JP3145666B2 - Automatic toll collection system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic toll collection system applied to toll roads or parking lots.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, toll collection on toll roads, parking lots, and the like has been performed using an automatic toll collection system that does not rely on humans. As an automatic toll collection system of this type, the applicant has previously disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-300884 a method of moving a collection unit (front panel) up and down according to the height of a driver's seat of a passing vehicle. There is disclosed an automatic toll collection device capable of moving back and forth depending on a stop position of a passing vehicle in a width approaching direction.

Further, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-33709 discloses a vehicle side transmission pattern by an optical vehicle detector.
And the height of the driver's cab of the passing vehicle is determined based on the information (number of axes, number of wheels, tread) detected by the tread plate, and the toll collection unit of the automatic toll collection device is linked with the height of the cab. An automatic toll collection system for controlling is disclosed.

FIG. 8 shows an automatic toll collection system configured by combining the technologies disclosed by the above-mentioned two patent applications. As shown in FIG. 8, a vehicle detector 01 on the light emitting side and a vehicle detector 02 on the light receiving side are installed to face each other with the approach path of the vehicle 06 therebetween. The vehicle detector 01 and the vehicle detector 02 have a columnar shape, and a plurality of area sensor type photoelectric switches 03 are vertically arranged. Thus, the light screen 05 is stretched in a direction perpendicular to the road surface 04.

[0005] The vehicle detector 01 and the vehicle detector 02 detect the passage of the vehicle 06 based on the presence or absence of light shielding of the optical screen 05. Is used to detect

On the road surface 0 on which the light screen 05 is stretched,
4 embeds a tread plate 07. The tread plate 07 is used to detect vehicle type classification information such as the number of axes, the number of wheels, and tread of the passing vehicle 06.

The vehicle information processing device 08 includes a vehicle detector 01
From the transmission pattern of the passing vehicle detected by the vehicle detector 02 and the vehicle type classification information detected by the tread plate 07, the information of the vehicle type and the cab height of each passing vehicle is coded, and the Remember. If the approach path is long, a memory capable of recording codes for a plurality of vehicles is provided.

[0008] An automatic toll collection device 09 is installed at the end of the approach road where the vehicle detector 01 and the vehicle detector 02 are provided. The automatic toll collection device 09 includes a toll collection unit 010 (front panel) that can be moved up and down according to the height of the driver's seat of the vehicle 06 and that can move back and forth according to the stop position of the passing vehicle in the width direction. Is provided. Although not shown, on the front surface of the collection unit 010, bills, coins, various card processing ports, change, receipt processing ports, other fee display devices, operation buttons, and the like for user operation are arranged. .

[0009] The automatic toll collection device 09 includes a collection unit 0
10 is controlled to move up and down according to the vehicle type and the cab height code obtained by the vehicle information processing device 08. Further, the automatic toll collection device 09 includes vehicle width shift sensors 011a and 011b arranged below the collection unit 010.
By measuring the distance to the vehicle 06 that has entered the position facing the front of the vehicle information processing device 08, the receiving unit is moved back and forth accordingly, so that the user can easily operate the front panel. The movement control of the collection unit 010 is performed until this time.

[0010]

As described above, in the conventional automatic toll collection system, the vehicle detector 01 and the vehicle detector 0
2 and the tread board 07 to obtain information on the vehicle type and the cab height, and furthermore, the vehicle width shift sensors 011a and 011b.
By detecting the width approach distance to the vehicle 06,
It is possible to control the movement of the toll collection unit 010 of the automatic toll collection device 09 to a position where the driver can easily perform the toll collection operation while sitting in the seat.

However, in the above-described conventional automatic toll collection system, if the control timing of the toll collection unit 010 is a vertical movement control, there is no problem even if the vehicle starts moving from the time when the vehicle type and the cab height are determined. However, in the case of the movement control before and after (in the direction of approaching the width to the vehicle 06), the safety of the vehicle 06 must be stopped after the vehicle 06 stops in front of the automatic toll collection device 9 before starting the movement control of the collection unit 010. Cause problems.

For example, since projections such as a fender mirror and a door mirror are provided on the side surface of the vehicle 06, before the projections pass in front of the collection unit 010, the collection unit 010 is moved in the width direction. If they are moved, there is a risk of collision with the collection unit 010.

Further, conventional width shift sensors 011a and 011
1b does not specifically disclose a specific example of the detection method,
An ultrasonic displacement meter, a laser displacement meter, or the like can be considered as a detection method determined from the drawing. When such a detection method is used, the measurement target is spot-like, so that only the stop point can be measured.In some cases, projections such as fender mirrors and door mirrors are erroneously detected. There was a problem that a stop in front of the automatic toll collection device 06 could not be detected.

Further, in addition to the fender mirror, the door mirror, and the like protruding from the vehicle 06, the driver sometimes puts his hand (arm) through the window of the driver's cab before the vehicle 06 stops. It is necessary to avoid the danger of colliding with the hand, and to control the movement of the collection unit 010 so that the driver does not feel uncomfortable.

The vehicle 06 does not necessarily enter the automatic toll collection device 09 so that the driver's cab window does not face the collection unit 010 in parallel, but may enter the vehicle diagonally. In such a case, it is necessary to control the movement of the collection unit 010 according to the state of the vehicle 06.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has been made to stop the vehicle so that there is no danger of the receiving unit colliding with a protrusion from the vehicle including a hand put out of the driver's window. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic toll collection system that can safely and accurately control the movement of a collection unit up and down and back and forth regardless of the state.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic toll collection system for collecting tolls from a passing vehicle, a detecting means for detecting a position of a window of a driver's cab of the passing vehicle, and a detecting means for detecting the position of the window. An automatic toll collection device provided with a collection unit whose position is controlled so as to face the cab based on the position of the window of the cab that has been set; and a cab provided with the collection unit provided in the automatic toll collection device. Photographing means for photographing a bird's-eye view of the position at which the passing vehicle should be stopped so that the windows face each other, and provided on the automatic toll collection device of the passing vehicle based on an image photographed by the photographing means. Entry / start detection means for detecting entry / stop / start of the pickup unit at a position facing the window of the driver's cab, and the detection means based on the image taken by the imaging means. The traveling vehicle at the time when the stop is detected, detects that the vehicle has entered the automatic toll collection device in an oblique direction, and determines the oblique traveling state by oblique traveling correction means; On the basis of the photographed image, based on the sloping state determined by the sloping correction means, to bring the collection unit close to the passing vehicle when the stop is detected by the detection means. The width of the driver's cab window detected by the detection means in accordance with the approach-stop-start timing detected by the approach / start detection means; Control means for controlling the position of the collection unit of the automatic toll collection device based on the width shift distance detected by the detection means.

In addition, based on an image taken by the photographing means, a position of a protruding object from the passing vehicle is detected with respect to the passing vehicle when the stop is detected by the detecting means, Distance detecting means for detecting a minimum approach distance for bringing the receiving unit close to the protrusion, wherein the control means controls the position of the receiving unit in accordance with the minimum approach distance detected by the distance detecting means. Is performed.

Further, there is provided a motion detecting means for detecting the motion of the hand projected from the window of the driver's cab, wherein the control means responds to the hand motion detected by the motion detecting means.
The movement control of the collection unit is performed.

Further, the stop position of the passing vehicle is determined based on the position of the protruding object detected by the distance detecting means, and if the stop position is inappropriate, a notification prompting a change of the stop position is output. Means are provided.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an automatic toll collection system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic toll collection system includes a vehicle detector 1 (light emission side), a vehicle detector 2 (light reception side), a tread plate 7, a vehicle information processing device 8, an automatic toll collection device 9, a TV camera 12, And an image processing device 13.

The vehicle detector 1 and the vehicle detector 2
It is installed facing each other across the approach road, and has a columnar shape. The vehicle detectors 1 and 2 are provided with a plurality of area sensor type photoelectric switches 3 along the height direction (vertical direction). Thereby, the vehicle detectors 1 and 2 make the optical screen 5 stretch in the vertical direction of the road surface 4. The vehicle detector 1 and the vehicle detector 2 detect the passage of the vehicle 6 based on the presence or absence of light shielding of the light screen 5 and determine the height of the vehicle and the window pattern detected from the light shielding silhouette (transmission pattern) to determine whether the vehicle is a passenger car, a truck, or a bus. It is used to detect such as. Therefore, the detection area (height) of the light screen 5 is configured to include from the vicinity of the road surface to the height of a large vehicle. The vehicle detectors 1 and 2 are connected to the vehicle information processing device 8. The photoelectric switch 3 is repeatedly scanned at high speed in a time-division manner, and a detected signal is notified to the vehicle information processing device 8.

The tread 7 is buried on the road surface 4 on which the light screen 5 is stretched by the vehicle detectors 1 and 2, and is connected to the vehicle information processing device 8 via the vehicle detector 1. The tread 7 outputs a signal to the vehicle information processing device 8 according to the passage of the tire of the vehicle 6. The signal output by the tread 7 is used to detect vehicle type classification information such as the number of axles, the number of wheels, and the tread of the passing vehicle 6. The vehicle type classification information is used to determine the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 (passenger car, bus, truck, etc.).

The vehicle information processing device 8 includes vehicle detectors 1 and 2
Pattern of the passing vehicle detected by the
The vehicle type and the cab height of each passing vehicle are detected from the vehicle type classification information obtained from the signal detected by the method, and the detection results are coded and stored in the vehicle entry rank. If the approach route is long, codes for a plurality of vehicles can be recorded. The information on the vehicle type detected by the vehicle information processing device 8 is used by the automatic toll collection device 9 to display a fee according to the vehicle type and to automatically receive the fee. The information on the detected cab height is used for vertical movement control of a collection unit 10 provided in the automatic toll collection device 9.

The automatic toll collection device 9 includes the vehicle detectors 1 and 2
This is installed at the end of the approach road provided with, and controls automatic collection of fees. The automatic toll collection device 9 includes a collection unit 10 (front panel) that can be moved up and down according to the height of the driver's seat of the vehicle 6 and can move back and forth according to the stop position of the passing vehicle in the width direction. Is provided. On the front of the collection unit 10, for user operation,
A processing port for bills, coins, various cards, a change, a processing port for receipts, other charge indicators, operation buttons, and the like are arranged. The automatic toll collection device 9 detects the vehicle type and the cab height obtained by the vehicle information processing device 8 and the entry, stop, and start of the vehicle 6 obtained by the image processing device 13 in front of the automatic toll collection device 9. In addition, in accordance with the distance and the distance to the width, the moving control of the collection unit 10 up and down and back and forth and the charge collection operation are controlled.

The TV camera 12 is for taking a bird's-eye view of the position where the vehicle 6 should be stopped so that the window of the driver's cab faces the collection unit 10 provided in the automatic toll collection device 9. Is located above the vehicle height limit value on the road surface 4 so that the distance between the entering vehicle 6 and the automatic collection device 9 can be overlooked. The detailed shooting range will be described later with reference to FIG.

The image processing device 13 inputs an image captured by the TV camera 12 and enters the front of the automatic toll collection device 9 of the passing vehicle 6 (the position where the driver's cab window faces the collection unit 10). -Stop-Start is detected, and
When the stop is detected, the width of the vehicle 6 in front of the automatic toll collection device 9 is detected so as to bring the collection unit 10 close to the vehicle 6, and the distance is notified to the automatic toll collection device 9.
The detailed functional configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the visual field of the TV camera 12 described above. That is, the photographing range from the upper front of the automatic toll collection device 9 to the direction of the road surface 4 is shown. TV
As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2, the field of view of the camera 12 covers at least half the area of the road surface 4 in front of the automatic toll collection device 9 and the entire area in the width direction of the automatic toll collection device 9 ( (A rectangular range represented by the point abcd). As shown in FIG. 2, the shooting range of the TV camera 12 includes a portion of the automatic toll collection device 9 where the collection unit 10 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing device 13 includes an input image memory 14, a reference image memory 1,
5, previous frame image memory 16, difference operation unit 17, 1
8, binarized image memories 19 and 20, Xmax detector 2
1, entry / start detection unit 22, histogram creation unit 23,
The functions of a differentiating unit 24, a skew correction unit 25, a width shift determining unit 26, a mirror position determining unit 27, and a Y (t) detecting unit 28 are provided.

The input image memory 14 stores a digitized video signal of an image captured by the TV camera 12. The image stored in the input image memory 14 is
It is updated every scanning of one frame captured by the TV camera 12.

The reference image memory 15 stores an image taken in a state where the vehicle does not enter the front of the automatic toll collection device 9 as a background image, and is appropriately updated. The previous frame image memory 16 stores the image stored in the input image memory 14 one frame before.

The difference calculation section 17 calculates the absolute value of the density data difference for each pixel for the images stored in the input image memory 14 and the reference image memory 15, respectively, based on a preset threshold value. The image is binarized and stored in the binarized image memory 19 at the next stage.

The difference calculator 18 calculates the absolute value of the density data difference for each pixel for the images stored in the input image memory 14 and the previous frame image memory 16, respectively, based on a preset threshold. And stored in the next-stage binarized image memory 20.

The binarized image memory 19 stores images stored in the input image memory 14 and the reference image memory 15
The image generated by the calculation by the difference calculator 17 is stored. The binarized image memory 20 stores an image generated by a calculation performed by the difference calculator 18 with respect to the images stored in the input image memory 14 and the previous frame image memory 16.

The Xmax detection unit 21 calculates the start value of the region corresponding to the vehicle in the vehicle approach direction (X-axis direction) for each frame based on the binary image stored in the binary image memory 19. (Xmax) is detected.

The entry / startup detection unit 22 monitors a change in the value of Xmax detected by the Xmax detection unit 21, that is, the moving state of the vehicle, and enters and stops the vehicle 6 in front of the automatic toll collection device 9. Detecting the start;

The histogram creating section 23 is based on the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 19 when the stop of the vehicle 6 is detected by the approach / start detecting section 22.
A histogram is created in the road width direction (Y-axis direction) of the area corresponding to the vehicle.

The differentiating section 24 smoothes the envelope of the histogram created by the histogram creating section 23 and then differentiates twice to detect the position of the right corner at the front of the vehicle 6 to detect the position of the right corner. The oblique displacement of No. 6 is detected.

The oblique traveling correction unit 25 detects that the vehicle 6 has entered obliquely, and, based on the state of the vehicle 6, determines whether the vehicle 6 is approaching.
6, the position of the right corner of the vehicle 6 detected by the differentiating unit 24 and the vehicle 6 on the right side in the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 19 are corrected. The oblique traveling (direction) of the vehicle 6 is detected from the section of the portion (black data) corresponding to.

The width adjustment judging section 26 performs the following as a first method.
Based on the histogram created by the histogram creating unit 23, a width adjustment distance for bringing the collection unit 10 of the automatic toll collection device 9 close to the vehicle is detected,
As a second method, the position of the right corner of the vehicle 6 detected by the differentiating unit 24 and a portion corresponding to the vehicle 6 on the right side in the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 19 (black data) Then, the average value of the Y values at each position of the intercept is calculated, and the width adjustment distance for bringing the collection unit 10 of the automatic toll collection device 9 close to the vehicle is detected.

The mirror position determining unit 27 determines the position of the right corner of the vehicle 6 detected by the differentiating unit 24 and the portion corresponding to the vehicle 6 on the right side in the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 19. After extracting the black data protruding in the Y direction based on the straight line data connecting the section of (black data), the portion corresponding to the mirror and the portion corresponding to the driver's hand are identified, and then the mirror The Y value of the part is determined.

The Y (t) detecting section 28 detects the vehicle based on the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 20 when the stop of the vehicle 6 is detected by the approach / start detecting section 22. By detecting the change of the maximum value (Ymax) in the Y-axis direction of the area corresponding to the driver's hand and the area corresponding to the toll-out unit 10 coming out of the window 6 for each frame,
The movement of the driver's hand and the movement of the collection unit 10 are detected.

Next, the operation of the automatic toll collection system according to this embodiment will be described. First, when the vehicle 6 enters the traffic path and reaches the light screen 5 by the vehicle detectors 1 and 2, the optical axis of the light screen 5 is blocked according to the shape of the vehicle 6. The vehicle information processing device 8 acquires a shape pattern of the vehicle 6 from a change in light shielding of the optical screen 5 that changes with time.

From the shape pattern acquired by the vehicle information processing device 8, the portion corresponding to the uppermost part of the optical axis where the light screen 5 is shielded represents the upper end of the vehicle 6.
In addition, the window provided in the vehicle 6 has a light screen 5
Are not shaded, so the shape pattern shows the position of the window, that is, the position of the cab window. The type of window provided in the vehicle 6 differs depending on the shape, position, number of sheets, and the like. For example, when the vehicle height is high, the window is likely to be a bus if there are many windows, and the truck is likely to be a truck if there are few windows.
Further, the vehicle information processing device 8 detects vehicle type classification information such as the number of axles, the number of wheels, and treads from a signal output when the vehicle 6 passes through the tread plate 7.

The vehicle information processing device 8 detects the position of the driver's cab of the vehicle 6 and detects the type of the vehicle 6 that has entered based on the shape pattern of the vehicle 6 and the vehicle type classification information. The vehicle information processing device 8 notifies the automatic toll collection device 9 of the detected information.

The position information of the driver's cab window detected by the vehicle information processing device 8 is used for the vertical movement control of the toll collection unit 10 of the automatic toll collection device 9, and the information of the vehicle type is used for the toll collection control. Used.

Next, a description will be given of the movement control in the width shifting direction for bringing the collection unit 10 close to the vehicle 6. When the vehicle 6 passes through the optical screen 5 and enters the front of the automatic toll collection device 9, the state of the entry is photographed by the TV camera 12 installed above the automatic toll collection device 9. The image processing device 13 performs, based on the image captured by the TV camera 12, the timing of entry-stop-start at the position where the window of the cab faces the collection unit, the vehicle 6
The width shift distance for bringing the collection unit 10 close to the reception unit 10 is detected.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an image stored in each image memory provided in the image processing apparatus 13. FIG.
(A) shows an image stored in the reference image memory 15 when the vehicle 6 does not enter the shooting range of the TV camera 12. The image stored in the reference image memory 15 includes the road surface 4 (white background), the automatic toll collection device 9 (oblique lines), and the island on the automatic toll collection device 9 side.

FIG. 4B shows an image stored in the input image memory 14 when the vehicle 6 enters the shooting range abcd of the TV camera 12. The image stored in the input image memory 14 is updated each time the TV camera 12 scans (frames).

Input image memory 14 and reference image memory 15
4A and 4B, respectively, are subtracted by the difference calculation circuit 16 for each pixel, and the absolute value thereof is binarized by a preset threshold value. It is stored in the image memory 17.

FIG. 4C shows an image stored in the binarized image memory 17. As shown in FIG.
Only the portion of the vehicle 6 where the density difference has changed remains as a binarized image. In FIG. 4, a part of a background corresponding to the automatic toll collection device 9 and the like is added to the dotted line for explanation. The portion of the vehicle 6 is detected as a black background, but is represented by the shape of the vehicle 6 for convenience.

FIGS. 4D and 4E show a state in which the vehicle 6 moves from right to left within the shooting range abcd of the TV camera 12. FIG. Note that the number of images that change over time changes at the frame rate of the TV camera 12.

Next, a method for detecting the approach-stop-start timing of the vehicle 6 based on the image detected as described above will be described. The Xmax detection circuit 21
From the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 17, the presence / absence of a portion corresponding to the vehicle 6 on the XY axis is searched for each frame and notified to the approach / start detection unit 19,
A boundary Xmax on the X axis is detected. As shown in FIG. 4C, when Xmax is detected by the Xmax detection unit 18, the entry / start detection unit 19 outputs an entry signal (indicating that the vehicle 6 has entered the front of the automatic toll collection device 9. H) is output to the automatic toll collection device 9.

The Xmax detecting unit 18 notifies the entry / start detecting unit 19 when it detects that the position of Xmax moves to the left of the screen sequentially for each frame and then stops changing. The entry / start detection unit 19 includes the Xmax detection unit 1
The stop signal (L) indicating that the vehicle 6 has stopped is output to the automatic toll collection device 9 in response to the notification from the control unit 8.

When the vehicle 6 starts moving again after stopping, the Xmax detecting unit 18 detects that the position of Xmax is
From (D), it disappears to the left of the screen, and it is detected that Xmax appears again as shown in FIG. That is, since the position of the rear edge of the vehicle 6 has been detected, the Xmax detection unit 18
Detects the start signal of the vehicle 6 when the position of Xmax disappears to the left again, and notifies the entry / start detection unit 19. The entry / start detection unit 19 outputs a signal (G) indicating that the vehicle 6 has started to the automatic toll collection device 9.

In this way, it is possible to detect the timing of entry, stop, and start of the vehicle 6 in front of the automatic toll collection device 9. In the above description, Xma in the X-axis direction is used.
The processing is performed based on the position of x. In addition, for example, the center of gravity of a rectangle surrounded by X and Y positions circumscribing a portion corresponding to the vehicle 6 in the image is obtained, and the movement of the position of the center of gravity is performed. , Stop-start timing can be detected. Also, the following car is already a TV camera 1.
If the vehicle has entered the right end of the shooting range of No. 2, it is also possible to rank Xmax and perform processing according to the ranking.

Next, a description will be given of a process of detecting a width shift distance for bringing the collection unit 10 close to the vehicle 6. First, the first method will be described. When obtaining the stop signal (G) indicating that the vehicle 6 has stopped from the entry / startup detection unit 22, the histogram creation unit 23 determines the vehicle 6 from the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 19. For the portion, the number of pixels is counted in the X-axis direction, and the frequency is taken in for each scanning line in the Y direction to create a histogram. That is, it detects a fender mirror, a door mirror, a driver's hand, and the like that protrude from the vehicle body 6 in the direction of the automatic toll collection device 9, and also detects an oblique approach of the vehicle 6.

FIG. 5 shows the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 19 when the vehicle 6 stops (FIG. 5A).
And an example of a histogram (FIG. 5B) created by the histogram creating unit 23 for the image.

As shown in FIG. 5A, from the binarized image, the side of the vehicle 6 (the side facing the automatic toll collection device 9)
It is photographed that a portion corresponding to the mirror 29 and the driver's hand 30 protrudes.

The histogram creating unit 23 scans the binarized image shown in FIG. 5A in the Y-direction scanning lines Y1, Y2,.
By counting the number of black pixels for each n and calculating the frequency, a histogram as shown in FIG. 5B is created.

As shown in FIG. 5 (B), the histogram shows a shape close to a trapezoid, but if a portion corresponding to a mirror or a hand is included in the binarized image, a portion having a small histogram value is displayed. appear.

The width determining unit 26 deletes, from the histogram created by the histogram creating unit 23, a portion having a small histogram value (shown by oblique lines in FIG. 5B) as a dust portion. For example, the width shift detection unit 21 cuts off a portion of the histogram value that is less than a preset threshold value (S) as dust.

The width shift judging section 26 obtains the maximum value Ymax in the Y direction for the histogram excluding unnecessary portions based on the threshold value (S), and determines the Ymax and the automatic toll collection device 9.
From the position of the collection unit 10, the width approach distance for bringing the collection unit 10 close to the vehicle 6 is determined. The width adjustment determining unit 26 outputs width adjustment data indicating the width adjustment distance to the automatic toll collection device 9.

The automatic toll collection device 9 includes an image processing device 13
The position of the driver's cab window detected by the vehicle information processing device 8 according to the approach-stop-start timing of the vehicle 6 notified from the vehicle information processing device 8, that is, after the vehicle 6 reliably stops in front of the automatic toll collection device 9. , And based on the width approaching distance detected by the image processing device 13, the pickup unit 10 is moved up and down and back and forth (in the direction ).

Next, a second method for detecting the width shift distance will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
6A is an image taken in a state where the vehicle 6 has proceeded diagonally to the left in the traveling direction, and FIG. 6E is a state in which the vehicle has proceeded diagonally right in the traveling direction of the vehicle 6. 5 shows an example of a captured image. FIGS. 6B and 6F are histograms created by the histogram creating unit 23 corresponding to the images shown in FIGS. 6A and 6E, respectively. 6A and 6E, the position of the point a is X
The origin of the Y coordinate system, the left side is the positive direction of the X axis, and the upper side is Y
Description will be given as a positive direction of the axis.

In FIG. 6, the boundary line of the area corresponding to the vehicle 6 is shown by a straight line for the sake of conceptual illustration. However, it is assumed that a smoothing process is added.

The width shift judging section 26 deletes a portion corresponding to the mirror 29 and the hand 30 from the histograms shown in FIGS. 6B and 6F created by the histogram creating section 23 as dust portions. . For example, the width determination unit 2
A step 6 cuts off the portion of the histogram value less than the preset threshold value (S) as dust.

The width adjustment judging section 26 finds the maximum value Ymax in the Y direction for the histogram excluding unnecessary portions based on the threshold value (S), and determines the maximum value Ymax and the From position, receiving unit 1
A candidate for the approaching distance for causing 0 to approach the vehicle 6 is obtained. Here, Ymax for obtaining the width shift distance is Ya in FIGS. 6A and 6E. Width judgment unit 2
In step 6, a candidate for the approaching distance is obtained based on the position of Ya.

On the other hand, the differentiating unit 24 smoothes the envelopes (FIGS. 6B and 6F) of the histogram created by the histogram creating unit 23, and then performs the smoothing process in FIG.
(C), (D), and twice differentiation as shown in FIGS. 6 (G), (H).

By differentiating the histogram twice by the differentiating section 24, the position of the point Yb at which the differential value changes to a negative value (-) can be obtained, and the oblique displacement of the vehicle 6 can be detected. . That is, a point in the Y-axis direction can be determined as the position of the right corner at the front of the vehicle 6.

The skew correction unit 25 detects skew based on the Y-coordinate position of the right corner of the vehicle 6 detected by the differentiating unit 24 and the maximum value Ymax Ya detected from the histogram. .

As shown in FIG. 6, when the point Yb is located on the intercept of the right side (ab) of the image (the value of x is almost 0), it can be detected that the point is rightward (see FIG. 6 (E)). )),Also,
When the intersection Xb with the point Yb is Xb >> 0, it can be detected that the vehicle is traveling leftward (FIG. 6A). Therefore, the position of the right corner in the case of rightward advance is represented by (Ya, Xa), and the position of the right corner in the case of leftward advance is represented by (Yb, Xb).

When the positions of the points Ya and Yb are substantially the same (within a predetermined allowable range),
The oblique traveling correction unit 25 determines that the vehicle 6 is not traveling obliquely. In this case, the candidate of the width shift distance detected by the width shift determination unit 26 is directly notified to the image processing apparatus 13 as the width shift distance.

From the points Ya and Yb representing the oblique displacement, the width shift judging section 26 calculates the Y value of each position of the intercept of the portion (black data) corresponding to the vehicle 6 which is the oblique displacement. The average value Yab is calculated. The width adjustment determining unit 26 uses the calculated average value Yab and the distance calculated based on the position of the collection unit 10 as the true width adjustment distance and sets the automatic toll collection device 9.
Output to

The right corner (Ya, X) at the front of the vehicle 6
As a method of obtaining the position of a) or (Yb, Xb), after extracting the maximum value Xmax of X, whether the Y value at that point is close to 0 (to the right) or the Y value is sufficiently larger than 0 It may be simply determined depending on whether the value is a leftward or leftward value.

If the shape of the front right corner of the vehicle 6 is round and it is difficult to apply the above-described method, the basic shape is rectangular and the image is surrounded by two straight lines and the outer frame of the image. After extracting the contour of the area corresponding to the vehicle 6 using the feature that the part is the area corresponding to the vehicle 6, two straight lines are detected, and the intersection of the approximate expression is determined as the front right corner. good.

Next, detection of the position of a mirror or the like projecting from the side surface of the vehicle 6 will be described. The mirror position determination unit 27 determines the position of the right corner of the vehicle 6 (to the right (Ya, X
a), leftward (Yb, Xb)) and the line segment connecting the position of the point on the intercept of X = 0, that is, the shape of the outline of the side surface of the vehicle 6 facing the automatic toll collection device 9. Next, the position of the protruding mirror is determined.

For example, in the case of the image shown in FIG. 6A, the line Y (Ya, 0) on the intercept at X = 0 and the line (Yb, Xb) at the right corner position are more Y Y Cut out the image data (black) of the portion with the larger value.

Here, when two regions are extracted, it is assumed that one is a mirror and the other is a region by a driver's hand, and the center of gravity of the two regions is shifted to the left (the X value is large).
Is extracted as a mirror area. In other words, since the position of the mirror is provided on the front side of the driver's cab window due to the structure of the vehicle 6, the area on the left side in the image is the area of the mirror.

The mirror position judging section 27 obtains the maximum value in the Y-axis direction for the extracted mirror area, and sets this position as the mirror position Ym. Also, X corresponding to the position Ym
The value Xm in the axial direction is obtained. The mirror position determination unit 27 outputs data indicating the mirror position (Xm, Ym) to the collection unit 10.

The automatic toll collection device 9 includes an image processing device 13
Then, the distance to the collection unit 10 is determined based on the position of the mirror from. The automatic toll collection device 9 has a mirror position Ym
Is larger than the maximum value Ya of the vehicle body data, which is the collision limit value at which the collection unit 10 can be moved forward, so that the vehicle is not moved to a position where there is a possibility of collision during control. Use as a safety lock.

Next, a process for detecting the behavior of the driver's hand coming out of the window toward the collection unit 10 after the vehicle 6 has stopped will be described with reference to FIG. The binarized image memory 20 stores a difference image between the image of the previous frame stored in the previous frame image memory 16 and the image stored in the input image memory 14.

When the Y / t detection unit 28 is notified by the entry / start detection unit 22 that the vehicle 6 has stopped, the Y (t) detection unit 28 sets the binarized image stored in the binarized image memory 20 for each region. , A peak point Ymax (Yh) (Yi) in the Y-axis direction is detected.

After the vehicle 6 stops, the input image includes the toll collection unit 10 and the driver's hand. Therefore, by taking the difference from the previous frame image, it is possible to detect the moving collection unit 10 and the hand of the driver as an area. Then, Y (t)
The detecting unit 28 detects, for each region, a peak point Yi of a region corresponding to the collection unit 10 and a peak point Yh of a region corresponding to the driver's hand. Note that the area corresponding to the collection unit 10 may be determined to be the area having the larger Y value of the two areas, and the minimum value in the area may be set to Yi.

The Y (t) detecting section 28 outputs, for each frame,
The driver's hand detects peak points (Yh) and (Yi) in the Y-axis direction in an area corresponding to the collection unit 10. In this case, it is assumed that the frame rate is selected according to the moving speed of the hand of the toll collection unit 10 and the driver.

The Y (t) detector 28 detects the peak point (Yh)
By calculating the difference from the position detected in the previous frame based on the value of (Yi), the movement of the driver's hand and the movement of the collection unit 10 are detected. Therefore, the Y (t) detection unit 28 can measure the approach state between the hand and the collection unit 10. The Y (t) detection unit 28 outputs approach data indicating the approach state between the hand and the collection unit 10 to the automatic collection device 9 in real time.

The automatic toll collection device 9 includes a Y (t) detection unit 2
Based on the approach data from 8, control the movement for bringing the toll collection unit 10 close to the vehicle 6 at a moving speed that matches the movement of the driver's hand and does not give the driver an uncomfortable feeling. Can be.

The processing in each section described above is stopped when the vehicle 6 is stopped at the position where the window portion of the driver's cab in front of the automatic toll collection device 9 faces the collection unit 10 and the TV 6
Although it has been described that the state stopped by the camera 12 can be photographed from above, the vehicle 6 is not always stopped at a correct position.

Therefore, the automatic toll collection device 9 uses the mirror 2 shown in FIG.
It is determined whether the position of the center of gravity of the 9 (or the hand 30) in the X-axis direction is larger than a predetermined value that is a relative distance from the center of the collection unit 10 (the center of the image, point O in FIG. 2). . Normally, the distance between the position of the mirror and the position of the window in the driver's seat is substantially constant. Therefore, if the automatic toll collection device 9 determines that the relative distance is larger than the predetermined value, the automatic toll collection device 9 (not shown) A message prompting the driver to move forward or backward can be sent to the driver from the interphone provided inside the vehicle.

In this case, after the vehicle 6 is stopped again, the above-described series of processing in each section is performed again. In the process of the mirror position determination unit 27, the value of X or Y indicating the position of the mirror differs depending on the vehicle type and the camera angle of the TV camera 12, but can be regarded as substantially constant in comparison with the vehicle length and the vehicle width. Upper and lower thresholds may be provided for each, and if the thresholds are not met, they may be discarded as non-mirror candidates.

Further, since the hand and the mirror are similar, two candidates may remain as the mirror area.
In this case, since the positional relationship between the mirror and the hand is determined by the structure of the car (the position of the driver's cab window is provided behind the mirror), the left candidate (the head side of the vehicle 6) in the image is determined. It is determined that the area is a mirror area, and the approach distance is determined based on the Y value of the mirror area.

In this manner, it is possible to detect the width approaching distance to the vehicle 6 and control the follow-up control of the moving amount of the collection unit 10. When the vehicle 6 starts after the driver performs a charge collection operation on the collection unit 10, the start is detected by the entry / start detection circuit 22 of the image processing device 13. The receiving unit 10 is returned to the original position.

Then, the state returns to the initial state, and the automatic toll collection device 9 sets the vehicle 6 that has entered from the vehicle information processing device 8 next.
Wait for vehicle type signal input. The above-described processing algorithm is an example of the automatic toll collection system of the present invention, and it is of course possible to configure the present system by applying various other algorithms.

Also, a program for realizing the above-mentioned algorithm is provided by being stored in various computer-readable recording media (CD-ROM, DVD, hard disk, floppy disk, memory device, etc.) and executed by the computer. By doing so, the automatic toll collection system of the present invention can be configured.

(Summary of Embodiment) The configuration, operation and effect shown in the above-described embodiment are summarized as follows.

According to the automatic toll collection system of the present invention,
A vehicle type obtained by a vehicle information processing device 8 provided with a pair of vehicle detectors 1 and 2 for optically detecting a laterally transmitted shape pattern of the vehicle 6 and a vehicle type determining means for determining the vehicle type of the vehicle 6 from the shape pattern; In addition to the function of determining the height of the driver's cab window and controlling the pickup unit 10 to follow up and down according to the height, an image pickup means by the TV camera 12 is used to control the width of the vehicle 6. Because there was, vehicle 6
Can be detected in a wide range. Therefore, the image processing device 13 uses the image captured by the TV camera 12 to form a complicated shape of the vehicle 6 (including a fender mirror, a door mirror, and other irregularities of the vehicle).
Can be recognized, and the timing of the approach, stop, and start of the vehicle 6 can be detected together. The automatic toll collection device 9 controls the movement of the toll collection unit 10 back and forth according to the approach-stop-start timing of the vehicle 6 detected by the image processing device 13, so that the toll collection unit 10 and the vehicle 6 Unexpected contact and the like can be avoided.

As described above, in the automatic toll collection system, the entry, stop, and start of the vehicle 6 in front of the automatic toll collection device 9 can be reliably detected. Even if the mirror, the driver's hand, or the like protrudes, it is not erroneously recognized, and even if the vehicle 6 enters in an oblique direction, it can be identified and accurately detected.

[0098] For this reason, it is possible to reliably perform the follow-up control of the toll collection unit 10 back and forth at a safe timing when the vehicle 6 stops. In addition, it is possible to avoid collision between the collection unit 10 and the mirror of the vehicle 6 or the driver's hand while the vehicle 6 is approaching.

Further, since the movement of the driver's hand after the vehicle 6 has stopped can be detected, the approach of the hand is detected to save the moving speed of the collection unit 10 toward the vehicle 6 and reduce the driver's anxiety. it can.

Further, the relative position of the automatic toll collection device 9 and the vehicle 6 in the traveling direction can be detected, and the entry position can be correctly guided to the driver. The automatic toll collection system according to the present invention can provide the above-described automatic toll collection system with high reliability, high security, and good operability.

[0101]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in an automatic toll collection system for collecting tolls from a passing vehicle, detecting means for detecting a position of a window of a driver's cab of the passing vehicle; An automatic toll collection device provided with a collection unit whose position is controlled so as to face the cab based on the position of the window of the cab detected by the detection means; and a collection unit provided in the automatic toll collection device. Photographing means for taking a bird's-eye view of the position where the passing vehicle should be stopped so that the window of the driver's cab faces the unit; and the automatic toll collection device for the passing vehicle based on an image taken by the photographing means. Entry to the position where the window of the driver's cab faces the collection unit provided at
Starting detection means and, based on an image taken by the photographing means, entering the passing vehicle in a diagonal direction with respect to the automatic toll collection device when the stop is detected by the detection means Skew correction means for detecting the skew state of the vehicle and, based on an image taken by the photographing means, the skew of the passing vehicle when the stop means is detected by the detection means. Width detecting means for detecting a distance to approach the collection unit based on the oblique traveling state determined by the movement correcting means;
In accordance with the stop-start timing, the position control of the toll collection unit of the automatic toll collection device is performed based on the position of the driver's cab window detected by the detection means and the width adjustment distance detected by the width adjustment detection means. Control means for performing the operation, the timing of the approach-stop-start of the vehicle entering the front of the automatic toll collection device can be reliably detected. Since the movement of the receiving unit can be controlled by the measurement, the position of the receiving unit can be controlled safely and accurately at a safe timing when the vehicle stops.

Further, based on the image photographed by the photographing means, the position of a protruding object from the traffic vehicle is detected with respect to the traffic vehicle when the stop is detected by the detection means. Distance detecting means for detecting a minimum approach distance for bringing the receiving unit close to the protrusion, wherein the control means controls the position of the receiving unit in accordance with the minimum approach distance detected by the distance detecting means. So that the receiving unit does not collide with a mirror or driver's hand protruding from the vehicle body,
A safety lock can be applied to the movement control of the collection unit.

Further, there is provided a motion detecting means for detecting a motion of a hand protruding from a window of a driver's cab, wherein the control means responds to the hand motion detected by the motion detecting means.
Since the movement control of the collection unit is performed, the movement of the hand and the movement speed of the collection unit are linked to perform the easy movement control that does not give the driver a sense of incompatibility.

Further, the stop position of the passing vehicle is determined based on the position of the protruding object detected by the distance detecting means, and if the stop position is inappropriate, a notification prompting the user to change the stop position is output. The provision of the means makes it possible to stably operate the automatic toll collection system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an automatic toll collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the field of view of the TV camera 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 13.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an image stored in each image memory provided in the image processing apparatus 13;

FIG. 5 shows a binarized image memory 19 when the vehicle 6 stops.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a binarized image stored in a histogram and a histogram created by the histogram creating unit 23 for the image.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for detecting a width shift distance according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a process of detecting a behavior of a driver's hand that is brought out of the window toward the collection unit 10 after the vehicle 6 stops in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an automatic toll collection system configured by combining conventional techniques.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 vehicle detector (light-emitting side) 2 vehicle detector (light-receiving side) 3 photoelectric switch 5 optical screen 7 tread plate 8 vehicle information processing device 9 automatic toll collection device 10 collection unit 12 TV camera 13 image processing device 14 input image memory 15 Image memory 16 Previous frame image memory 17, 18 Difference calculation unit 19, 20 Binary image memory 21 Xmax detection unit 22 Entry / departure detection unit 23 Histogram creation unit 24 Differentiator 25 Slope correction unit 26 Width determination unit 27 Mirror Position determination unit 28 Y (t) detection unit

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-147592 (JP, A) JP-A-8-161557 (JP, A) JP-A-7-49969 (JP, A) 75868 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07B 11/00-17/04 G07D 9/00 G08G 1/04

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic toll collection system for collecting tolls from a passing vehicle, comprising: detecting means for detecting a position of a driver's cab window of the passing vehicle; and a position of the driver's cab window detected by the detecting means. An automatic toll collection device provided with a collection unit that is position-controlled to face the cab based on the cab, and the cab window faces the collection unit provided in the automatic toll collection device. A photographing means for taking a bird's-eye view of a position where a passing vehicle should be stopped, and a window of a driver's cab is provided in a collection unit provided in the automatic toll collection device of the passing vehicle based on an image photographed by the photographing means. Approach / start detection means for detecting approach-stop-start at a facing position; and based on an image taken by the imaging means, when stop is detected by the detection means For the passing vehicle, detecting that the vehicle has entered in an oblique direction with respect to the automatic toll collection device, and a skew correction means for determining the skew state, based on an image taken by the imaging means A width for detecting a width approach distance for bringing the collection unit close to the passing vehicle when the stop is detected by the detection means, based on the skew state determined by the skew correction means. A shift detecting means, and a position of a driver's cab window detected by the detecting means according to the approach-stop-start timing detected by the approach / start detecting means; Control means for controlling the position of the collection unit of the automatic toll collection device based on the distance. 2. A method for detecting a position of a protruding object from the passing vehicle with respect to the passing vehicle when a stop is detected by the detection unit, based on an image captured by the imaging unit. Distance detecting means for detecting a minimum approach distance for bringing the collection unit closer to the protrusion, wherein the control means controls the position of the collection unit in accordance with the minimum approach distance detected by the distance detection means. 2. The automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein 3. A movement detecting means for detecting movement of a hand protruding from a window of a driver's cab, wherein the control means controls the movement of the receiving unit according to the hand movement detected by the movement detecting means. 2. The automatic toll collection system according to claim 1, wherein movement control is performed. 4. A stopping position of the passing vehicle is determined based on a position of the protrusion detected by the distance detecting means,
3. The system according to claim 2, further comprising means for outputting a notification prompting a change in the stop position when the stop position is inappropriate.
Automatic toll collection system described.