JP7817977B2 - Public road facility inspection system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a public road facility inspection system, and in particular to a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities such as water pipes and electric wires that are arranged along public roads and that are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above.

GNSS has traditionally been used for location searching, patrols, and positioning of public facilities. Car navigation systems and other devices are known for receiving signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to determine positioning. The positioning error of GNSS is on the order of a few meters, which is an error level that is practical for use in car navigation systems and other devices.

On the other hand, surveying and other tasks require highly accurate positioning, with a positioning error of a few centimeters (cm). For this reason, positioning technologies such as DGPS (Differential GPS) and RTK (Real Time Kinematic) are used.

In addition, positioning using quasi-zenith satellites has also begun, and as the number of receivable satellites increases, positioning accuracy is improving even in mountainous and urban areas. By using the RTK service using the L6 band provided by the quasi-zenith satellite Michibiki, even more accurate positioning can be ensured.

In recent years, applications and services requiring centimeter-level high-precision location information have expanded beyond surveying to include determining the location of public infrastructure such as water, gas, and electricity meters, and the location of underground water pipes, gas pipes, and utility conduits, as well as autonomous driving of unmanned vehicles.

Patent Document 1 discloses a patrol monitoring navigation device used for patrol monitoring of underground buried objects such as water pipes and gas pipes. According to Patent Document 1, the patrol monitoring navigation device includes a current position detection means for detecting the current position, a map data acquisition means for acquiring map data, a display means for displaying the map data as a map screen, a portable storage medium that stores information about underground buried objects, and a control means for superimposing and displaying information about underground buried objects read from the portable storage medium on the map screen displayed on the display means.

While ordinary navigation devices only display roads and facilities that are visible above ground, the navigation device of Patent Document 1 can also display information about underground buried objects that are not visible above ground, making it possible to check underground buried objects on the map screen even at night or during snowfall.

Patent Document 2 also discloses a method for detecting the location of a specific portion of an underground pipeline from above ground. According to this detection method, coordinate data in the Earth's coordinate system for the route of the underground pipeline is pre-registered in a portable terminal with GPS functionality. A detection position on the pipeline is specified on the portable terminal, and when the current position of the portable terminal detected by the GPS function matches the specified detection position, the portable terminal notifies the outside. Various processes are also performed in relation to the specified detection position.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-279172 Patent No. 4389814

There has long been a need to know the location of public infrastructure equipment in order to maintain and manage it, and in recent years there has been a growing need to determine the location of equipment with high accuracy and to efficiently patrol it. For example, water pipes are often buried underground, are laid along public roads, and are spread over wide areas and long distances.

Maintaining water pipes requires regular patrols from above ground to visually check for leaks. They also visually check for abnormalities on the road surface and surrounding area that may be caused by leaks from the water pipes, and whether the condition of the road and its surrounding area is affecting the water pipes.

However, because the water pipes are underground, this visual inspection work requires identifying the location of the pipes, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, making it hard work and inevitably resulting in overlapping or missed inspections.

In addition, in areas with heavy snowfall, roads and their surrounding areas can become buried in snow, making it difficult to check for leaks and other issues through patrols. Patrol work on water pipe facilities can also be restricted by seasons and climates, such as the rainy season or prolonged rainy seasons. Patrol work for the maintenance and management of public infrastructure such as water pipe facilities can also be restricted by seasons and climates, such as snowfall, the rainy season or prolonged rainy seasons.

For this reason, it is necessary to efficiently inspect water pipe facilities that are spread over a wide area and long distances in a short period of time.

In light of this situation, the inventors conducted extensive research and experimentation to address the above-mentioned issues. They discovered that, while conventionally, patrolling facilities such as water pipes and electric wires required a great deal of time and manpower, in order to resolve this situation, they focused on the fact that, because water pipes, electric wires, and other facilities are arranged in a straight line along public roads, it is possible to get a broad overview of the condition of the facilities by moving along the road. Based on the inspector's position information, a predetermined area around the inspector's position is set as a patrol determination area, and the presence of one end and the other end of the facility is confirmed within the patrol determination area, thereby resulting in the invention that enables efficient patrol of facilities such as water pipes and electric wires.

The present invention aims to provide a public road facility inspection system that can efficiently inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires that are arranged in a straight line along a public road by, for example, calculating the location information of a patrol officer using an RTK positioning system that can acquire highly accurate location information as a location information calculation means, setting a patrol judgment area using the calculated location information of the patrol officer, and determining whether the location information of the facility is present within the patrol judgment area.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the public road facility inspection system of the present invention is a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities that are arranged along a public road and that are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above, and includes: a position information calculation means that can calculate the position of a patrol officer as patrol officer position information at predetermined time intervals; an equipment position information database that stores the positions of one end and the other end of the facilities as equipment position information consisting of a pair of one end position and the other end position; a patrol judgment area setting unit that sets a predetermined area around the position of the patrol officer as a patrol judgment area based on the patrol officer position information; and a patrol judgment unit that checks whether the one end position and/or the other end position is located within the patrol judgment area, and if the one end position and the other end position are located within one of the patrol judgment areas, the patrol judgment unit The inspection of the equipment is determined to have met the inspection requirements and completed if the one end position is located within the inspection judgment area and the other end position is located within another inspection judgment area that partially overlaps with the one inspection judgment area; if the one end position is located within one inspection judgment area and the other end position is located within yet another inspection judgment area that partially overlaps with the one inspection judgment area; or if the one end position is located within one inspection judgment area and the other end position is located within another inspection judgment area and there are multiple yet other inspection judgment areas that partially overlap with adjacent inspection judgment areas between the one inspection judgment area and the other inspection judgment area.

The patrol judgment area setting unit of the present invention determines the direction of horizontal movement from the previous patrol position information, which is consecutive in time series with respect to one of the patrol position information, to the one of the patrol position information as a direction of travel, and determines the predetermined distance in the travel direction from the other patrol position information in the patrol's direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right from the other patrol position information at a 90-degree right angle with respect to the patrol's direction of travel, and the predetermined distance to the left from the other patrol position information at a 90-degree left angle with respect to the patrol's direction of travel. With regard to the predetermined distance in the direction, a line perpendicular to the direction of travel and spaced a predetermined distance in the direction of travel from the other patrol person position information is defined as the first side; a line parallel to the direction of travel and spaced a predetermined distance to the right from the other patrol person position information is defined as the second side; a line parallel to the direction of travel and spaced a predetermined distance to the left from the other patrol person position information is defined as the third side; and a line perpendicular to the direction of travel from the other patrol person position information is defined as the fourth side, and an area surrounded by at least the first side, second side, third side, and fourth side is set as the patrol determination area; and the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right, and the predetermined distance to the left are set according to the means of transportation and/or travel speed of the patrol person.

Furthermore, when the means of transportation of the present invention is an automobile, the patrol officer is seated in the passenger seat, and the predetermined distance to the right is set to a constant value that is shorter than the predetermined distance to the left, regardless of the speed of the automobile.

Furthermore, when the transportation means of the present invention is a motor vehicle, the speed of horizontal movement from the previous patrol position information that is chronologically consecutive to one of the patrol position information to the one of the patrol position information is defined as the travel speed, and the travel speed comprises a first speed band consisting of a stopped state and a speed close to a stopped state, a second speed band that is a higher speed that continues from the first speed band, a third speed band that is a higher speed that continues from the second speed band, a fourth speed band that is a higher speed that continues from the third speed band, and a fifth speed band that is a higher speed that continues from the fourth speed band, and in the second speed band The predetermined leftward distance in the first speed band is longer than the predetermined leftward distance in the first speed band, the predetermined leftward distance in the third speed band is shorter than the predetermined leftward distance in the second speed band, the predetermined leftward distance in the fourth speed band is shorter than the predetermined leftward distance in the third speed band, and the predetermined traveling direction distance in the fourth speed band is longer than the predetermined traveling direction distance in the third speed band, and the predetermined traveling direction distance in the fifth speed band is longer than the predetermined traveling direction distance in the fourth speed band.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the predetermined time interval and/or the predetermined distance in the traveling direction for each of the speed zones is set so that, when transitioning to adjacent speed zones, one of the patrol officer position information falls within the patrol judgment area related to the previous patrol officer position information that is chronologically consecutive to the one of the patrol officer position information.

Furthermore, when the means of transportation of the present invention is walking, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right, and the predetermined distance to the left are set to a constant value regardless of the travel speed.

Furthermore, when the means of transportation of the present invention is walking, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel is set shorter, and the predetermined distance to the right and the predetermined distance to the left are set longer than when the means of transportation is an automobile.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when the one end position is located within one of the inspection judgment areas and the other end position is located within another of the inspection judgment areas that partially overlaps with the one of the inspection judgment areas, when the one end position is located within the one of the inspection judgment areas and the other end position is located within another of the inspection judgment areas that partially overlaps with the one of the inspection judgment areas, or when the one end position is located within the one of the inspection judgment areas and the other end position is located within the other of the inspection judgment areas and there are multiple other of the inspection judgment areas that partially overlap with adjacent inspection judgment areas between the one of the inspection judgment areas and the other of the inspection judgment areas, the inspection is determined to be complete if the inspection judgment requirements for the inspection judgment areas that make up the inspection judgment requirements are met within a predetermined time from the inspection time of the first inspection judgment area.

Furthermore, the equipment of the present invention is characterized in that it is a water pipe or an electric wire.

This invention makes it possible to efficiently inspect water pipes that are laid over wide areas and long distances along public roads.

In other words, in the past, inspecting facilities such as water pipes and electric wires required a great deal of time and a large number of personnel, but because facilities such as water pipes and electric wires are arranged in a straight line along public roads, moving along the roads allows for a wide view of the condition of the facilities, making it possible to inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires efficiently.

In addition, according to the present invention, the direction of travel is determined based on the patrol officer's position information, and a predetermined area around the patrol officer's position is set as the patrol judgment area.The patrol judgment area can be varied depending on the means of transportation and travel speed, making it possible to patrol public road facilities in a manner suitable for patrol by car, on foot, etc.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the means of transportation is a car, it is possible to classify the patrolman's travel speed into speed ranges and set a patrol judgment area according to each speed range, thereby enabling patrol of public road facilities that is suited to the car's travel speed.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, if one end of a piece of equipment is located within a patrol judgment area, and then a subsequent patrol is conducted within a specified time period and the other end of the equipment is located within a patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the previous patrol judgment area, the inspection of the equipment can be completed, eliminating the need to patrol the same equipment again from the beginning, thereby enabling efficient equipment inspections.

1 is a diagram showing an overview of the configuration of a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities arranged in a straight line along a public road. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an RTK positioning and mobile terminal as a position information calculation means in the public road facility patrol system shown in FIG. 1. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a facility management server in the public road facility inspection system shown in FIG. 1. 10 is a diagram illustrating an inspection determination area set by an inspection determination area setting unit. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a predetermined distance in the forward direction, a predetermined distance to the right, and a predetermined distance to the left of the patrol determination area in the patrol person's means of transportation. 10 is a diagram showing the setting of an inspection judgment area from an inspection position during equipment inspection, and the position of equipment within the inspection judgment area. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the presence of equipment points within an inspection determination area is processed and an inspection completion determination is made. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the determination of the completion of inspection of the same equipment at different inspection times. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing water pipes arranged in a U-shape. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of creating an inspection determination area from the position of an inspector and processing the inspection determination of equipment. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for creating an inspection determination area. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of inspection determination processing.

The following describes an embodiment of the public road facility inspection system according to the present invention, with reference to the drawings. The present invention is a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities arranged in a straight line along a public road. It sets a predetermined area around the inspector's position as a patrol judgment area based on the inspector's position information obtained by RTK positioning, and determines whether the inspection of the facility has been completed by confirming whether one end and the other end of the facility are located within the patrol judgment area. This makes it possible to efficiently patrol facilities along public roads in a short amount of time.

The facilities to be inspected by the public road facility inspection system of the present invention include underground water pipes and electric wires installed between utility poles that are located along the public road and are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above.

[Configuration of public road facility patrol system]
First, a public road facility inspection system for inspecting facilities arranged linearly along a public road will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the overview of the configuration of a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities arranged in a straight line along a public road using patrol personnel's position information obtained by RTK positioning. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of RTK positioning and a mobile terminal as position information calculation means in the public road facility inspection system shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a facility management server in the public road facility inspection system shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the public road facility inspection system 1 includes a GNSS 3, a GNSS receiver 10, an RTK reference station 5, a mobile terminal 20, and a facility management server 38.

The GNSS 3 in the public road facility patrol system 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a satellite positioning system such as the QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) or GPS, and radio signals for positioning are transmitted from satellites. Quasi-Zenith satellites such as "Michibiki" can be used as satellites in the GNSS 3.

Radio signals from GNSS3 can be received by GNSS receiver 10. For example, as shown in Figure 1, if the means of transport used for patrol is an automobile 80, the GNSS receiver 10 is attached to the automobile 80 in which the patrol officer 82 rides. Alternatively, the patrol officer 82 riding in the automobile can carry the GNSS receiver 10. If the means of transport used for patrol is on foot, the patrol officer 82 carries the GNSS receiver 10. The GNSS receiver 10 converts the radio signals received from GNSS3 into latitude and longitude data.

The RTK reference station 5 in the public road facility patrol system 1 is fixedly installed on the ground and receives positioning radio signals from GNSS3 satellites. The difference between the position information determined using the received radio signals and the predetermined absolute position information of the RTK reference station 5 is calculated as the error at the RTK reference station 5, and this is transmitted along with the absolute position information of the RTK reference station 5. Since the positioning error appears similar to that of the RTK reference station 5 in the vicinity (surrounding area) of the RTK reference station 5, the positioning error at the GNSS receiver 10 located around the RTK reference station 5 can be corrected using the error at the RTK reference station 5. Correction data (RTK correction data) from the RTK reference station 5 can be obtained from a correction data distribution server (not shown) via a mobile network (Internet) 17.

The GNSS receiver 10 calculates the position of the patrol officer 82 using latitude and longitude data from the GNSS 3 and RTK correction data from the correction data distribution server. The GNSS receiver 10 outputs the calculated position as latitude and longitude positioning data to the mobile terminal 20 carried by the patrol officer 82.

The equipment management server 38 shown in Figure 1 includes a patrol management server 40, a map display management server 50, and an equipment database (DB) 60.

The inspection management server 40 acquires the location information of the mobile terminal 20 via the Internet 17 and sequentially stores the location information of the inspector 82 in the memory unit 48 (shown in Figure 3). It also uses the location information of the inspector 82 to refer to the equipment database 60, which stores equipment location information, to perform processes such as determining whether the equipment inspection has been completed. The inspection management server 40 also accepts various processing requests from the manager terminal 70 and outputs processed data to the manager terminal 70. As shown in Figure 1, the manager terminal 70 is composed of a fixed terminal 71 with a fixed installation location and a mobile terminal 72 that can be moved.

The map display management server 50 reads the map stored in the map data 64 of the equipment database 60 and performs display processing on the map to show the trajectory of the inspector 82, the inspection results, etc.

[Configuration of position information calculation means]
Next, the configuration of the location information calculation means and the facility management server in the public road facility inspection system 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in Figure 2, the position information calculation means that calculates the position of the patrol officer 82 as patrol officer position information at predetermined time intervals is composed of a GNSS 3, a GNSS receiver 10, an RTK reference station 5, and a mobile terminal 20.

GNSS3 is a satellite positioning system, similar to QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) and GPS, in which radio signals for positioning are transmitted from satellites.

As shown in FIG. 2, the GNSS receiver 10 in the public road facility patrol system 1 includes a receiving antenna 12 that receives positioning radio signals from GNSS 3 satellites, a GNSS receiver unit 11 that generates position data from the radio signals received by the receiving antenna 12, a communication unit 16 that acquires RTK correction data from the RTK reference station 5 via a mobile network (Internet) 17 and outputs it to the RTK calculation unit 13, an RTK calculation unit 13 that corrects the position data by performing calculations on the position data from the GNSS receiver unit 11 and the RTK correction data from the RTK reference station 5 and outputs the corrected position data as positioning data, and a radio 14 that outputs the positioning data of the GNSS receiver 10 processed by the RTK calculation unit 13 from an antenna 15. The radio 14 communicates with a mobile terminal 20 and outputs the positioning data of the GNSS receiver 10 to the mobile terminal 20.

In this way, in order to obtain highly accurate position information, the public road facility patrol system 1 of the present invention can use RTK correction data for the absolute position information of the RTK reference station 5 in addition to position data measured using radio signals received from GNSS3 satellites. Although the public road facility patrol system 1 can use only position data from GNSS3, using RTK correction data allows for highly accurate position information to be obtained, so using RTK correction data is the best embodiment for the public road facility patrol system 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 20 in the public road facility patrol system 1 is, for example, a tablet terminal, and includes a receiving antenna 22 and radio 21 that receive positioning data from the GNSS receiver 10, a network communication unit 34 that connects to the Internet 17 and handles data input and output, a control processing unit 24 that includes a location information processing unit 25 and a patrol condition setting unit 29, etc., a memory unit 30 that stores various data, etc., and a map image data unit 31 that stores maps of patrol routes, etc. The mobile terminal 20 also includes a display unit 33 that displays map data and operation menus for roads, etc., for patrolling facilities located along public roads, and an operation unit 32 that allows the patrol operator 82, etc., to set patrol conditions and perform various input operations.

The position information processing unit 25 has a positioning data processing unit 26, a patrol information processing unit 27, and a position display processing unit 28. The control processing unit 24 of the mobile terminal 20 processes the positioning data from the GNSS receiver 10 received by the radio 21 via the receiving antenna 22 in the positioning data processing unit 26 of the position information processing unit 25. Note that the positioning data is data received from the GNSS receiver 10 at predetermined time intervals.

The positioning data processed by the positioning data processing unit 26 is position data consisting of corrected latitude and longitude of the GNSS receiver 10. The corrected position data is stored in the memory unit 30 by the positioning data processing unit 26 as position information for the patrol officer 82 together with the date and time, and is also output from the network communication unit 34 via the Internet 17 to the patrol management server 40 of the external facility management server 38 as position information for the patrol officer 82.

If an abnormality or other problem is found in equipment during a patrol, the patrol information processing unit 27 records the equipment location, date and time, abnormality status, etc. entered by the patrol officer 82 in the memory unit 30. The position display processing unit 28 plots the location information from the positioning data processing unit 26 stored in the memory unit 30 as a movement trajectory on a map of the patrol area stored in the map image data unit 31, and displays the plotted movement trajectory on the display unit 33.

The control processing unit 24 also has a patrol condition setting unit 29 that sets the conditions for patrol input via the operation unit 32. The patrol operator 82 can use the operation unit 32 of the mobile terminal 20 to perform operations such as setting the means of transportation, starting and ending patrol, and recording any abnormal conditions during patrol.

The control processing unit 24 has a built-in CPU and executes programs stored in the memory unit 30 to perform various processes related to location information, and also controls the map image data unit 31, display unit 33, and operation unit 32.

[Configuration of equipment management server]
3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the facility management server 38 in the public road facility inspection system 1 shown in FIG. The following description will be given using an example of the facility being the inspection of a water pipe installed along a road. As shown in FIG. 3, the facility management server 38 includes a patrol management server 40, a map display management server 50, and a facility database 60, all of which are connected via a network 66. The facility management server 38 is also configured to be connectable to a mobile terminal 20 and an administrator terminal 70 via the Internet 17.

The inspection management server 40 includes a control processing unit 41 and a memory unit 48 that stores inspection result information 69.

The control processing unit 41 has a patrol judgment area setting unit 42 that creates and sets a patrol judgment area based on the position information of the patrol person 82, a patrol judgment unit 43 that determines whether equipment is present within the patrol judgment area, a patrol condition setting unit 44 that sets the conditions for patrol, a mobile terminal communication processing unit 46 that communicates with the mobile terminal 20 to receive data, etc., and an administrator terminal processing unit 47 that communicates with the administrator terminal 70 to receive commands and send processing data, etc. The control processing unit 41 also has a built-in CPU and executes programs stored in the memory unit 48 to perform various processes.

The map display management server 50 of the facility management server 38 has a facility data processing unit 51, a patrol trajectory mapping processing unit 52, a layer display processing unit 53, and a map display processing unit 54.

The equipment data processing unit 51 displays the location of equipment on a map, and by specifying equipment, displays the attributes of that equipment. The inspection trajectory mapping processing unit 52 displays the inspection trajectory on a map. The layer display processing unit 53 displays the specified equipment hierarchically on multiple maps. The map display processing unit 54 reads the specified map from the map data 64 in the equipment database 60 and displays it.

The equipment database 60 of the equipment management server 38 stores various data, including equipment information data 61, inspection trajectory data 62, inspection result data 63, and map data 64.

The equipment information data 61 records information about the equipment, such as the name of the equipment, its attributes, its location, the year the equipment was installed, and the history of the installer. The patrol track data 62 records location information data obtained from the mobile terminal 20 of the inspector 82. The patrol result data 63 records the results of the equipment patrol assessment processed by the patrol management server 40. The map data 64 stores a map of the area where the equipment is installed, a topographical map related to the equipment, etc.

In the example shown, the equipment management server 38 is configured with a patrol management server 40, a map display management server 50, and an equipment database 60, but it is not limited to this configuration. For example, the patrol management server 40 and the map display management server 50 may be configured as an integrated unit. Furthermore, the functions of the map display management server 50 and the equipment database 60 are not limited to those described above, and they can be configured to have optimal functions as appropriate.

[Creating inspection areas]
The inspection determination area will be described below with reference to Figures 4 and 5. The inspection determination area setting unit 42 of the inspection management server 40 sets a predetermined area around the position of the inspector 82 as the inspection determination area based on the position information of the inspector 82.

The patrol management server 40 receives position information of the patrol person 82 obtained at predetermined time intervals from the mobile terminal 20 via the Internet 17. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the patrol judgment area set by the patrol judgment area setting unit 42. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right, and the predetermined distance to the left of the patrol judgment area for each speed range from the first speed range to the fifth speed range.

Based on the position information from the mobile terminal 20, the patrol determination area setting unit 42 first sets the distances that the patrol officer 82 can patrol in three directions (forward, to the right, and to the left) relative to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82: a predetermined distance in the direction of travel as the distance that can be patrolled forward, a predetermined distance to the right as the distance that can be patrolled on the right, and a predetermined distance to the left as the distance that can be patrolled on the left.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the patrol determination area setting unit 42 determines the horizontal movement direction (md shown in FIG. 4(a)) from the previous patrol position information P1, which is consecutive in time series, to the current patrol position information P2 acquired by the mobile terminal 20, and sets the movement direction as the traveling direction of the patrol person 82.

As shown in Figure 4(b), a predetermined forward distance Lf is set as a predetermined distance in the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 from the previous patrol officer position information P1, a predetermined rightward distance Lm is set as a predetermined distance 90 degrees to the right of the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 from the previous patrol officer position information P1, and a predetermined leftward distance Lh is set as a predetermined distance 90 degrees to the left of the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 from the previous patrol officer position information P1.

As shown in Figure 4(c), with respect to a predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left, the line perpendicular to the direction of travel from the previous patrol officer position information P1 by the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 is defined as the first side H1, the line parallel to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 by the predetermined distance Lm to the right from the previous patrol officer position information P1 is defined as the second side H2, the line parallel to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 by the predetermined distance Lh to the left from the previous patrol officer position information P1 is defined as the third side H3, and the line perpendicular to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 from the previous patrol officer position information P1 is defined as the fourth side H4.

As shown in Figure 4(d), the position coordinates of the four intersections with each side (shown as white circles in Figure 4(d)) are calculated, and a rectangular area with a horizontal dimension of (Lm + Lh) and a vertical dimension of (Lf) enclosed by the first side H1, second side H2, third side H3, and fourth side H4 is set as the inspection determination area A. Note that the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are set according to the means of transportation and travel speed of the patrol officer 82.

[Regarding the specified distance of the inspection area]
Next, we will explain in detail the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left, which are set according to the travel speed of the transportation means of the patrol officer 82. Examples of the form of transportation include when the patrol officer 82 patrols as a passenger in a car, when the patrol officer 82 patrols on foot, or when the patrol officer 82 patrols by bicycle.

The movement speed of the patrolman 82 is calculated by determining the distance traveled by the patrolman 82 within a specified time period from the position information of the patrolman 82 obtained at specified time intervals and the previous position information of the patrolman 82 that is consecutive in time series, and then dividing the determined distance by the specified time period.

If the means of transportation is a car, five speed zones, from speed zone 1 to speed zone 5 shown below, are set in advance, and it is determined which speed zone the calculated movement speed of the patrol officer 82 falls into. The speed zones, from speed zone 1 to speed zone 5, are shown below.

That is, each speed band consists of a first speed band v1 consisting of a stopped state and near-stop state speeds; a second speed band v2 that is a higher speed band contiguous with the first speed band; a third speed band v3 that is a higher speed band contiguous with the second speed band; a fourth speed band v4 that is a higher speed band contiguous with the third speed band; and a fifth speed band v5 that is a higher speed band contiguous with the fourth speed band. For example, the first speed band v1 is from 0 km/h to less than 10 km/h; the second speed band v2 is from 10 km/h to less than 20 km/h; the third speed band v3 is from 20 km/h to less than 30 km/h; the fourth speed band v4 is from 30 km/h to less than 50 km/h; and the fifth speed band v5 is 50 km/h or higher. In this way, each speed band means a speed band with a range of speeds per hour.

Furthermore, when the means of transportation is an automobile 80, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are set according to the speed range. This point is explained below using Figure 5.

[Example of predetermined distance of inspection determination area]
5A to 5D are diagrams showing examples of the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction of the patrol determination area for the patrol vehicle. Figures 5A to 5D show examples of the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction of the patrol determination area for each of the first to fifth speed ranges.

As shown in Figure 5(a), for example, in the first speed zone v1, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 20 m. Also, as shown in Figure 5(b), in the second speed zone v2, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 40 m. As shown in Figure 5(a), in the third speed zone v3, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 20 m. As shown in Figure 5(c), in the fourth speed zone v4, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 30 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 10 m. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5(d), the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel in the fifth speed range v5 is set to 40 m, the predetermined distance Lm to the right is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left is set to 10 m.

That is, the patrol officer 82 is positioned in the passenger seat of the automobile 80, and the predetermined distance to the right Lm is set to a constant value that is shorter than the predetermined distance to the left Lh, regardless of the speed at which the automobile 80 is moving. This is because the area to the left is easy to see and has good visibility from the passenger seat position, so the patrolable distance to the left can be set long, but visibility to the right area is somewhat limited, so the patrolable distance to the right is shorter.

The predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in each speed zone from the first speed zone v1 to the fifth speed zone v5 are set as follows: The predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in the second speed zone v2 is longer than the predetermined distance Lh in the first speed zone v1, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in the third speed zone v3 is shorter than the predetermined distance Lh in the second speed zone v2. The predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in the fourth speed zone v4 is shorter than the predetermined distance Lh in the third speed zone v3, and the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel in the fourth speed zone v4 is set longer than the predetermined distance Lf in the third speed zone v3, and the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel in the fifth speed zone v5 is set longer than the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel in the fourth speed zone v4.

Furthermore, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel for each speed zone is set so that, when transitioning to an adjacent speed zone, the current patrol officer position information falls within the patrol judgment area related to the previous patrol officer position information that is chronologically consecutive to the current patrol officer position information. The predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set so that the distance from the current patrol officer position information to the first side H1 of the patrol judgment area shown in Figure 4(c) is, for example, at least approximately 4 meters. Furthermore, like the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined time interval for calculating the position information of the patrol officer 82 is also set so that the current patrol officer position information falls within the patrol judgment area related to the previous patrol officer position information.

In this case, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel Lf, the predetermined distance in the right direction Lm, and the predetermined distance in the left direction Lh are the same for the first speed zone v1 and the third speed zone v3. Furthermore, the predetermined distance in the left direction Lh for the first speed zone v1 is shorter than the predetermined distance in the left direction Lh for the second speed zone v2, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel Lf for the first speed zone v1 and the second speed zone v2 are the same, and the inspection determination area for the first speed zone v1 is narrower than the inspection determination area for the second speed zone v2. This is because when patrolling the first speed zone v1, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel Lf is shorter due to the slower travel speed and shorter travel distance, and because patrols are affected by traffic conditions due to the lack of time to look around due to waiting at traffic lights while stopped, etc.

Note that the values of the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are merely examples and are not limited to these and may be other values.

In this way, the patrol judgment area setting unit 42 selects one of five speed zones, from the first speed zone to the fifth speed zone, based on the calculated vehicle travel speed, and sets the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction and the predetermined distance Lh to the left according to the vehicle travel speed.

Figure 5(e) shows an example of the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction when the mode of transportation is walking. As shown in Figure 5(e), when the mode of transportation is walking, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction is 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is 20 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is 20 m. When walking, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction are set to constant values regardless of the travel speed.

Furthermore, when patrolling on foot, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel Lf is set shorter, and the predetermined distance to the right Lm and the predetermined distance to the left Lh are set longer, compared to when the means of transportation is an automobile. This is because when patrolling on foot, the movement speed is slow, and the patrol person 82 can see far to the left and right by moving their head from side to side, so the distance that can be patrolled on the left and right can be set longer.

[Positional relationship between inspection area and equipment]
Next, the relationship between the setting of an inspection judgment area from the inspection position and the position of the equipment within the inspection judgment area when inspecting equipment arranged in a line will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the setting of an inspection judgment area from the inspection position when inspecting equipment, and the position of the equipment within the inspection judgment area.

In addition, information regarding the equipment to be inspected is assumed to be stored in advance in equipment information data 61 (shown in Figure 3) in equipment database 60 (shown in Figure 3) as equipment position information consisting of a pair of one-end and other-end positions for each of the positions of one end and the other end of the equipment. The positions of each of the one end and the other end of the equipment are stored in equipment information data 61 in the form of a geographic coordinate system of latitude and longitude, for example.

In the following explanation, the location of equipment is indicated by a point, and is referred to as an equipment point. Equipment points have latitude and longitude information indicating their location, as well as equipment attributes. Equipment points are divided into four types: stand-alone, start point, intermediate point, and end point. Equipment is classified into stand-alone equipment such as fire hydrants and valves, and pipeline equipment such as distribution pipes and water supply pipes. Stand-alone equipment has a stand-alone equipment point, while pipeline equipment has start and end equipment points, and may also have intermediate equipment points. Pipeline equipment targets are indicated by an equipment point and a line connecting two equipment points. As a result, for equipment stored in equipment information data 61, one end of the equipment can be the start point, and the other end of the equipment can be the end point.

As shown in Figure 6, first, a moving direction md1 from the previous observer position information P1 calculated at a predetermined time interval to the current observer position information P2, and a moving vector of the moving speed vs1 between the observer position information P1 and the observer position information P2 are calculated. A speed zone v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated moving speed vs1. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the moving direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P1 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A1 is created.

Next, the patrol determination unit 43 of the patrol management server 40 checks whether equipment point s1, for example, the starting point of equipment S, is located within the created patrol determination area A1. In the example shown in Figure 6, equipment point s1, the starting point of equipment S, is located within the patrol determination area A1. Similarly, the movement direction md2 from the patrol officer position information P2 to the patrol officer position information P3, calculated at a predetermined time interval, and the movement speed vs2 between the patrol officer position information P2 and the patrol officer position information P3 are calculated. One of the speed zones v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated movement speed vs2. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the patrol officer position information P2 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A2 is created.

Next, the inspection determination unit 43 checks whether equipment point s2, which is, for example, the end point of equipment S, and equipment point t1, which is, for example, the start point of equipment T, exist within the created inspection determination area A2. In the example shown in Figure 6, equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, and equipment point t1, which is the start point of equipment T, exist within the patrol determination area A2.

As a result, equipment point s1, which is the starting point of equipment S, is located within inspection judgment area A1, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, is located within inspection judgment area A2, which partially overlaps with patrol judgment area A1.Since the starting point and end point of equipment S are located within the inspection judgment areas, it is determined that the inspection of equipment S has been completed.

The end point of equipment S and the start point of equipment T are located in the same place because, for example, equipment S and equipment T are pipes, and this location is the joint between equipment S and equipment T. Also, in Figure 6, the overlap area B12 between the patrol determination area A1 and another patrol determination area A2, which partially overlaps the area, is shown with diagonal lines.

In this way, the patrol determination area (A1 shown in Figure 6) related to the previous patrol officer position information (P1 shown in Figure 6) that is chronologically consecutive to the current patrol officer position information (P2 shown in Figure 6) and the patrol determination area (A2 shown in Figure 6) related to the current patrol officer position information (P2 shown in Figure 6) that is chronologically consecutive to the next patrol officer position information (P3 shown in Figure 6) have an overlapping area (B12 shown in Figure 6).

Similarly, the direction of movement md3 from the observer position information P3 to the observer position information P4, calculated at a predetermined time interval, and the travel vector of the travel speed vs3 between the observer position information P3 and the observer position information P4, are calculated. A speed zone v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated travel speed vs3. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the travel direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P3 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A3 is created.

Next, the inspection determination unit 43 checks whether, for example, equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, exists within the created inspection determination area A3. In the example shown in Figure 6, equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, does not exist within the inspection determination area A3. Figure 6 also shows an overlapping area B23 between the inspection determination area A2 and the inspection determination area A3.

Similarly, the direction of movement md4 from the observer position information P4 to the observer position information P5, calculated at a predetermined time interval, and the travel vector of the travel speed vs4 between the observer position information P4 and the observer position information P5 are calculated. A speed zone from v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated travel speed vs4. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the travel direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P4 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A4 is created. Figure 6 also shows the overlap area B34 between the patrol determination area A3 and the patrol determination area A4.

Next, the inspection determination unit 43 checks whether equipment point t2, for example, the end point of equipment T, is located within the created inspection determination area A4. In the example shown in Figure 6, equipment point t2, the end point of equipment T, is located within the inspection determination area A4. As a result, equipment point t1, the start point of equipment T, is located within the inspection determination area A2, and equipment point t2, the end point of equipment T, is located within the patrol determination area A4, which partially overlaps with the patrol determination area A3. Since the start point t1 and end point t2 of equipment T are located within the patrol determination area, it is determined that the inspection of equipment T has been completed.

[Processing of equipment points within the inspection area]
Next, the process of checking whether there is an equipment point for equipment within an inspection judgment area for equipment inspection will be described with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is a diagram showing the state in which the presence of equipment points for equipment within an inspection judgment area is processed and an inspection completion judgment is made. Note that the arrows from the inspector position information shown in Figure 7 indicate a progress vector. Assuming that the inspection judgment requirements are met, the equipment inspection is judged to be complete in the following four cases:

In the first case, as shown in Figure 7(a), a patrol judgment area A1 is created from patrol officer position information P1 by moving from patrol officer position information P1 to patrol officer position information P2, and within the patrol judgment area A1, there exists equipment point s1, which is the start point of equipment S, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S. In this way, when the start point and end point of equipment S exist within the same patrol judgment area, it is determined that the patrol judgment requirements are met and the inspection of equipment S has been completed.

In the second case, as shown in Figure 7(b), when observer position information P1 moves to observer position information P2, an inspection judgment area A1 is created from observer position information P1, and equipment point s1, the starting point of equipment S, is located within the inspection judgment area A1. Next, when observer position information P2 moves to observer position information P3, an inspection judgment area A2 is created from observer position information P2, and equipment point s2, the ending point of equipment S, is located within the inspection judgment area A2. In this way, when the starting point of equipment S is located within the inspection judgment area A1 and the ending point of equipment S is located within the patrol judgment area A2, which partially overlaps with the patrol judgment area A1, it is determined that the inspection judgment requirements are met and the inspection of equipment S has been completed. Note that Figure 7(b) shows the overlapping area B12 between the patrol judgment area A1 and the patrol judgment area A2.

7(c), in the third case, a patrol judgment area A1 is created from the patrol person position information P1 by moving from the patrol person position information P1 to the patrol person position information P2, and within the patrol judgment area A1, there is an equipment point s1, which is the start point of the equipment S. Next, a patrol judgment area A2 is created from the patrol person position information P2 by moving from the patrol person position information P2 to the patrol person position information P3, and there is no equipment point s2, which is the end point of the equipment S, within the patrol judgment area A2.
Next, by moving from the observer position information P3 to the observer position information P4, a patrol judgment area A3 is created from the observer position information P3, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, is located within the patrol judgment area A3.

In this way, the starting point of equipment S is located within inspection judgment area A1, the end point of equipment S is not located within inspection judgment area A2, which partially overlaps with inspection judgment area A1, and the end point of equipment S is located within inspection judgment area A3, which partially overlaps with inspection judgment area A2. In such a case, it is determined that the inspection requirements are met and the inspection of equipment S has been completed. Figure 7(c) shows the overlapping area B12 between inspection judgment area A1 and patrol judgment area A2, and the overlapping area B23 between inspection judgment area A2 and patrol judgment area A3.

In the fourth case, as shown in Figure 7(d), when the observer moves from the observer position information P1 to the observer position information P2, a patrol judgment area A1 is created from the observer position information P1, and equipment point s1, the start point of equipment S, is located within the patrol judgment area A1. Next, when the observer moves from the patrol position information P2 to the patrol position information P3, a patrol judgment area A2 is created from the patrol position information P2, and equipment point s2, the end point of equipment S, is not located within the patrol judgment area A2. Next, when the observer moves from the patrol position information P3 to the patrol position information P4, a patrol judgment area A3 is created from the patrol position information P3, and equipment point s2, the end point of equipment S, is not located within the patrol judgment area A3. Next, by moving from observer position information P4 to observer position information P5, an inspection judgment area A4 is created from observer position information P4, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, is located within the patrol judgment area A4.

In this way, if the starting point of equipment S is within inspection judgment area A1, the end point of equipment S is not within inspection judgment area A2, which partially overlaps with inspection judgment area A1, and the end point of equipment S is not within inspection judgment area A3, which partially overlaps with inspection judgment area A2, and the end point of equipment S is within inspection judgment area A4, which partially overlaps with inspection judgment area A3, then the inspection requirements are met and it is determined that the inspection of equipment S has been completed. Figure 7(d) shows the overlapping area B12 between inspection judgment area A1 and inspection judgment area A2, the overlapping area B23 between inspection judgment area A2 and patrol judgment area A3, and the overlapping area B34 between inspection judgment area A3 and patrol judgment area A4.

[Inspection of facilities at different times]
Next, the determination of the completion of inspection of the same equipment at different inspection times by the inspection determination unit 43 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the determination of the completion of inspection of the same equipment at different inspection times.

As shown in Figure 8, water pipe K1 is located on road 84 shown on the right side of the drawing, and water pipe K2 is located on road 84 shown on the left side of the drawing. Furthermore, water pipe K3 is located on road 84 connecting the two roads, and water pipe K3 is connected to water pipes K1 and K2 on both roads. When water pipe K3 is located in such a location, part of water pipe K3 is located within patrol judgment area A1 during an inspection of water pipe K1, and part of water pipe K3 is located within patrol judgment area A2 during an inspection of water pipe K2, which is inspected on a different day or time.

In such cases, the inspection determination unit 43 determines that the inspection of the equipment is complete if one end position (for example, equipment point j1, which is the starting point of the equipment, water pipe K3) is located within the inspection determination area A1, the other end position (for example, equipment point j2, which is the end point of the equipment, water pipe K3) is located within another inspection determination area A2 that partially overlaps with the patrol determination area A1 and was inspected within a predetermined time from the inspection time for the patrol determination area A1. Figure 8 shows the overlapping area B12 between the patrol determination area A1 and the patrol determination area A2.

As a result, if one end of the equipment is located within the patrol judgment area, and the other end of the equipment is located within a patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the previous patrol judgment area after being inspected within a specified time, the equipment inspection can be completed. This eliminates the need to inspect the same equipment from the beginning again, making it possible to inspect equipment efficiently.

In this way, the inspection is determined to be complete if the inspection judgment requirements are met within a specified time from the inspection time of the first patrol judgment area in the inspection judgment areas that make up the inspection judgment requirements, such as when one end position is located within a patrol judgment area and the other end position is located in another patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the patrol judgment area, or when one end position is located within a patrol judgment area and the other end position is located in another patrol judgment area, and there are multiple other patrol judgment areas between one patrol judgment area and another patrol judgment area that partially overlap with adjacent patrol judgment areas.

For example, if the starting point of an equipment is within the first inspection judgment area, the ending point of the equipment is within the fifth inspection judgment area, and there are multiple other inspection judgment areas that partially overlap between the first and fifth inspection judgment areas, the existence of the equipment's ending point within the fifth inspection judgment area can be confirmed, and then, within a specified time from the inspection time of the fifth patrol judgment area, the starting point of the equipment can be confirmed in the first patrol judgment area from the fifth patrol judgment area via multiple other patrol judgment areas that partially overlap. This allows the inspection of the equipment to be completed.

In addition, inspections may begin not only from the first or fifth inspection judgment area, but also from the second or third inspection judgment area, which do not have a starting or ending point for the equipment. In this way, other inspection judgment areas that overlap the areas where one end of the equipment is located are inspected, and the inspection is determined to be complete, provided that the inspection judgment requirements are met within a specified time from the inspection time of the first inspection judgment area.

[Patrolling U-shaped facilities]
Next, we will explain the inspection of equipment such as a water pipe arranged in a U-shape. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a water pipe arranged in a U-shape. As shown in FIG. 9, a water pipe Ks (shown in solid lines) as an equipment installed along a road 84 branches off from a main water pipe Km (shown in dotted lines) and is arranged in a U-shape. As a result, the water pipe Ks is not arranged in a straight line from its starting point, equipment point Q1, to its ending point, equipment point Q4. For this reason, the water pipe Ks as an equipment is configured such that end points c1 and c2 are set as intermediate points between the starting point, equipment point Q1, and the ending point, equipment point Q4, and the positions of the end points c1 and c2 are registered in advance as intermediate points, equipment points Q2 and Q3. As a result, the lines from the starting point, equipment point Q1, to the intermediate point, equipment point Q2, from the intermediate point, equipment point Q2, to the intermediate point, equipment point Q3, and from the intermediate point, equipment point Q3, to the ending point, equipment point Q4, are all linear. When the equipment point Q1, which is the starting point, the equipment point Q2, which is the midpoint, the equipment point Q3, which is the midpoint, and the equipment point Q4, which is the end point, are present within the inspection judgment area during patrol, the water pipe Ks as equipment is judged to have completed inspection of the equipment.

This makes it possible to inspect equipment that is not arranged in a straight line between its start and end points, but is instead arranged in multiple straight lines. Furthermore, if the equipment is arranged in a curved rather than linear fashion, it is also possible to inspect the equipment by, for example, setting an intermediate point at the midpoint of the curve. Furthermore, if the equipment is arranged in a straight line and the distance between the start and end points of the equipment is long, it is also possible to set one or more intermediate points between the start and end points and inspect the equipment.

[Operation flow of the patrol system]
Next, the acquisition of location information of inspectors patrolling facilities in the public road facility inspection system 1, the creation of a patrol judgment area set based on the inspector location information, and the determination of whether a facility point is located within the patrol judgment area will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of Figures 10 to 12.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the creation of a patrol judgment area from the position of the inspector 82 and the operation of the equipment patrol judgment process. Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the process related to the creation of a patrol judgment area. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the patrol judgment process. First, with reference to Figure 10, we will explain the processing operation of sequentially obtaining the position of the inspector, creating a patrol judgment area, and determining whether the equipment is located within the patrol judgment area.

The work list shown in the flowcharts of Figures 10 and 12 is a list that records equipment points that have been determined to exist within the inspection assessment area. A new work list is created each time a patrol assessment area is created. Equipment points that have been processed in the patrol assessment process are deleted from the work list. The standby list is a list that records equipment points that existed within the patrol assessment area and for which either the start point or end point of a pair of equipment does not exist in the work list, and is recorded when a piece of equipment that meets the criteria is discovered. Equipment points that have been processed in the patrol assessment process are deleted from the standby list.

As shown in FIG. 10, first, the route of the facility to be inspected is confirmed (step S1). For example, map image data stored in the mobile terminal 20 is displayed on the display unit 33 to show the road on which the facility is located, and the inspection route is confirmed.

Next, the user sets the inspection type, inspection method, location data acquisition interval, etc. on the mobile terminal 20 (step S2). It is also possible to set the inspection type, inspection method, location data acquisition interval, etc. from the administrator terminal 70 via the inspection management server 40 instead of the mobile terminal 20. After completing the settings, the user moves to the patrol start position and begins patrolling the equipment (step S3).

The mobile terminal 20 receives positioning data from the GNSS receiver 10 at predetermined time intervals and acquires it as position data consisting of the latitude and longitude of the patrol officer 82 (step S4). At this time, the position data and the time the position data was acquired are stored in the memory unit 30 as position information. The mobile terminal 20 also outputs the position data and the position information, which is the time the position data was acquired, to the patrol management server 40 via the Internet 17 (step S5).

During patrol, the mobile terminal 20 sequentially transmits the acquired location information to the patrol management server 40 via the Internet 17. Instead of sequentially transmitting the information to the patrol management server 40, it is also possible to output all the location information from the mobile terminal 20 to the patrol management server 40 at once after the patrol is completed.

Next, the patrol management server 40 sequentially stores the location information from the mobile device 20 in the memory unit 48, and uses the location information stored in the memory unit 48 to create a patrol determination area and perform patrol determination processing. The patrol management server 40 first reads, into the memory unit 48, equipment location information containing equipment points consisting of the equipment's start point, end point, and (intermediate points) from the equipment information data 61 (step S6). Next, the patrol management server 40 defines the location information read from the memory unit 48 as the current (current) location data (step S7). It then checks whether chronologically consecutive previous location data has been acquired (step S8). If previous location data has not been acquired, the current (current) location data is redefined as the previous location data, and the process proceeds to step S4 (step S9). This is because, if previous location data is not available, a traveling direction vector consisting of the previous and current location data cannot be created. If previous location data has been acquired, the patrol management server 40 performs the patrol determination area creation process shown in Figure 11 (step S10).

[Process flow for creating inspection judgment areas]
As shown in Figure 11, the process of creating the patrol determination area first acquires the previous position data and the current position data, and creates a moving direction vector from the previous position data and the current position data (step S20). Next, the patrol movement method (means) is confirmed (step S21). If the patrol movement method is walking, the previously set predetermined distance in the moving direction, predetermined distance to the right, and predetermined distance to the left for walking are selected (step S22). Then, the process proceeds to step S25.

If the patrol vehicle is traveling by car, the vehicle speed (travel speed) is calculated from the traveling direction vector (step S23). The speed range is determined from the calculated vehicle speed. The predetermined distance in the traveling direction, the predetermined distance to the left, and the predetermined distance to the right, which are set in advance, are determined from the determined speed range (step S24).

The position coordinates of the four vertices are calculated from the previous position data, the direction of travel vector, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the left, and the predetermined distance to the right, and the patrol determination area is created (step S25). This completes the process of creating the patrol determination area.

Next, after creating the inspection judgment area, a check is made to see if any equipment points consisting of the start and end points of the equipment are located within the inspection judgment area, and the equipment points within the inspection judgment area are extracted and recorded in the work list (step S11). Next, a check is made to see if any equipment points have been recorded in the work list (step S12). If no equipment points have been recorded in the work list, the process proceeds to step S16. If any equipment points have been recorded in the work list, one equipment point is selected from the work list (step S13). After selecting one equipment point from the work list, the inspection judgment process shown in Figure 12 is performed (step S14).

[Patrol determination process flow]
12, the inspection determination process reads out a facility point selected from the work list (e.g., the starting point of the facility) (step S30), and checks whether the facility is a single facility (step S31). If the selected facility point is a single facility such as a fire hydrant, the facility point is deemed to have been inspected and the inspection completion determination process is performed (step S32). Then, the facility point is deleted from the work list (step S33).

Furthermore, if the equipment point selected in step S31 is not a single piece of equipment, the system checks whether there is an opposite equipment point (opposite equipment point, for example, the end point of the equipment) paired with the equipment point in the work list (step S34). If there is an opposite equipment point (opposite equipment point) paired with the equipment point in the same work list, the inspection judgment requirements are met, and the inspection of the equipment consisting of the equipment point and the opposite equipment point is considered to have been completed, and the inspection completion judgment process is performed (step S35). Furthermore, the equipment point in question and the opposite equipment point are deleted from the work list (step S36). The above process applies when the start point and end point of the equipment are located within the same inspection judgment area.

Furthermore, if there is no opposing equipment point (opposite equipment point) paired with the equipment point in the work list in step S34, the standby list is checked to see if there is an equipment point (opposite equipment point) that is opposing the equipment point and meets the inspection judgment requirements (step S37). If there is no opposing equipment point (opposite equipment point) to the equipment point in the standby list, the equipment point is registered on the standby list (step S42). Furthermore, the equipment point is deleted from the work list (step S43).

On the other hand, if there is an equipment point (opposite equipment point) on the waiting list opposite the equipment point in question that meets the inspection criteria in step S37, it is checked whether the acquisition date of the opposite equipment point is within the specified period (step S38). If the acquisition date of the opposite equipment point is outside the specified period, the opposite equipment point is deleted from the waiting list (step S41). Then, proceed to step S42.

If the acquisition date of the opposite equipment point is within the specified period, the inspection of the equipment consisting of that equipment point and the opposite equipment point is deemed to be completed, and the inspection determination process is performed (step S39). The equipment point is then removed from the work list, and the opposite equipment point is removed from the waiting list (step S40). The above process applies when the acquisition of the opposite equipment point for the equipment point is within the specified time, and the start and end points of the equipment are located in different inspection determination areas. This completes the inspection determination process.

As shown in FIG. 10, after the patrol determination process, the patrol management server 40 checks whether any equipment points are recorded in the work list (step S15). If any equipment points are recorded in the work list, the process proceeds to step S13. If no equipment points are recorded in the work list, the process checks whether newly acquired location information is stored in the location information stored in the memory unit 48 (step S16). If no newly acquired location information is available, the process terminates. If newly acquired location information is available, the current (current) location data is redefined as the previous location data (step S17). The newly acquired location information is also defined as the current (current) location data (step S18). The process then proceeds to step S10. This completes the creation of the patrol determination area from the position of the patrol operator 82 and the operation of the equipment patrol determination process.

The facilities to be inspected in the public road facility inspection system of the present invention are not limited to underground water pipes arranged in a straight line along the public road or electric wires laid between above-ground utility poles, but may also include other facilities, such as gas pipes buried underground. Furthermore, electric wires are not limited to power lines, but may also be communication lines (metal wires or fiber optic cables) or coaxial cables such as CATV.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to efficiently inspect water pipes that are laid over wide areas and long distances along public roads.

In other words, in the past, inspecting facilities such as water pipes and electric wires required a great deal of time and a large number of personnel, but because facilities such as water pipes and electric wires are arranged in a straight line along public roads, moving along the roads allows for a wide view of the condition of the facilities, making it possible to inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires efficiently.

In addition, according to the present invention, the direction of travel is determined based on the patrol officer's position information, and a predetermined area around the patrol officer's position is set as the patrol judgment area.The patrol judgment area can be varied depending on the means of transportation and travel speed, making it possible to patrol public road facilities in a manner suitable for patrol by car, on foot, etc.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the means of transportation is an automobile, it is possible to classify the patrolman's travel speed into various speed ranges and set a patrol judgment area according to each speed range, thereby enabling patrol of public road facilities that is suited to the automobile's travel speed.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, if one end of a piece of equipment is located within a patrol judgment area, and then a subsequent patrol is conducted within a specified time period and the other end of the equipment is located within a patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the previous patrol judgment area, the inspection of the equipment can be completed, eliminating the need to patrol the same equipment again from the beginning, thereby enabling efficient equipment inspections.

This invention can be embodied in numerous forms without departing from its essential characteristics. Therefore, it goes without saying that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Furthermore, the functional block diagrams shown in Figures 1 to 3 show the functional configuration of the public road facility patrol system 1 of the present invention, and do not limit the specific implementation form. In other words, it is not necessary to implement hardware corresponding to the functional blocks in the diagram, and it is of course possible to configure a system in which a single processor executes a program to realize the functions of multiple functional units. Furthermore, some of the functions realized by software in the embodiments may be realized by hardware, and furthermore, some of the functions realized by hardware may be realized by software.

1 Public road facility inspection system 3 GNSS
5 RTK reference station 10 GNSS receiver 11 GNSS receiving unit 12 Receiving antenna 13 RTK calculation unit 14 Radio 15 Antenna 16 Communication unit 17 Internet, mobile network 20 Mobile terminal (tablet terminal)
21 Radio
22 Receiving antenna 24 Control processing unit 25 Position information processing unit 26 Positioning data processing unit 27 Patrol information processing unit 28 Position display processing unit 29 Patrol condition setting unit 30 Memory unit 31 Map image data unit 32 Operation unit 33 Display unit 34 Network communication unit 38 Facility management server 40 Patrol management server 41 Control processing unit 42 Patrol determination area setting unit 43 Patrol determination unit 44 Patrol condition setting unit 46 Mobile terminal communication processing unit 47 Manager terminal processing unit 48 Memory unit 50 Map display management server 51 Facility data processing unit 52 Patrol trajectory mapping processing unit 53 Layer display processing unit 54 Map display processing unit 60 Facility database (facility DB)
61 Equipment information data 62 Patrol track data 63 Patrol result data 64 Map data 66 Network 69 Patrol result information 70 Administrator terminal 71 Fixed terminal 72 Mobile terminal
80 Car (patrol car)
82 Patrols (motorized patrols, foot patrols)
84 Road S, T Equipment K1, K2, K3, Ks Water pipe s1, t1, j1 One end (starting point of equipment, equipment point)
s2, t2, j2: other end (end point of equipment, equipment point)
Lf: Predetermined distance in the direction of travel Lm: Predetermined distance to the right Lh: Predetermined distance to the left v1: First speed range v2: Second speed range v3: Third speed range v4: Fourth speed range v5: Fifth speed range A, A1, A2, A3, A4: Patrol determination area

Claims (9)

A public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities that are arranged along a public road and that are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above,
a position information calculation means for calculating the position of the patrol person as patrol person position information at predetermined time intervals;
an equipment location information database that stores the positions of one end and the other end of the equipment as equipment location information consisting of a pair of one end side position and the other end side position;
an inspection determination area setting unit that sets a predetermined area around the position of the inspector as an inspection determination area based on the inspector position information;
an inspection determination unit that checks whether the one end side position and/or the other end side position is present within the inspection determination area;
When the one end side position and the other end side position exist within one of the patrol determination areas, the patrol determination unit
When the one end side position is present within one of the patrol determination areas and the other end side position is present within another patrol determination area that partially overlaps with the one patrol determination area,
The one end position is located within one of the inspection determination areas, and the other end position is located within another inspection determination area that partially overlaps with another inspection determination area that partially overlaps with the one inspection determination area, or
A public road facility inspection system characterized in that if the one end position is located within one of the patrol judgment areas, the other end position is located within another of the patrol judgment areas, and there are multiple other patrol judgment areas between the one of the patrol judgment areas and the other of the patrol judgment areas that partially overlap with adjacent patrol judgment areas, the system determines that the patrol judgment requirements are met and that inspection of the facility has been completed. the patrol determination area setting unit determines a horizontal movement direction from the previous patrol person position information, which is chronologically consecutive with respect to one of the patrol person position information, to the one of the patrol person position information as a traveling direction,
a predetermined distance in the traveling direction as a predetermined distance from the position information of the other patrol person in the traveling direction of the patrol person;
a predetermined distance in the right direction as a predetermined distance from the position information of the other patrol person 90 degrees to the right of the traveling direction of the patrol person;
Regarding a predetermined distance in the left direction as a predetermined distance from the position information of the other patrol person 90 degrees to the left of the traveling direction of the patrol person,
a line perpendicular to the traveling direction and spaced a predetermined distance from the other patrol person position information in the traveling direction as a first side;
a second side being a line parallel to the traveling direction and spaced a predetermined distance to the right from the other patrol person position information;
a third side being a line parallel to the traveling direction and spaced a predetermined distance to the left from the other patrol person position information;
A line perpendicular to the traveling direction from the other patrol person position information is defined as a fourth side,
An area surrounded by at least the first side, the second side, the third side, and the fourth side is set as the inspection determination area,
The public road facility patrol system described in claim 1, characterized in that the specified distance in the direction of travel, the specified distance to the right, and the specified distance to the left are set according to the means of transportation and/or travel speed of the patrol officer. The public road facility patrol system described in claim 2, characterized in that when the means of transportation is an automobile, the patrol officer is positioned in the passenger seat, and the specified distance to the right is set to a constant value that is shorter than the specified distance to the left, regardless of the speed of the automobile. If the means of transportation is a car,
The speed of horizontal movement from the previous other patrol person position information that is consecutive in time series with respect to one of the patrol person position information to the one of the patrol person position information is set as the movement speed,
The moving speed is a first speed band consisting of a stopped state and a speed near a stopped state,
a second speed band having a higher speed and continuing from the first speed band;
a third speed zone that is continuous with the second speed zone and has a higher speed;
a fourth speed zone which is continuous with the third speed zone and has a higher speed;
The fifth speed zone is a speed zone that is continuous with the fourth speed zone and has a higher speed,
the predetermined distance in the left direction in the second speed range is longer than the predetermined distance in the left direction in the first speed range,
the predetermined distance in the left direction in the third speed zone is shorter than the predetermined distance in the left direction in the second speed zone,
the predetermined distance in the left direction in the fourth speed zone is shorter than the predetermined distance in the left direction in the third speed zone, and the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fourth speed zone is longer than the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the third speed zone,
3. The public road facility patrol system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined distance in the direction of travel in the fifth speed zone is set to be longer than the predetermined distance in the direction of travel in the fourth speed zone. The predetermined time interval and/or the predetermined distance in the traveling direction for each of the speed zones is
When transitioning to adjacent speed zones,
The public road facility patrol system described in claim 4, characterized in that one of the patrol personnel position information is set to belong to the patrol judgment area related to the previous other patrol personnel position information that is chronologically consecutive to the one of the patrol personnel position information. The public road facility patrol system described in claim 2, characterized in that when the means of transportation is walking, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right, and the predetermined distance to the left are set to a constant value regardless of the travel speed. The public road facility patrol system described in claim 2, characterized in that when the means of transportation is walking, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel is set shorter, and the predetermined distance to the right and the predetermined distance to the left are set longer, compared to when the means of transportation is an automobile. When the one end side position is present within one of the patrol determination areas and the other end side position is present within the other patrol determination area that partially overlaps with the one patrol determination area,
The one end position is located within one of the inspection determination areas, and the other end position is located within another of the inspection determination areas that partially overlaps with the one of the inspection determination areas, or
When the one end position is located within one of the inspection determination areas, the other end position is located within the other of the inspection determination areas, and there are a plurality of other inspection determination areas between the one of the inspection determination areas and the other of the inspection determination areas that partially overlap with adjacent inspection determination areas,
The public road facility inspection system described in claim 1, characterized in that the determination that the inspection is completed is based on the condition that the inspection judgment requirements are met in the inspection judgment area that constitutes the inspection judgment requirements within a predetermined time from the inspection time of the first inspected patrol judgment area. A public road facility patrol system as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the facility is a water pipe or an electric wire.