predicted value instead of the observed value. In addition, when the number of cases in which a candidate for a pedestrian's foot cannot be found exceeds a preset number of times, the tracking of the pedestrian is interrupted.

[Description of Configuration of Small Obstacle Processing Unit 50]
The small obstacle processing unit 50 includes a position / speed calculation unit 51, a small obstacle tracking unit 52, and a stagnation / escape prediction unit 53. The position / velocity calculation unit 51, the small obstacle tracking unit 52, and the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 are each a well-known microcomputer comprising a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components. It is structured around. The position / velocity calculation unit 51 and the small obstacle tracking unit 52 correspond to position change prediction means.

[Description of Configuration of Position / Speed Calculation Unit 51]
The position / velocity calculating unit 51 has a function of calculating the position and moving speed of the small moving object based on the information regarding the small moving object existing in the monitoring area output from the identification unit 40. The position / velocity calculation unit 51 has a function of outputting information indicating the calculated position and movement speed of the small moving object to the small obstacle tracking unit 52.

[Description of Configuration of Small Obstacle Tracking Unit 52]
The small obstacle tracking unit 52 has a function of tracking each small moving object based on the position and moving speed of the small moving object output from the position / velocity calculating unit 51. Specifically, when the small moving object is moving, the small obstacle tracking unit 52 determines that it is necessary to track each small moving object, and thereafter tracks the small moving object. . The small obstacle tracking unit 52 has a function of outputting the tracking result of the small moving object to the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53. The small obstacle tracking unit 52 interrupts the tracking of the small moving object when the small moving object suddenly disappears in the monitoring area and cannot be tracked for a certain period of time. A function of outputting to the light emission control unit 54 that the tracking of the moving object is interrupted.

[Description of configuration of stagnation / escape prediction unit 53]
Further, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 determines whether the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area based on the tracking result of the small moving object output from the small obstacle tracking unit 52 or the small movement. It has a function of determining whether an object is about to escape from the monitoring area. Specifically, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 predicts that the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area when the moving speed of the small moving object is smaller than a predetermined value. The stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 also determines that the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area even when the small moving object is moving from an arbitrary point in the monitoring area toward the center of the railroad crossing. Predict. On the other hand, when the small moving object is moving from the central part of the railroad crossing to the outside of the monitoring area, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 indicates that the small moving object is about to escape from the monitoring area. Predict. The stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 has a function of outputting a message to that effect to the light emission control unit 54 and the audio control unit 55 when predicting that a small moving object is about to escape from the monitoring area.

The stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 corresponds to an interference prediction unit.
[Description of Configuration of Special Signal Light Emitter 60 and Sound Generation Unit 70]
The special signal light emitter 60 has a function of emitting a special signal to a train driver approaching the railroad crossing. In addition, the sound generation unit 70 has a function of generating an alarm sound for a passerby or the like present on a level crossing. The special signal light emitter 60 and the sound generator 70 correspond to information communication means.

[Description of Configuration of Light Emission Control Unit 54 and Audio Control Unit 55]
When the light emission control unit 54 receives an output signal from the small obstacle tracking unit 52 or the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53, the light emission control unit 54 approaches the railroad crossing by controlling the special signal light emitter 60 to emit the special signal. It has a function to alert the driver of the inside train by notifying that there are passersby on the railroad crossing.

  In addition, when the voice control unit 55 receives an output signal from the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53, the voice control unit 55 controls the voice generation unit 70 to generate an alarm sound, thereby allowing a passerby present on the level crossing of the level crossing. It has a function to call attention to.

In addition, the light emission control part 54 and the audio | voice control part 55 correspond to a contact control means.
[Description of configuration of soundness self-diagnosis unit 80]
The soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 has a function of determining whether or not the alarm generation device 1 is operating normally. Specifically, the soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 constantly monitors one of the above-described fixed objects, and when the specific fixed object is detected at the same position based on the monitoring result, the alarm generation device 1 It is judged that each component part is operating normally. The soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 corresponds to self-diagnosis means.

[Description of alarm generation processing]
Next, alarm generation processing executed by the object detection unit 20, the information integration unit 30, the identification unit 40, the small obstacle processing unit 50, the light emission control unit 54, and the voice control unit 55 of the alarm generation device 1 is illustrated in FIG. This will be described with reference to a flowchart. This process is executed when the alarm generation device 1 is installed at a railroad crossing and its power is turned on. Note that the alarm generation device 1 after power-on is continuously operated without being stopped except during maintenance.

  First, in step S110, the object detection unit 20 recognizes a fixed object existing in the monitoring area. Specifically, the object detection unit 20 calculates the distance from the sensor 10 to the object that has reflected the laser, based on the signal indicating the time required to receive the laser among the output signals from the sensor 10. Next, the object detection unit 20 calculates the position of the object in the monitoring region based on the calculated distance to the object and a signal indicating the laser irradiation angle among the output signals from the sensor 10. Then, the object detection unit 20 converts the position of the object existing in the monitoring area into a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system (see FIG. 6A). Furthermore, the object detection unit 20 identifies an object whose position does not change for a predetermined time such as several seconds as a “fixed object” based on the information indicating the position of the converted object.

  In S120, the identification unit 40 determines whether or not the railroad crossing is ringing. Specifically, when information indicating that a level crossing is ringing is acquired from the external level crossing control device 100, the identification unit 40 determines that the level crossing is ringing. If it is determined that the level crossing is not ringing (S120: N), this step S120 is repeatedly executed until it is determined that the level crossing is ringing. On the other hand, if it is determined that the railroad crossing is ringing (S120: Y), the process proceeds to S130.

In S <b> 130, the object detection unit 20 newly acquires and updates information indicating the state of the monitoring area output from the sensor 10.
In subsequent S140, the "moving object" is identified by calculating a difference between the information indicating the state of the monitoring area updated in the previous S130 and the fixed object recognized in the previous S110.

In subsequent S150, the information integration unit 30 integrates output signals from the N object detection units 20.
In subsequent S160, the identification unit 40 determines whether or not there is a moving object in the monitoring area by the process in S140. If it is determined that there is no moving object in the monitoring area (S160: N), the process proceeds to S120, and the processes from S120 onward are repeatedly executed. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a moving object in the monitoring area (S160: Y), the process proceeds to S165.

  In S165, the identification unit 40 identifies whether the obstacle recognized in the previous S160 is a small moving object based on the “pedestrian identification method” described above (see FIG. 5C). ). If it is determined that the obstacle is not a small moving object (S165: N), it is determined that the obstacle is a large moving object (see FIG. 5 (a)), and the obstacle is approaching. In order to notify the train that there is a large moving object on the railroad crossing of the railroad crossing, the process proceeds to S200 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the obstacle is a small moving object (S165: Y, see FIG. 5B), the process proceeds to S170.

In S170, the position / velocity calculating unit 51 of the small obstacle processing unit 50 calculates the position and moving speed of the small moving object recognized in S165.
In subsequent S180, whether the small obstacle tracking unit 52 of the small obstacle processing unit 50 tracks the small moving object based on the position and moving speed of the small moving object calculated in the previous S170. Judge whether or not. Specifically, the small obstacle tracking unit 52 determines that the tracking of the small moving object is interrupted when the small moving object suddenly disappears in the monitoring area and cannot be tracked for a certain time or longer. To do. If it is determined that the tracking of a small moving object is interrupted (S180: N), to inform the train that is approaching the railroad crossing that there are passers-by on the railroad crossing, and to call attention, The process proceeds to S200 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined to track a small moving object (S180: Y), the process proceeds to S190.

  In S190, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 of the small obstacle processing unit 50 causes the small moving object to stagnate in the monitoring area based on the position and moving speed of the small moving object calculated in S170. Or whether it is about to leave the monitoring area. Specifically, when the moving speed of the small moving object is smaller than a predetermined value, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 predicts that the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area. When a small moving object is moving from an arbitrary point in the monitoring area toward the center of the railroad crossing, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 determines that the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area. Predict. On the other hand, when a small moving object is moving from the central part of the railroad crossing to the outside of the monitoring area, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 is about to escape from the monitoring area. Predict. If it is determined that a small moving object is stagnant in the surveillance area (S190: N), be aware that there are passers-by on the railroad crossing road for the train approaching the railroad crossing In order to evoke, the process proceeds to S200 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the small moving object is about to leave the monitoring area (S190: Y), the process proceeds to S210, which will be described later, in order to alert the pedestrian, which is a small moving object, by voice.

  In S200, the light emission control unit 54 controls the special signal light emitter 60 to emit a special signal, so that a train driver who is approaching the railroad crossing indicates that there is a passerby on the railroad crossing. Inform and alert. And it transfers to S220 mentioned later.

  In S210, the voice control unit 55 controls the voice generation unit 70 to generate an alarm sound, thereby alerting a passerby or the like present on the railroad crossing. Then, the process proceeds to S220.

  In S220, the soundness of the alarm generation device 1 is determined. Specifically, the soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 constantly monitors one of the fixed objects (for example, a sign) recognized in the previous S110, and the specific fixed object is located at the same position based on the monitoring result. If it is detected, it is determined that each component of the alarm generating device 1 is operating normally. When it is determined that the alarm generation device 1 is operating normally (S220: Y), the process proceeds to S120, and the processes from S120 onward are repeatedly executed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the alarm generating device 1 is not operating normally (S220: N), the fact that the alarm generating device 1 is not normal is output to the outside and the alarm generating device 1 is stopped. .

[effect]
As described above, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment, the moving object existing in the monitoring area is an obstacle that may hinder the traveling of the train approaching the railroad crossing, and the obstacle is a small movement. When it is determined that the object is an object, the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 predicts the position change of the small moving object as follows. That is, when the moving speed of the small moving object is smaller than the predetermined value, it is predicted that the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area. When a small moving object is moving from an arbitrary point in the monitoring area toward the center of the railroad crossing, it is predicted that the small moving object is stagnating in the monitoring area. On the other hand, when a small moving object is moving from the center of the railroad crossing toward the outside of the monitoring area, it is predicted that the small moving object is about to escape from the monitoring area. In this way, by predicting the movement of a passerby crossing a railroad crossing installed on the track, it is possible to accurately predict whether the passerby may interfere with the traveling of the approaching vehicle. Can do.

  In addition, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment, the tracking result of the moving object is recorded together with the time information, so that it can be installed for a long time at a railroad crossing where there are many accidents and driving troubles and accumulate data. It is possible to quantitatively extract and evaluate various causes of accidents unique to each level crossing and to devise effective improvement measures.

  Furthermore, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment, since one sensor 10 is installed in the vicinity of the instrument box of the railroad crossing, the sensor 10 is installed between a plurality of tracks. The cable laying distance around the railroad crossing can be shortened compared with the case where it is installed at the place. In addition, by arranging the sensor 10 and control equipment as much as possible outside the track, workers engaged in the construction / maintenance work of the alarm generator 1 can perform work such as construction, inspection and adjustment outside the track safely and in a short time. As a result, it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of accidents and driving troubles.

  Further, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment, since one sensor 10 is installed in the vicinity of the instrument box of the railroad crossing and the sensor 10 irradiates the laser toward the monitoring region, The introduction cost can be reduced as compared with the case where a plurality of sensors 10 are installed as in the prior art.

  Further, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment, the identification unit 40 determines whether or not the obstacle recognized in S160 of the alarm generation process is a small moving object (pedestrian). Since identification is performed based on the above-described “pedestrian identification method”, it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition of the two legs of the pedestrian as separate moving objects.

  Further, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment as described above, when it is determined that the moving object is an obstacle that may hinder the traveling of the vehicle, the light emission control unit 54 performs the special signal light emission. By controlling the device 60 to emit a special signal, the train approaching the railroad crossing is informed that there are passers-by on the railroad crossing, and the voice control unit 55 The sound generator 70 is controlled to generate an alarm sound, thereby alerting a passerby or the like present on the railroad crossing. This can prevent accidents and the like. In addition, it is possible to prevent the special signal light emitter 60 from being erroneously operated, for example, by accurately predicting whether or not the passerby may interfere with the traveling of the approaching vehicle as described above. be able to.

  Further, according to the alarm generation device 1 of the first embodiment, the soundness self-diagnosis unit 80 constantly monitors one of the fixed objects, and the specific fixed object is located at the same position based on the monitoring result. Since it is determined that each component of the alarm generating device 1 is operating normally, the alarm generating device can be used without installing a diagnostic fixed object such as a pillar in the monitoring area. It can be determined whether or not each component of 1 is operating normally.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It is possible to implement in the following various aspects.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the alarm generation device 1 is installed on a railroad crossing installed on a track on which a railway vehicle travels. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the alarm generation device 1 is installed on a crossing road of the travel path. May be. For example, the alarm generator 1 may be installed on a pedestrian crossing on a road on which a vehicle such as an automobile travels. Further, the alarm generator 1 is installed on a crossing road of a factory road such as a factory.

  (2) In the alarm generation device 1 of the above embodiment, one sensor 10 is installed near the instrument box of the railroad crossing, and the sensor 10 irradiates the laser toward the monitoring area. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The above-described monitoring area may be divided into, for example, a monitoring area including an upstream line and a monitoring area including a downstream line, and each of these monitoring areas may be monitored by two sensors 10 (FIG. 4B). reference). Further, a monitoring area for monitoring the vicinity of the barrier rod may be set separately from the above-described monitoring area, and the monitoring area may be monitored by the sensor 10. Alternatively, the monitoring areas may be divided according to the number of tracks, and the monitoring areas may be monitored by the same number of sensors 10 as the number of monitoring areas (see FIG. 4C).

  In addition, if the time required to receive the laser irradiated at a predetermined irradiation angle is included in the predetermined time zone, the data is ignored, and the “non-monitoring region” is set inside the above-described monitoring region. It may be set. For example, the above-mentioned non-monitoring area is set so as to include a sign installed on a railroad crossing.

  (3) Moreover, you may comprise so that one monitoring area | region may be monitored with the some sensor 10 so that it may illustrate in Fig.8 (a). In this case, output signals from a plurality of sensors 10 need to be integrated and used (see FIG. 8B). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8A, four sensors 10 are installed in the vicinity of the railroad crossing, and the monitoring area is monitored by these four sensors 10. In this way, by installing the plurality of sensors 10 at different positions, a specific moving object can be detected from different directions, and the recognition accuracy of the moving object can be increased. In addition, even if one of the sensor 10 and the object detection unit 20 breaks down, the detection of the object can be continued by the other sensor 10 or the object detection unit 20, so that the reliability of the alarm generation device 1 is improved. Can do.

  (4) Further, when there are a plurality of sensors 10 and object detection units 20 as described above, at least two of the plurality of sensors 10 are installed so as to face each other across the central portion of the railroad crossing. You may let them. In this way, even when, for example, a plurality of passersby are close to each other, the plurality of passersby can be detected more accurately from two opposing directions.

  Further, when there are a plurality of sensors 10 and object detection units 20 as described above, at least two of the plurality of sensors 10 are installed on either side of the track (side the track). You may let them. If it does in this way, it is not necessary to lay the cable which connects sensor 10 so that a track may be crossed, and installation of sensor 10 can be made easy.

  (5) In the alarm generation device 1 of the above embodiment, when it is determined that a small moving object may hinder the traveling of the vehicle, the light emission control unit 54 controls the special signal light emitter 60 to perform a special operation. By emitting a signal, the driver of the train approaching the railroad crossing is informed that there is a small moving object, but this is not a limitation, and there is a possibility that the vehicle may be prevented from traveling. You may comprise so that a train may be notified that a certain small moving object exists in a level crossing road. For example, the transmission control unit controls the transmission unit to transmit to the approaching train that a small moving object that may interfere with the traveling of the vehicle exists on the level crossing road. . In this way, for example, by operating the ATS device mounted on the approaching train using the transmitted information, an accident or the like can be prevented.

  (6) In the alarm generation device 1 of the above embodiment, in the small obstacle processing unit 50, the position / velocity calculation unit 51, the small obstacle tracking unit 52, and the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 are different from each other. Although it is configured as a microcomputer, the present invention is not limited to this, and the function executed by the position / velocity calculation unit 51, the function executed by the small obstacle tracking unit 52, and the function executed by the stagnation / escape prediction unit 53 are one. It may be executed by a microcomputer.

  (7) In the alarm generation device 1 of the above embodiment, the information integration unit 30, the identification unit 40, and the small obstacle processing unit 50 are configured as separate microcomputers. The function executed by the information integration unit 30, the function executed by the identification unit 40, and the function executed by the small obstacle processing unit 50 may be executed by a single microcomputer.

It is a schematic block diagram of an alarm generator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the level crossing in which the alarm generation apparatus was installed. (A) It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a sensor, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the height in which a sensor is installed. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the monitoring area | region by a sensor, (b) is explanatory drawing (1) which shows other embodiment of the monitoring area | region by a sensor, (c) is another implementation of the monitoring area | region by a sensor. It is explanatory drawing (2) which shows a form. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the detection state of the large obstruction which exists in a level crossing, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the detection state of the small obstruction which exists in a crossing, (c) is a crossing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of identifying the magnitude of the obstruction which exists in. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the result of having detected the obstruction which exists in a level crossing with one sensor, (b) shows the result of having detected the pedestrian in the level crossing with a sensor, and analyzing it with the Kalman filter. It is explanatory drawing. It is a flowchart explaining an alarm generation process. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of the four sensors installed in the level crossing, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the result of having detected the obstruction which exists in a level crossing with four sensors.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Alarm generating apparatus, 2 ... Obstacle detection apparatus, 10 ... Sensor, 10a ... Irradiation part, 10b ... Drive part, 10c, 10d ... Reflection mirror, 10e ... Reception part, 20 ... Object detection part, 30 ... Information integration part , 40 ... identification unit, 50 ... small obstacle processing unit, 51 ... position / velocity calculation unit, 52 ... small obstacle tracking unit, 53 ... stagnation / escape prediction unit, 54 ... light emission control unit, 55 ... voice control unit , 60 ... Special signal light emitter, 70 ... Sound generator, 80 ... Soundness self-diagnosis unit, 100 ... Railroad crossing control device

Claims (8)

Vehicle approach determining means for determining whether a vehicle traveling on the traveling path is approaching a crossing road installed on the traveling path;
An object detection means for detecting at least a position of an object existing in a monitoring region set to include the crossing path;
When the vehicle approach determining means determines that the vehicle is approaching the crossing road, it is determined whether or not the object detected by the object detecting means is a small moving object that is moving. Moving object judgment means to
If the moving object determining means determines that the object is a small moving object, position change predicting means for predicting a position change of the small moving object;
An interference predicting means for predicting whether or not the small moving object may interfere with traveling of the vehicle based on a position change of the small moving object predicted by the position change predicting means;
Information contact means capable of contacting information indicating that a moving object that may interfere with travel of the vehicle is present on the crossing road;
When it is predicted by the interference prediction means that the small moving object may interfere with travel of the vehicle, the information contact means is controlled and communicated to the driver of the vehicle, When it is predicted by the interference prediction means that the small moving object is not likely to interfere with the traveling of the vehicle, the information communication means is controlled so that the small moving object is retreated from the crossing road. If the moving object determining means determines that the object is not a small moving object, the information contacting means is controlled to the vehicle driver that the moving object exists on the crossing road. A contact control means for making contact,
A crossing information communication device comprising: In the crossing information communication device according to claim 1,
The position change predicting means, is moving toward the central portion of the transverse passage moving object of the miniature from any point of the monitoring region by tracking the change in position of the moving object size by the object detecting means Whether or not
When the position change predicting unit determines that the small moving object is moving from an arbitrary point in the monitoring area toward the center of the crossing path, the interference prediction unit is configured to detect the small moving object. there us device transverse passage, characterized in that it comprises predicting that there may interfere with the running of the vehicle. In the crossing information communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
Whether the small moving object is moving from the central part of the crossing path to the outside of the monitoring area by tracking the position change of the small moving object by the object detecting unit. Can be determined,
The disturbance predicting means, movement of the moving object in the small in the case where the moving object of the small is determined to be moving toward the central portion of the transverse passage to the outside of the monitoring area by the position change predicting means speed is when smaller than the predetermined value, the information liaison transverse path the moving object of the small size, characterized in that predicted that may interfere with the running of the vehicle. In the crossing information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the position change predicting unit extracts two moving objects that move in the same direction according to a specific rule from the objects detected by the object detecting unit, the extracted two moving objects are one pedestrian. A crossing information communication device characterized by comprising In the cross-road information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
There are a plurality of the object detection means,
The moving object determination unit, by integrating the detection results of the object by each of the plurality of object detection means, information of the transverse passage, characterized in that the detected object is determined whether the moving object Contact device . In the crossing information communication device according to claim 5,
At least two, us device transverse passage, characterized in that it is placed so as to face each other across the central portion of the transverse passage of the plurality of object detecting means. The cross-road information communication device according to claim 5 or 6,
At least two, us device transverse passage, characterized in that it is installed either on one of the sides of said transverse path of the plurality of object detecting means. In the crossing information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
When one position of a fixed object that is an object other than the moving object is constantly monitored among the objects detected by the object detection means, and the specific fixed object is detected at the same position based on the monitoring result us device transverse passage, characterized in that it comprises a self-diagnosis means for each component part of the transverse path of the moving object detection device is judged to be in normal operation.