JPH10203370A - Vehicle photographing equipment for cutting overhead lines at railroad crossings - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] Even when an overhead line is cut, there is no particular means for specifying a car that has cut off and traveled away. I had no choice but to rely on information. SOLUTION: A wire to which an ultrasonic probe is connected is attached to an overhead wire located at the lowest position among a plurality of overhead wires and closest to a boundary between a railroad crossing and a road, and the wire is cut together with the overhead wire. In this case, the cut vehicle is photographed by a camera provided to photograph the vehicle passing through the railroad crossing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention takes an image of a vehicle passing through a so-called overhead line, such as a power line or a communication line, which is stretched in parallel with the railway line above the railway line, when the vehicle is cut off. The present invention also relates to an overhead wire cutting vehicle photographing apparatus for obtaining an image useful for subsequent accident processing and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Railroad crossing accidents, which are points of contact between railroads and roads, are not endless, and efforts have been made to eliminate such accidents. An example of such an approach is described in the literature. For example, the article number 418, “Ultrasonics-based ultrasonic symposium,” published by the Japan Railway Cybernetics Council on November 1, 1990, is used. All-Weather Type Crossing Obstacle Detection Method "(P433-437), Article No. 817 of the 31st collection of papers issued by the above council on Nov. 5, 1994," A crossing monitoring system using image processing technology. ""
(P512-515), President's monthly magazine President No. 1994/3, "Intelligent railroad crossing systems aiming for zero crossing accidents and new proposals" (P
94-97), and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries technique VOL. 32 N
O. 4 (1995-7) "Development of an obstacle detection system for railways" (P244-247).

By the way, such measures against level crossing accidents are focused on detecting obstacles in level crossings, and are measures for preventing a collision accident or the like beforehand.

However, troubles at railroad crossings are not always limited to collisions between trains and vehicles and other obstacles. That is, when the height of a car passing through a railroad crossing is higher than the limit value, a so-called overhead line such as a power line or a communication line may be cut, which may have a significant effect on train operation.

[0005]

Conventionally, even when the overhead line is cut, no means is provided for identifying the car that has been cut off and has run away. Therefore, the train has to be suspended due to the disconnection of the overhead line. Even if they couldn't get it, they relied on sightings to identify the car that was cut off. However, the sighting information may not always be accurate, and there has been a long-awaited need for an effective means for identifying a car that has cut an overhead line.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In the first invention,
Attaching a wire to the overhead line located at the lowest position among the multiple overhead lines and closest to the boundary between the railroad crossing and the road, applying ultrasonic waves from one end thereof, and cutting the wire together with the overhead line The apparatus is configured to detect a reflected wave of an ultrasonic wave from the disconnection portion, and to function a camera provided to photograph a car passing through a railroad crossing based on the detection signal to photograph the cut car.

Further, in the second invention, a parallel cable in which a plurality of wires are bundled in parallel is attached to the overhead wire, an ultrasonic wave is propagated through the plurality of wires forming the parallel cable, and a reflected wave from the broken portion is generated. By detecting, the disconnection of the overhead wire is detected.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d are overhead lines stretched in parallel with a line 2, and 1a is an electric power that contacts a pantograph of a train (not shown). This is an overhead wire for supply, and the overhead wire 1a is held by a stretched holding wire 3. Reference numerals 1b, 1c, and 1d denote overhead lines for communication and the like which are stretched further above the overhead line 1a. Actually, a large number of overhead lines are stretched above a track in a considerable height range. . Here, it is assumed that the overhead wire 1a is located at the lowest position and the position closest to the boundary between the level crossing 4 and the road 5, and one wire 6 is attached to the overhead wire 1a in parallel with the overhead wire 1a. It is.

At one end of the wire 6 attached to the overhead wire 1a,
An ultrasonic probe 7 which receives a longitudinal ultrasonic wave on the wire 6 and receives a reflected wave from the wire breakage portion, and an ultrasonic sensor 8 is connected to the probe 7. In addition,
The other end of the wire is subjected to terminal treatment so that ultrasonic waves incident from one end are not reflected. Reference numerals 9a and 9b denote cameras provided on both sides of the railroad crossing. Examples of the cameras include a normal camera, a video camera, an infrared camera, a night vision camera, and the like. In the range 10a, 10b shown, the track 9 passing through the railroad crossing can be photographed by the camera 9a in the figure. Reference numeral 12 denotes a plate indicating the height limit value of the railroad crossing.

In such a configuration, for example, the track 11 having a height equal to or higher than the height limit value indicated on the plate 12 is used.
However, if the wire 6 is cut along with the overhead wire 1a after passing through the railroad crossing 5, reflection of ultrasonic waves occurs from the broken portion. That is, in FIG. 1, if the wire 6 is cut along with the overhead wire 1a at the broken portion indicated by the mark A, the ultrasonic wave reflected at the broken portion returns to the probe 6 side. Therefore, if the sensor 8 detects this, it is possible to know that the wire 6 has been cut. If the camera 9a is operated using this detection signal, the track 11 can be photographed including the license plate.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the cable and the probe, and the relationship between the ultrasonic sensor and the camera. Reference numeral 13 denotes an input which is a disconnection detection signal 14 based on a reflected wave from the disconnection portion A of the wire 6. An inverter whose output is inverted,
When there is an input signal, the output is "0", and when there is no input signal, the logical value is "1". Reference numeral 15 denotes a contactor operated by the output of the inverter 13, and reference numeral 16 denotes a normally open contact of the contactor 15, which closes when the contactor 15 is energized and supplies a contact signal to the timer 17. The timer 17 outputs an output 18 for 3 seconds, for example, and supplies the output 18 to the camera 9 to operate the camera to take a picture of the car whose overhead wire has been cut. Reference numeral 19 denotes a calendar circuit, which can output the year, month, day, hour, and minute into an image by giving its output to the camera 9 in conjunction with the output 18 of the timer 17.

Embodiment 2 FIG. In the first embodiment, the case where one wire is attached to the overhead wire has been described. However, in order to increase the accuracy of cutting detection, a parallel cable in which a plurality of wires are bundled in parallel is attached, and the parallel cable is attached. Ultrasonic waves may be propagated through the wire to be formed, and a reflected wave from the broken portion may be detected to detect a break in the overhead wire.

By the way, in the first embodiment, a simple circuit has been described so that the gist of the present invention can be easily understood. However, it goes without saying that the functions of these hardware can be replaced by a technology such as a microcomputer. No.

[0014]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the vehicle which enters the railroad crossing ignoring the height limit of the railroad crossing and which cuts the overhead line which has a significant effect on train operation is photographed. This is extremely effective in identifying a car that has been cut if it is cut.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 overhead line, 2 tracks, 3 wires, 4 railroad crossings, 5 roads, 6 signal lines, 7 ultrasonic probes, 8 ultrasonic sensors, 9 cameras, 10 ranges, 11 tracks, 12
Plate, 13 inverters, 14 signals, 15 contactors, 16 normally open contacts, 17 timers, 18 outputs, 19 calendar circuits, A disconnection.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wire attached to an overhead line located at the lowest position of an overhead line stretched in parallel with a track above a level crossing and closest to a boundary between the level crossing and a road; An ultrasonic probe that can be transmitted and received at one end, an ultrasonic sensor that is connected to the probe, and an ultrasonic sensor that is provided to capture a car passing through a railroad crossing, the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave due to the disconnection of the wire, By detecting by the sensor, the camera is configured to perform a shooting operation for a predetermined time, and when a car passing through a railroad crossing cuts an overhead wire with the wire together with the wire, the camera is operated. An apparatus for photographing a car at a railroad crossing, wherein the car is taken at a railroad crossing. 2. The year, month,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the day, hour, and minute are printed. 3. By attaching a parallel cable in which a plurality of wires are bundled in parallel to an overhead wire, transmitting ultrasonic waves to the plurality of wires forming the cable, and detecting the reflection of the ultrasonic waves from the disconnection portion, A vehicle photographing apparatus for cutting off an overhead wire at a railroad crossing, wherein the overhead camera detects a disconnection of the overhead wire, and the camera is operated based on the detection signal.