JP2019116773A - Foreign object detection system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foreign matter detection system and a method capable of significantly reducing a blind spot when a vehicle is present in a warehousing / delivery room (for example, at the time of warehousing) and enhancing safety. SOLUTION: A detection transmission / reception device 22 and a foreign matter detection device 24 are provided. The detection / transmission / reception device 22 transmits / receives a control signal to / from the mechanical parking device 10 having an entry / exit chamber 8 into which the vehicle 1 enters / exits. The vehicle 1 is equipped with an in-vehicle sensor S that detects foreign matter located around the vehicle. The foreign matter detection device 24 outputs a command signal to the vehicle 1 and receives the vehicle detection data D by the vehicle-mounted sensor S from the vehicle 1. The foreign matter detecting device 24 detects a foreign matter in the warehousing / delivery room from the vehicle detection data D. Foreign matter means people, animals, luggage, etc. in the warehousing / delivery room. [Selection diagram] FIG. 4

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foreign matter detection system and method for detecting foreign matter in a storage room in which a vehicle enters and leaves the storage room.

  A mechanical parking system (e.g., elevator parking) has a carrier (e.g., pallet) in the storage room, and a driver drives the vehicle (e.g., a passenger car) to park the vehicle on the carrier and then the device operates. And transport the unmanned vehicle to the storage location by the carrier.

During operation of the mechanical parking device (hereinafter simply referred to as "the device"), when the person or the animal is in the storage room, the operation of the device may cause the person or the animal to be injured. Similarly, if the package is in the loading / unloading chamber, the operation of the device may damage the package or the device itself.
Hereinafter, a person, an animal, a package and the like existing in the storage and retrieval room at the time of operation of the apparatus will be simply referred to as "foreign matter".

In order to prevent the generation of foreign matter during operation of the device, the storage and retrieval room is usually configured as a closed space having an entrance and exit, and an entrance door for receiving and storing (receiving or unloading) a vehicle is provided with an electric door. .
In addition, after a person (driver) leaves the storage room after parking, confirm that no people or objects remain in the storage room (for example, being unmanned) and give instructions to fully close the open / close door. Operation is usually done.
However, confirmation by a person is incomplete, and there is a possibility that the open / close door may be completely closed while a person or a thing or the like is left in the storage and retrieval room by mistake.

  Therefore, various means have been proposed for confirming persons, things, etc. in the loading / unloading chamber using an apparatus (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In "the three-dimensional parking apparatus and its control method" of Patent Document 1, a plurality of sensors are provided to detect the presence of a person in the vehicle entrance / exit room and output a detection signal to the pallet control device. This sensor consists of a front arranged right side person detecting sensor, a rear arranged right side person detecting sensor, a front arranged left side person detecting sensor, a rear arranged left side person detecting sensor, a right arranged whole person detecting sensor and a left arranged whole person detecting sensor.

  The "automatic door closing device for parking device" of Patent Document 2 is a device for automatically closing the door provided at the outlet of the mechanical parking device. This apparatus comprises detection means for detecting persons, animals and the like in the entire delivery area after leaving the apparatus, and control means for controlling the automatic closing of the door based on the detection result of the detection means.

JP-A-8-93255 JP 2005-330685 A

The means of Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
(1) When a vehicle exists in the storage room (for example, at the time of storage), a blind spot occurs before and after the vehicle.
(2) It can not be applied unless the entire storage room is empty. For example, if there is a part of the device (for example, a lift guide for the carrier or a holder for the carrier) in the loading and unloading chamber, a sensor detects it and malfunctions.

Further, the means of Patent Document 2 has the following problems.
(3) It can not be applied without leaving the vehicle. For example, when a vehicle exists in the storage room (for example, at the time of storage), the vehicle is detected and erroneously operated.

Moreover, in order to solve these problems, for example, a surveillance camera is installed in the storage and retrieval room, and a surveillance person monitors the image in part.
However, in this case, it is necessary to install the surveillance camera in a place where the loading and unloading operation of the vehicle is not affected, and the surveillance camera is installed at a position distant from the carrier for loading and unloading the vehicle.
Therefore, when a vehicle is present in the storage room (for example, at the time of storage), a blind spot occurs behind the vehicle. In addition, since the angle of view of the surveillance camera is wide and foreign matter (such as a person or a thing) is small, there is a possibility that the foreign matter may be overlooked due to the color of the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a foreign matter detection system and method capable of significantly reducing the dead angle when a vehicle is present (for example, at the time of storage) in a storage room, and enhancing the safety.

According to the present invention, a command signal is transmitted to and from the vehicle equipped with an on-vehicle sensor that transmits / receives a control signal to / from a mechanical parking device having a storage / storage chamber in which the vehicle enters and exits and detects foreign objects located around the vehicle. A detection transmitting / receiving device that outputs a signal from the vehicle and receives vehicle detection data from the vehicle by the vehicle sensor;
There is provided a foreign matter detection system including a foreign matter detection device for detecting the foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room from the vehicle detection data.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a foreign matter detection method using the above-mentioned foreign matter detection system,
After the vehicle is parked in the storage room, the vehicle detection data by the in-vehicle sensor is received from the vehicle,
A foreign matter detection method is provided, which detects the foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room from the vehicle detection data.

  According to the present invention, foreign objects in the storage room are detected from vehicle detection data by the on-vehicle sensor that detects foreign objects (people or objects) located around the vehicle. The safety can be enhanced by greatly reducing the blind spots around the vehicle (front, rear, left, and right).

It is a front view which shows an example of a mechanical parking apparatus. It is an AA arrow line view of FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a vehicle targeted by the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the use condition of the foreign material detection system of this invention. FIG. 1 is an overall flow diagram of a foreign matter detection method according to the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is common in each figure, and the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a mechanical parking device 10.
In this example, the mechanical parking device 10 is elevator parking.
Further, in this figure, 1 is a vehicle (for example, a passenger car), 2 is a carrier for carrying the vehicle 1, 3 is a hoistway, 4 is a storage rack, 5 is a cage for moving the hoistway 3, 6 is a body frame, 7 is a body frame It is a traction type (friction drive type) hoisting machine installed at the top of 6.

  In this example, the cage 5 mounts the carrier 2 on which the vehicle 1 is mounted, and moves up and down the hoistway 3. Moreover, the storage rack 4 is arrange | positioned along the hoistway 3, and stores the carriers 2 respectively.

In addition, the mechanical parking apparatus 10 mentioned above is not limited to elevator parking, Other mechanical parking apparatuses, for example, tower parking, underground parking may be sufficient.
Moreover, although the carrier 2 is a pallet (for example, a bending pallet) in this example, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be a flat pallet, a cage, or a conveyor device.

FIG. 2 is a view on arrow AA of FIG.
In this figure, the mechanical parking device 10 has a loading / unloading chamber 8 in which the vehicle 1 is loading / unloading, and an electric open / close door 9 provided at the loading / unloading opening 8 a of the loading / unloading chamber 8.
The storage and retrieval chamber 8 is configured as a closed space having the storage and retrieval opening 8a in order to prevent the generation of foreign matter during operation of the apparatus (for example, because it is unattended).
Foreign objects mean people, animals, luggage, etc. in the storage room.

In this example, the storage and retrieval room 8 is connected to the front open space 11 on the front surface through the storage and retrieval opening 8a.
Further, in this example, the inside of the storage and retrieval chamber 8 is entirely planar except for the carrier 2 so that the traveling of the vehicle 1 is not hindered. Note that this configuration is not essential, and a part of the device (for example, a lifting guide of the carrier 2, a holder for the carrier, a parking position sensor 12 described later, an indoor sensor 13, etc.) may be present in the storage room.

  In FIG. 2, the mechanical parking device 10 further includes a parking position sensor 12, an indoor sensor 13, and a machine control device 14.

The parking position sensor 12 detects the vehicle 1 located at the parking position P on the carrier. The parking position P is a parking area on the carrier, and is set to a position at which the mechanical parking device 10 operates to transport the unmanned vehicle 1 to the storage location by the carrier 2.
The parking position sensor 12 is, for example, a plurality of phototube sensors that detect the longitudinal position and the widthwise position of the vehicle 1 located at the parking position P.

The indoor sensor 13 detects foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room. The indoor sensor 13 is, for example, a plurality of cameras, and is provided at preferably four corners of the storage and retrieval room 8 and captures an image of the vehicle 1 located at the parking position P.
This image is used, for example, for surveillance by a surveillance officer. In addition, the image may be processed to detect foreign matter in the loading and unloading chamber.
The indoor sensor 13 is not limited to a camera, and may be an ultrasonic sensor, a camera, a radar, a laser scanner, an infrared camera, or a combination thereof.

  In FIG. 2, the foreign matter detection system 20 according to the present invention includes a detection transmission / reception device 22 and a foreign matter detection device 24.

The detection transmission / reception device 22 transmits / receives a control signal to / from the machine control device 14 of the mechanical parking device 10, and outputs a command signal to the vehicle 1 to receive vehicle detection data D by the on-vehicle sensor S from the vehicle 1.
The detection transmission / reception device 22 has an antenna 23 for performing short-range communication (DSRC) with the vehicle 1 and transmits / receives vehicle detection data D by the on-vehicle sensor S.
Transmission / reception between the detection transmission / reception device 22 and the on-vehicle transmission / reception device 18 is performed by narrow area communication (DSRC). DSRC is a two-way wireless communication technology designed specifically for wireless communication with the vehicle 1.

  With this configuration, by setting the transmission output (transmission distance) of DSRC to a short distance (for example, 30 m or less), communication with the vehicle 1 in the storage room is limited, and the outside of the storage room 8 (for example, the front open space 11) Miscommunication with the vehicle 1) can be prevented.

  The foreign matter detection device 24 detects foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room from the vehicle detection data D. Details of the foreign matter detection device 24 will be described later.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a vehicle 1 to which the present invention is applied.
The vehicle 1 includes an on-vehicle sensor S that detects a foreign object (person or object) located around the vehicle, and an on-vehicle transmitting / receiving device 18 that transmits / receives vehicle detection data D by short-range communication.
The on-vehicle sensor S may be an ultrasonic sensor, a camera, a radar, a laser scanner, an infrared camera, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 3A shows an example in which the on-vehicle sensor S includes a plurality of (four in this example) cameras provided on the front, rear, left, and right of the vehicle 1 and functions as a surround view camera for displaying the entire periphery of the vehicle 1 . The camera is preferably a video camera, but may be a still camera.
With such a surround view camera, it is possible to display an image of the surroundings of the vehicle (front, rear, left, and right) and to detect an upper surface image of a foreign object located around the vehicle.

FIG. 3B is an example in which the on-vehicle sensor S is composed of a plurality of (12 in this example) ultrasonic sensors provided on the front, rear, left, and right of the vehicle 1.
Such an ultrasonic sensor can detect the position (direction and distance) of a foreign object located in the vicinity of the periphery of the vehicle.

Further, by using a radar or a laser scanner as the on-vehicle sensor S, it is possible to detect the position of a foreign object located around the vehicle.
Furthermore, by using an infrared camera as the on-vehicle sensor S, the position of the foreign matter can be detected even when the vehicle surroundings are dark.

  The vehicle detection data D by the in-vehicle sensor S may be raw data detected by the in-vehicle sensor S. The vehicle detection data D may be processed data or image data in which foreign matter is detected from the raw data and the position, direction, or presence or absence of detection is determined on the vehicle side.

  The on-vehicle transmission / reception device 18 receives a command signal from the detection transmission / reception device 22, checks the surroundings of the vehicle by the on-vehicle sensor S, and transmits vehicle detection data D to the detection transmission / reception device 22.

The on-vehicle transmission / reception device 18 has a function of activating the on-vehicle sensor S when receiving a command signal from the detection transmission / reception device 22.
With this configuration, the vehicle sensor S is activated to detect the vehicle detection data D even after the vehicle 1 is parked in the storage room and the user (for example, the driver) leaves the storage room from the vehicle 1 and detects and detects the vehicle detection data D 22 can be sent.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a use state of the foreign matter detection system 20 of the present invention.
In this figure, the on-vehicle sensor S exemplifies only the ultrasonic sensor shown in FIG. 3 (B).
In this figure, the foreign matter detection device 24 is, for example, a computer (PC), and has a storage device 25a and an arithmetic processing unit 25b. The foreign matter detection device 24 may be integrated with the machine control device 14.

The storage device 25a stores device position information X in the storage and retrieval room. The device position information X is position information of a part of the device (for example, the lifting guide of the carrier 2 and the carrier lifting gear) located in the storage and retrieval room. The device position information X does not include the position information of the vehicle 1.
The storage device 25a preferably stores in advance specifications (vehicle types and dimensions) of the plurality of vehicles 1 and specifications (type, position, performance, and the like) of the on-vehicle sensor S mounted on each vehicle 1.

Arithmetic processing unit 25 b detects foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room from vehicle detection data D and device position information X received by detection transmission / reception device 22.
For example, a part of the device (lifting guide of the carrier 2 and the carrier lifting device) located in the storage and retrieval room is always detected as a foreign object by the vehicle detection data D.
In this case, when the detected position of the foreign object coincides with the position of a part of the stored device, the false detection of the foreign object can be reduced by judging that the position is not a foreign object.

When the in-vehicle sensor S is a plurality of cameras (for example, surround view cameras) shown in FIG. 3A, the color of the carrier 2 of the storage and retrieval room 8 and its surroundings can be a color (for example, white or By unifying to black), the possibility of being overlooked by foreign matter mixed with the background color can be reduced.
It is preferable that the foreign matter detection device 24 detects foreign matter by image processing with the floor surface as a background color. Alternatively, a plurality of images may be compared to detect a person or an animal from the difference.

As described above, the on-vehicle sensor S is not limited to one type, and may be a combination of a plurality of sensors.
Further, as described above, the storage device 25a stores in advance the specifications (types and dimensions) of the plurality of vehicles 1 and the specifications (type, position, performance, etc.) of the on-vehicle sensor S mounted on each vehicle 1 There is. Therefore, the on-vehicle sensor S to be applied may be selected based on the specifications of the vehicle 1 received by the detection transmission / reception device 22.
When a radar or a laser scanner is provided as the indoor sensor 13, the outer surface position of the vehicle 1 may be detected and used for foreign matter detection.

FIG. 5 is an overall flow diagram of the foreign matter detection method according to the present invention.
In this figure, the method of the present invention is a foreign matter detection method using the above-described foreign matter detection system 20, and includes each step (step) of S1 to S14.

  In this figure, the foreign matter detection system 20 receives a control signal C1 with the mechanical parking device 10, and outputs a command signal C2 to the vehicle 1 to receive vehicle detection data D from the vehicle 1 by the on-vehicle sensor S. .

  A person (for example, a driver) parks at the parking position P in the loading and unloading room (step S1), leaves the loading and unloading room, confirms the safety of the loading and unloading room (step S2), and instructs warehousing (step S2) S3). This storage instruction is performed, for example, by the storage instruction button 15a (see FIG. 2) of the machine control device 14.

When receiving the storage instruction signal a (Step S4), the machine control device 14 transmits a control signal C1 to that effect to the foreign matter detection system 20, and the foreign matter detection system 20 outputs a command signal C2 to the vehicle 1. The foreign matter detection system 20 may directly receive the storage instruction signal a.
The machine control device 14 checks the foreign matter in the storage room with the indoor sensor 13 in parallel, and transmits the device detection data E by the indoor sensor 13 to the foreign matter detection system 20.

  When the vehicle 1 receives the command signal C2, the on-vehicle sensor S checks foreign objects around the vehicle, and transmits vehicle detection data D from the on-vehicle sensor S to the foreign matter detection system 20.

  The foreign matter detection device 24 integrates the vehicle detection data D by the in-vehicle sensor S and the device detection data E by the indoor sensor 13 to carry out an integrated check for detecting a foreign matter (step S13). Next, in step S14, the presence or absence of foreign matter detection is determined. If there is a foreign matter (YES), a safety reconfirmation signal F1 is output, and if there is no foreign matter (NO), a door close permission signal F2 is output.

  A person (for example, a driver) reconfirms the safety based on the safety reconfirmation signal F1 (step S6), and then instructs storage again (step S3). By this re-instruction, the steps described above are performed again.

On the other hand, a person (for example, a driver) instructs the door closing based on the door closing permission signal F2 (step S7). The door closing instruction is performed by, for example, a door closing instruction button 15b (see FIG. 2) of the machine control device 14.
When receiving the door closing instruction signal b (step S4), the machine control device 14 fully closes the open / close door 9 (step S8), and then starts normal machine operation (step S9). finish.
Note that the fully closed state of the open / close door 9 (step S8) may be conditional on both the door close permission signal F2 and the door close instruction signal b.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, since the foreign object in the storage and retrieval room is detected from the vehicle detection data D by the on-vehicle sensor S that detects the foreign substance (person or object) located around the vehicle, the vehicle 1 in the storage and retrieval room When the vehicle is present (for example, at the time of storage), the blind spots around the vehicle (front, rear, left, and right) can be significantly reduced to enhance safety.

The invention also has the following attendant advantages.
(1) The foreign substance detection accuracy can be enhanced without adding a sensor to the storage and retrieval room 8.
(2) With the spread of the vehicle 1 equipped with the in-vehicle sensor S, the indoor sensor 13 of the storage and retrieval room 8 can be reduced to reduce the cost of the entire apparatus.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

a warehousing instruction signal, b door closing instruction signal, C1 control signal, C2 command signal,
D Vehicle detection data, E device detection data, P parking position, S in-vehicle sensor,
X device position information, 1 vehicle (car), 2 carriers (pallet), 3 hoistways,
4 storage racks, 5 cages, 6 body frames, 7 hoists, 8 loading and unloading rooms,
8a doorway, 9 open / close door, 10 mechanical parking system, 11 front open space,
12 parking position sensor, 13 indoor sensor, 14 machine control unit,
15a warehousing instruction button, 15b door closing instruction button, 18 in-vehicle transmission / reception device,
20 foreign object detection system, 22 detection transmitter / receiver, 23 antenna,
24 Foreign object detection device, 25a storage device, 25b Arithmetic processing device

Claims (8)

A control signal is transmitted / received to / from a mechanical parking device having an in / out room where the vehicle is in / out, and a command signal is output to the vehicle mounted with an on-vehicle sensor for detecting foreign objects located around the vehicle A detection transmitting / receiving device for receiving vehicle detection data by the onboard sensor;
A foreign matter detection system, comprising: a foreign matter detection device for detecting the foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room from the vehicle detection data. The foreign matter detection device is a storage device that stores device position information in the storage room.
The foreign matter detection system according to claim 1, further comprising: an arithmetic processing unit that detects the foreign matter from the vehicle detection data received by the detection transmission / reception device and the device position information. The mechanical parking device has an indoor sensor that detects the foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room,
The foreign matter detection system according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter detection device performs an integrated check that detects the foreign matter by integrating the vehicle detection data and a device detection data by the indoor sensor. The vehicle includes an on-vehicle transmission / reception device that transmits / receives the vehicle detection data by short range communication,
The foreign matter detection system according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle transmission / reception device activates the in-vehicle sensor when receiving the command signal from the detection transmission / reception device.   The foreign matter detection system according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, a camera, a radar, a laser scanner, an infrared camera, or a combination thereof. A foreign matter detection method using the foreign matter detection system according to claim 1;
After the vehicle is parked in the storage room, the vehicle detection data by the in-vehicle sensor is received from the vehicle,
A foreign matter detection method for detecting the foreign matter in the storage and retrieval room from the vehicle detection data. Storing device position information in the storage room;
The foreign matter detection method according to claim 6, wherein the foreign matter in the storage room is detected from the vehicle detection data and the device position information. The mechanical parking device is provided with an indoor sensor for detecting the foreign matter in the storage room.
The foreign matter detection method according to claim 7, wherein an integrated check is performed to integrate the vehicle detection data and device detection data by the indoor sensor to detect the foreign object.

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