JP2003341389A - Device for measuring position of trolley line - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for measuring the position of a trolley line of an electric train line by image processing. <P>SOLUTION: Pictures near a pantograph are obtained by a plurality of cameras 21 and 22 fixed to a train, and the position of an overhead wire in contact with the pantograph 10 is measured based on a plurality of photographed pictures. Edges of the plurality of photographed pictures are detected, and straight lines within a specified range from the edges are extracted as trolley line candidates LL<SB>1</SB>, LL<SB>2</SB>, LL<SB>3</SB>, LR<SB>1</SB>, LR<SB>2</SB>and LR<SB>3</SB>and horizontal edges are obtained as the pantograph 10. Then, intersecting points PL<SB>1</SB>, PL<SB>2</SB>, PL<SB>3</SB>, PR<SB>1</SB>, PR<SB>2</SB>and PR<SB>3</SB>of the extracted trolley line candidates LL<SB>1</SB>, LL<SB>2</SB>, LL<SB>3</SB>, LR<SB>1</SB>, LR<SB>2</SB>and LR<SB>3</SB>and the detected pantographs are obtained on each picture. The trolley line candidates related to those having deviations relative to the center of the pantograph of each intersecting point of not larger than a threshold are determined to be the trolley lines in contact with the pantograph 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a trolley wire position measuring device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device that measures the position of a trolley wire of a train line by image processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A trolley line is a facility line for supplying electric power to an electric vehicle. A dedicated measuring vehicle called an inspection vehicle or a vehicle limit measuring vehicle runs at regular intervals to measure the position of the trolley line. There is. The measured position is converted into the height of the trolley wire and the deviation on the pantograph, and it is diagnosed whether these values are within the control values. There are a laser measuring method and an image processing method as a method for measuring the position of the trolley wire, and the laser measuring method is mainly used in the field.

[0003]

There are the following problems. With the laser measurement method, the abnormal value of the measured value can be known, but it is difficult to analyze the cause and phenomenon of the abnormal value. When detecting the trolley wire by the image processing method, the catenary wire, the auxiliary catenary wire, the structure, and the support (latest Electric Railway Engineering Corona Co., Ltd., The Institute of Electrical Engineers, September 2000), etc.
Since it looks similar to the trolley wire, there is a problem that these are easily erroneously detected as trolley wires.

When the trolley line is detected by the image processing method, the camera image may be difficult to process due to dirt on the lens or reflection of sunlight. As a result, the trolley wire may not be detected. In the stereo measurement based on the area correlation of the image processing method, if the convergence angle of the camera is large, the difference in the images is large, and the stereo measurement may not be possible.

[0005]

A position measuring device for a trolley wire according to claim 1 of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems, captures the vicinity of a pantograph with a plurality of cameras mounted on a vehicle, and captures a plurality of captured images. A device for measuring the position of an overhead wire that contacts a pantograph based on an image, detecting edges in a plurality of captured images, extracting straight lines in a region within a predetermined range from the edges as trolley wire candidates, and detecting horizontal edges. Obtained as a pantograph, the intersection of the extracted trolley line candidate and the detected pantograph is obtained on each image, and the trolley line candidate in which the deviation from the center of the pantograph at each intersection is less than or equal to a threshold is a trolley line contacting the pantograph. It is characterized by determining that there is.

In the trolley wire position measuring apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems, the number of the cameras is three or more, and even if the image from at least one camera cannot be image processed, the trolley is operated by the image processing. The feature is that line candidates are obtained.

A trolley wire position measuring device according to a third aspect of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems is characterized in that when there are a plurality of trolley wires in contact with the pantograph, the distance between them is measured.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Embodiment 1] Trolley Wire Measuring System A trolley wire position measuring device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. In the present embodiment, two ITV cameras 21 and 22 installed in a vehicle photograph the vicinity of the pantograph 10, and the position of the trolley wire contacting the pantograph 10 by image processing (the deviation on the pantograph 10 and the vertical direction of the trolley wire 10). Height, etc.) is measured.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, two ITV cameras 21 and 22 are installed on the vehicle in a position parallel to the pantograph 10, and the left and right images shown in FIGS. To be photographed. Here, the “parallel position” means a positional relationship in which a dotted line a along the slide plate of the pantograph 10 and a dotted line b connecting the focal points of the two ITV cameras 21 and 22 are parallel to each other.

Each image taken by the ITV cameras 21 and 22
The image is sent to the image processing unit 40, and the image processing unit 40 transmits the image.
The position of the lory line is measured, and the measured value and each image
Are stored in the recording unit 50. The image processing unit 40 is a pantograph.
Graph 10 and trolley line candidate L_L1, L_L2, L_L3, L _R1，
L_R2, L_R3And the intersection P of these_L1, P_L2, P
_L3, P_R1, P_R2, P _R3And find this intersection P_L1, P_L2, P
_L3, P_R1, P_R2, P_R3Center the pantograph as shown in Figure 3.
And the position is approached between the left and right images.
It is to determine whether or not there is. In other words, the intersection is close
If it is, it is determined that it is a contact wire.
It is a wire that is not touched.

The image processing section 40 may be constructed by loading an image processing program into a personal computer. The processing procedure of this embodiment is shown in FIG. First, pantograph 10 with two ITV cameras 21 and 22.
The vicinity is captured and the left and right camera images are acquired (step S1).

Next, with respect to the left and right camera images, edges are detected, straight lines are detected from the edges, and vertical straight lines in a predetermined range are trolley line candidates L _L1 , L _L2 , L _L3 , L _R1 , L _R2 , L.
_It is detected as _R3 (step S2). Trolley line candidate L
_L1 , L _L2 , L _L3 are detected in the left image shown in FIG. 1A, and trolley line candidates L _R1 , L _R2 , L _R3 are detected in the right image shown in FIG. 1B. It is what is done. The edge detection is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 6-1492
The method shown in No. 46 may be used, or the method of horizontally differentiating an image may be used.

The straight line detection is not particularly limited and a known method can be used. For example,
The feature extraction method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-149246 may be used, or the Hough transform may be used. Furthermore,
In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the "predetermined range" is the angle and position range in which the trolley wire looks oblique as shown in FIG. 1 when the two cameras 21 and 22 are installed. For example, it is possible to experimentally determine the angle and the position range such as the position on the upper half of the image within ± 30 ° from the vertical.

Continuing, two ITV cameras 21 and 22
As shown in FIG. 1, the camera image from the center of the pantograph 10 and the center of the pantograph C _L , C _R
Is detected (step S3). Since the pantograph 10 is supported by a spring and moves up and down, its position is not constant. The detection method is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-33
No. 2841, the pattern matching method and Japanese Patent Application No. 6-
The model-based match method shown in No. 57924 can be adopted. Specifically, the grayscale value or feature of the pantograph is registered as a model in advance, and at the same time, the center position of the pantograph and the linear position of the contact plate are also registered. And
This model is made to correspond to the acquired image every time the image is acquired, and the center of the pantograph and the sliding plate portion are detected from the matching position.

After that, the trolley line candidates L _L1 , L _L2 ,
The intersection points P _L1 , P _L2 , P _L3 , P _R1 , P _R2 , and P _R3 of L _L3 , L _R1 , L _R2 , and L _R3 and the contact plate of the pantograph 10 are obtained (step S4). Since the intersection coordinates are in pixel units of the camera coordinate system, they are projected and converted into meters in the pantograph coordinate system. Here, the camera coordinate system is an orthogonal coordinate system centered on each camera focus, and the pantograph coordinate system is an orthogonal coordinate system whose origin is at the center of the pantograph.

Further, the trolley line candidates L _L1 , L _L2 , L _L3 ,
From L _R1 , L _R2 , and L _R3 , pantograph 10 is performed as follows.
The trolley wire that comes into contact with is detected (step S5). That is, the intersection points P _L1 , P _L2 , P _L3 , obtained in step S4,
P _R1 , P _R2 and P _R3 are plotted for each of the left and right images as shown in FIG. 3, and the distances between the intersections P _L1 , P _L2 and P _L3 of the left image and the intersections P _R1 , P _R2 and P _R3 of the right image are shown. The number of combinations is calculated, and the combinations that are equal to or less than the experimentally determined threshold value are extracted from this distance. In FIG. 3, the intersection points P _L1 and P
_It shows the case where the distance dx of _R1 is less than or equal to the threshold,
In this case, the intersection point P _L1 and the trolley line candidate L _L1 related to the intersection point P _R1 are determined to be the trolley lines that contact the pantograph 10.

Then, the intersection point of the trolley line contacting the pantograph 10 obtained in step S5 is converted into the deviation on the pantograph, the vertical height of the trolley line, etc. (step S6). Since the converted vertical height is the relative distance from the camera mounting position to the trolley wire, it may be converted to the vertical distance from the rail level by adding the distance from the rail level to the camera mounting position. If a plurality of trolley wires contacting the pantograph 10 are detected in step S5, position measurement is repeated for each.

In this embodiment, the position of the trolley wire contacting the pantograph (the deviation of the trolley wire from the center of the pantograph, the vertical height of the trolley wire, etc.) is measured from the images of two cameras installed in the vehicle. And has the following advantages. The laser measurement method only records the measured value, but the image processing method can record the input image. Thereby, by looking at the recorded image of the abnormal position of the trolley wire, the abnormal state of the trolley when the pantograph passes can be visually recognized. By comparing the intersections of the two camera images, it is possible to eliminate overhead lines that do not contact the pantograph and detect only the contacting trolley wires.

[Embodiment 2] Trolley wire measurement method This embodiment has the same purpose as Embodiment 1, but in order to solve problems such as dirt on the lens and reflection of sunlight, FIG.
3 or more IT in a position parallel to the pantograph 10 like
Vn cameras 21, 22, ... 2n are installed.
The "parallel position" means a dotted line a along the sliding plate of the pantograph 10 and n ITV cameras 2 as shown in FIG.
A dotted line b connecting the focal points of 1, 2, ..., 2n is a parallel positional relationship. The processing procedure in this embodiment is the same as in FIG. First, n ITV cameras 21, 22, ...
2n captures the vicinity of the pantograph 10, and the first, second,
..., The nth camera image is acquired (step S1).

Next, edge detection is performed on the first, second, ..., Nth camera images, straight lines are detected from the edges, and vertical straight lines within a predetermined range are trolley line candidates L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , L ₁₃ ,.
L ₂₁ , L ₂₂ , L ₂₃ ... L _n1 , L _n2 , and L _n3 are detected (step S2). Trolley line candidates L _L1 , L ₁₂ , L
₁₃ is detected in the first image shown in FIG. _6A , and the trolley line candidates L _n1 , L _n2 , and L _n3 are detected in the n-th image shown in FIG. 6B. is there. The edge detection is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, the method shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-149246 may be used, or the method of horizontally differentiating an image may be used.

The straight line detection is not particularly limited and a known method can be used. For example,
The feature extraction method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-149246 may be used, or the Hough transform may be used. Furthermore,
In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the “predetermined range” means that when the n cameras 21, 22, ...
It is the angle and position range that looks oblique like. For example, it is possible to experimentally determine the angle and the position range such as the position on the upper half of the image within ± 30 ° from the vertical.

Next, n ITV cameras 21, 2
As for the camera images from 2, ..., 2n, as shown in FIG. 5, the rusting plate portion of the pantograph 10 and the centers C ₁ , C _2, ... C _n of the pantograph are detected (step S3). Since the pantograph 10 is supported by a spring and moves up and down, its position is not constant. The detection method is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, the pattern matching method shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-332841 or the model-based matching method shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-57924 can be adopted. Specifically, the grayscale value or feature of the pantograph is registered in advance as a model,
At the same time, the center position of the pantograph and the linear position of the contact plate are also registered. Then, this model is made to correspond to the acquired image every time the image is acquired, and the center of the pantograph and the sliding plate portion are detected from the matching position.

Thereafter, the trolley line candidates L _L1 , L ₁₂ ,
_{L 13, L 21, L 22} , L 23 ... L n1, L n2, L n3 and the intersection P ₁₁ of the contact strip of the pantograph _{10, P 12, P 13,} P 21, P
₂₂ , P ₂₃ ... P _n1 , P _n2 , P _n3 are obtained (step S
4). Since the intersection coordinates are in pixel units of the camera coordinate system, they are projected and converted into meters in the pantograph coordinate system. Here, the camera coordinate system is an orthogonal coordinate system centered on each camera focus, and the pantograph coordinate system is an orthogonal coordinate system whose origin is at the center of the pantograph.

Further, the trolley line candidate L_L1, L₁₂, L₁₃，
L_{twenty one}, L_{twenty two}, L_{twenty three}... L_n1, L_n2, L _n3From
The trolley wire in contact with the pantograph 10
(Step S5). That is, the intersection point L obtained in step S4
_L1, L₁₂, L₁₃, L_{twenty one}, L_{twenty two}, L_{twenty three}... L_n1, L_n2, L_n3
As shown in FIG. 7, a plot is made for each of the first, second, ... Nth images.
Intersection P of the first images₁₁, P₁₂, P₁₃, Of the second image
Intersection P_{twenty one}, P_{twenty two}, P_{twenty three}, ..., intersection point P of the nth image_n1, P
_n2, P_n3This distance is calculated by calculating the number of combinations with
Select the combinations that are less than or equal to the experimentally determined threshold
Put out. In FIG. 7, specifically, the intersection P₁₁And intersection P_n1Distance
This shows the case where the separation dx is less than or equal to the threshold.
Intersection P₁₁And intersection P_n1Trolley line candidate L for
_L1Is a trolley wire that touches the pantograph 10.
Will be fixed. Other intersection points P₁₂… P_n2, P₁₃… P
_n3A straight line related to the line is judged to be an catenary / auxiliary catenary.
Will be done.

Then, the intersection point of the trolley line contacting the pantograph 10 obtained in step S5 is converted into the deviation on the pantograph, the vertical height of the trolley line, etc. (step S6). Since the converted vertical height is the relative distance from the camera mounting position to the trolley wire, it may be converted to the vertical distance from the rail level by adding the distance from the rail level to the camera mounting position. If a plurality of trolley wires contacting the pantograph 10 are detected in step S5, position measurement is repeated for each.

As described above, in this embodiment,
By processing n or more (n ≧ 3) camera images, the contact trolley wire can be detected from the remaining camera images even if one camera image cannot be processed due to the reflection of sunlight. There is a feature that detection reliability is improved by multiplexing.

[Embodiment 3] Distance line separation distance measuring method FIG. 10 shows a processing procedure of the present embodiment. In the determination of contact or non-contact, as shown in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, it is determined that the intersections of the left and right camera images are coincident with each other, and those not coincident with each other are contact overhead lines. Steps S1 to S of the first embodiment
4 is the same, but is different after that. First, two I
The vicinity of the pantograph 10 is photographed by the TV cameras 21 and 22, and left and right camera images are acquired (step T1).

Next, edge detection is performed on the left and right camera images, straight lines are detected from the edges, and vertical straight lines within a predetermined range are detected as trolley line candidates L _L1 , L _L2 , L _R1 , and L _R2 (step T2). ). The trolley line candidates L _L1 and L _L2 are
The trolley line candidates L _R1 , L _R2 , and L _R3 are detected in the left images shown in FIGS.
This is detected in the right image shown in (b) and FIG. 9 (b). The edge detection is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, the method shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-149246 may be used, or the method of horizontally differentiating an image may be used.

The straight line detection is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example,
The feature extraction method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-149246 may be used, or the Hough transform may be used. Furthermore,
In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the "predetermined range" is the angle and position range in which the trolley wire looks oblique as shown in FIG. 1 when the two cameras 21 and 22 are installed. For example, it is possible to experimentally determine the angle and the position range such as the position on the upper half of the image within ± 30 ° from the vertical.

Continuing, two ITV cameras 21 and 22
As shown in FIG. 1, the camera image from the center of the pantograph 10 and the center of the pantograph C _L , C _R
Is detected (step T3). Since the pantograph 10 is supported by a spring and moves up and down, its position is not constant. The detection method is not particularly limited, and a known method can be used. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-33
No. 2841, the pattern matching method and Japanese Patent Application No. 6-
The model-based match method shown in No. 57924 can be adopted. Specifically, the grayscale value or feature of the pantograph is registered as a model in advance, and at the same time, the center position of the pantograph and the linear position of the contact plate are also registered. And
This model is made to correspond to the acquired image every time the image is acquired, and the center of the pantograph and the sliding plate portion are detected from the matching position.

Then, the trolley line candidates L _L1 , L _L2 ,
An intersection point P _L1 between L _R1 and L _R2 and the contact plate of the pantograph 10,
P _L2 , P _R1 and P _R2 are obtained (step T4). Since the intersection coordinates are in pixel units of the camera coordinate system, they are projected and converted into meters in the pantograph coordinate system. Here, the camera coordinate system is an orthogonal coordinate system centered on each camera focus, and the pantograph coordinate system is an orthogonal coordinate system whose origin is at the center of the pantograph. _Next , among the intersections P _L1 , P _L2 , P _R1 and P _R2 obtained in step T4,
In the right and left images, the straight lines relating to the points where the intersections coincide are set as the contact lines, and the straight lines relating to the points where the intersections do not coincide are set as the non-contact line (step T5).

Further, if it is determined in step T5 that two or more points contact one image, the separation distance is measured (step T6). In FIG. 11, the vertical distance V and the horizontal distance H are calculated when it is determined that the contact is made at two points. This embodiment is also applied to the case where the trolley wire and the pantograph are in contact with each other and the crossover wire is not in contact with the pantograph as shown in FIG. 8, or when both the trolley wire and the crossover wire are in contact with the pantograph. Is. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to measure the separation distance between the crossover wire and the trolley wire that contact the pantograph by using two or more cameras, and the separation distance is measured from the image acquired while running. There is an advantage that it can measure various conditions. Further, in the present embodiment, the left and right camera images are described,
As in the second embodiment, three or more camera images may be used.

[0033]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, the present invention has the following advantages. (1) The laser measurement method only obtains the value of the measurement result, but the image processing method can record the input image, so it is possible to investigate the cause of the abnormal value by observing the recorded image at the position of the abnormal trolley wire. is there. (2) By comparing the intersections of the two camera images,
The overhead line that does not contact the pantograph can be excluded, and the overhead line that contacts can be extracted. (3) By comparing the intersections of three or more cameras,
The overhead line that does not contact the pantograph can be excluded, and the overhead line that contacts can be extracted. (4) It is desired that the crossover line be detected in a dynamic state. Since the present invention uses the image acquired while traveling, the dynamic separation distance can be measured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing left and right images according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a position measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an intersection position with respect to the center of the pantograph according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a camera installation position according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing first and n-th images according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an intersection position with respect to the center of the pantograph according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing left and right images according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing left and right images according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing the separation between the crossover wire and the trolley wire.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Pantograph 21,22, ... 2n camera 40 Image processing unit 50 recording section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for photographing the vicinity of a pantograph with a plurality of cameras mounted on a vehicle and measuring the position of an overhead line contacting the pantograph based on the plurality of photographed images. Edge is detected, a straight line within a predetermined range from the edge is extracted as a trolley line candidate, and a horizontal edge is obtained as a pantograph,
The intersection of the extracted trolley line candidate and the detected pantograph is obtained on each image, and it is determined that the trolley line candidate whose deviation from the center of the pantograph at each intersection is a threshold value or less is a trolley line that contacts the pantograph. A trolley wire position measuring device characterized in that 2. The position measurement of the trolley line according to claim 1, wherein the number of the cameras is three or more, and the trolley line candidates are obtained by the image processing even when the image from at least one camera cannot be image processed. apparatus. 3. The position measuring device for a trolley wire according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of trolley wires in contact with the pantograph, the distance between them is measured.