JPS6012679B2 - Vehicle identification device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pattern (shape) identification of moving objects, and particularly to a vehicle discrimination device for pattern identification of passing vehicles on a toll road.

On multi-section toll roads, a toll ticket is issued at the entrance, and at the exit, the toll is calculated and collected based on the entrance interchange number, vehicle type, etc. written on the ticket. Therefore, there is a problem of unauthorized use, such as when a user converts the pass ticket and mistakenly misses the section used. By comparing, fraud can be determined.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional vehicle identification system for toll roads includes a system in which optical sensors are arranged on the roadside and the number of axes and logical numbers of passing vehicles are detected using a footboard installed on the road surface. That is, in this device, a light projector 2 is disposed on one side lb of islands la and lb on the roadside, and a light receiver 3 is disposed on the other side la.

The light receiver 3 includes m light receiving elements 4, 42, . . .
4m are provided at equal intervals in the vertical direction, and 2 floodlights are installed.
m number of light emitting elements 5, 52,...5m are provided at equal intervals in the vertical direction, and each of these light emitting elements and light receiving elements is arranged in pairs facing each other, and the optical axis is are matched. Furthermore, a treadle 6 is provided on the road directly below the optical axis, and is turned on and off in response to the tread pressure of the wheels.

Therefore, in this vehicle identification device, when a vehicle passes, the light receiving element whose optical axis is blocked by the car body turns off, and when a wheel steps on the tread plate 6, the tread plate 6 is turned on, so the output of the light receiving element identifies the vehicle. The number of times the treadle 6 is pressed is detected while at least one output of the light receiving element is cut off (that is, while the vehicle is passing), the number of axles and wheels are detected, and the results are sent to the collection staff. It only has the function of sending the information to the terminal device in the booth 7. Therefore, the follower device can only detect the passing of a vehicle and the number of axles and wheels for each set of vehicles, and cannot identify individual vehicles with high precision. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a treadle device that extends in the width direction of the road and is provided on the road and outputs a signal according to the pedal pressure of a vehicle, and a road corresponding to the installation position of the treadle device. A light projecting device is provided on one shoulder and has a light projector that constantly emits red wave modulated light installed at multiple corners in the height direction, and a red light receiving element and a blue light receiving element are provided on the other shoulder of the road opposite to the same light device. A plurality of light receivers arranged in parallel with a plurality of light receiving elements are spaced apart in the height direction opposite to the projector, and when the modulated light is blocked by a vehicle, a detection signal is output, and a color signal of the vehicle is detected based on the signal ratio of the light receiving element. a pulse generator that outputs a timing pulse signal according to the rising signal, the falling signal of the light receiving device and the output signal of the step board device; and a detection device of the light receiving device according to the output signal of the pulse generator. and an identification device that detects the color pattern and outputs an identification signal of the passing vehicle based on the detection result.The step board device detects Fuji number and the logical number, and the light receiving element detects the passage of one vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle identification device that improves vehicle identification accuracy by detecting the color of the vehicle body using the light receiving element when the vehicle is blocking the vehicle. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the sensor installation configuration of the device of the present invention, in which 2 is a light projector, 3 is a light receiver, 6 is a footboard, and 21' is a vehicle.
The light projector 2 includes m light emitting elements (e.g. light emitting diodes) 221, 222, which emit light of red or near-infrared wavelengths.
. . 22 m are arranged vertically at equal intervals, and the light receiver 3 has m light receiving elements 23, 232, . . . 23 m each consisting of two sensors. They are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction. These m light-receiving elements 23, . . . 23m form pairs with the opposing light-emitting elements 22, . . . 22m, respectively. Each of the light receiving elements 231, 232, . . . 23m is a light emitting element 221, 222, . . . . Consists of a red sensor R that has sufficient sensitivity for the emission wavelength band emitted by 22 m and a blue sensor B that has high sensitivity for blue light. Therefore, when a vehicle passes, light reflected from the vehicle enters the light-receiving element at the position facing the vehicle, so that a color signal corresponding to the paint color of the vehicle is detected.
Reference numeral 24 denotes an oscillator that oscillates at a frequency of 1, and the light emitting elements 22, 222, . . . , 22m are modulated by the output of this oscillator 24.

FIG. 3 shows a signal processing circuit for the light receiving elements 23, . . . 23m, and 23i indicates one of these light receiving elements.
31 and 32 are logarithmic amplifiers (log amplifiers).

The logarithmic amplifier 31 amplifies the detection output of the red sensor R of the light receiving element 23i, and the logarithmic amplifier 32 amplifies the detection output of the blue sensor B of the light receiving element 23. 33 is a differential amplifier that receives the outputs of these logarithmic amplifiers 31 and 32 as input;
The color signal B, (i=1 , 2, 3,...
…m) is obtained.

34 is an AC amplifier that amplifies the output of the red sensor R; 35 is a filter that modulates the output of this AC amplifier 34 and extracts the output of the final frequency component; 36 uses the extracted output of this filter 35 as input; This is a determination circuit that determines the presence or absence of an input.

When there is no input of the frequency component ', this discrimination circuit 36 outputs a cutoff signal Ai (i=1, 2, 3...
m) is output. This signal processing device shown in FIG. 3 is provided for each light receiving element. The operation of the signal processing circuit having such a configuration with respect to the light receiving element 23 when a vehicle passes by as shown in FIG. 4A is as follows.

That is, before the vehicle reaches the optical axis position of the light receiving element 23, red frequency modulated light from the opposing light emitting element 22 is input, and the red sensor R of the light emitting element 22 detects this modulated light. and output as shown in Fig. 4b. Since the blue sensor B does not sense the red frequency modulated light, it outputs a detection output as shown in FIG. 4c in response to the blue component light that enters from the outside.
When the vehicle blocks the optical axis, the red frequency modulated light from the light emitting element 22 is cut off, so that reflected light from the vehicle, that is, paint color light, enters the light receiving element 23. The red component and the blue component of the incident light are transmitted to the red sensor R and the blue sensor B, respectively.
It is detected and output as shown in Figures b and c. The output of the red sensor R is amplified by an AC amplifier 34, and then only the frequency component of the frequency modulation is extracted by a filter 35 and sent to a discrimination circuit 36.
sent to. Therefore, after the optical axis is blocked, the filter 3
5 extraction output becomes zero, and the discrimination circuit 36 detects this light emitting element 22.
, and outputs a cutoff signal A as shown in FIG. 4d. On the other hand, red sensor R, blue sensor B
The outputs are amplified by corresponding logarithmic amplifiers 31 and 32, respectively, and then input to a differential amplifier 33, and the difference signal between the two is taken out as a color signal B as shown in FIG. 4e.

That is, the outputs of the red and blue sensors R and B correspond to the red color of the car body paint color and the ratio of the growth component, and when the difference component between the two is extracted by the differential amplifier 33, this is the ratio of the red and growth component. The output is related to the color information of the vehicle. The signal processing circuit of the light receiving element whose optical axis is thus blocked by the vehicle operates as described above during the blocked period. Since the red frequency modulated light continues to enter the light-receiving element 23m that is not blocked, for example, the uppermost light-receiving element 23m, the cut-off signal Am is "L" as shown in Fig. 4h, and the blue sensor B does not emit light. Red frequency modulated light from the element 22m and other light such as white light from the outside enter, and an output as shown in FIG. 4g corresponding to the amount of growth is output. Then, the difference output after logarithmically amplifying these red and blue detection outputs is sent to a differential amplifier 33.
When extracted from the
m. That is, when the optical axis of the corresponding light-receiving element is blocked by the vehicle, each signal processing circuit outputs the interruption signal Ai for the period during which the optical axis of the corresponding light-receiving element is blocked, and during that period, the optical axis of the light-receiving element and the light reflected from the vehicle body near the layer are output. A color signal Bi corresponding to the color is output.

Therefore, the color signal B of the signal processing circuit that outputs the cutoff signal A can be extracted as data at a reliable detection position that is not affected by the running speed of the vehicle, such as directly at the front and rear ends of the vehicle or at the axle position. If so, this can be used as discrimination data for each vehicle that indicates the characteristics of each vehicle. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a determination circuit used in the apparatus of the present invention.

In the figure, B, B2, &,...Bm indicate the color signals output from each of the signal processing circuits, and 6 indicates the step board, A,, A2,...... Am indicates the cutoff signal output from each signal processing circuit. 40
41 is an OR gate which inputs these cutoff signals A,...Am, performs an OR logic, and generates a passing signal S, and 41 generates a pulse P at the rise and fall of this passing signal S. a pulse generator for outputting a predetermined clock pulse C in a separate system after the passing signal S has fallen;
2 is a pulse generator that generates a pulse P2 when the footboard 6 is pressed; 43 is a counter that counts the pulse P2 output from the pulse generator 42 to determine the number of axles of the vehicle;
The count value is transferred by the clock pulse C output by the pulse generator 41.

44 is a pulse P output from the pulse generators 41 and 42.
This is an OR gate that receives P2 as input and performs the OR logic of both, and generates a sampling signal.

451, 452, 453,...45m are provided corresponding to each of the signal processing circuits, and are enabled by the cutoff signal "H" output from the signal processing circuit and cleared by "L". It is an A/D converter (analog-to-digital converter), and the A/D converter 45 receives the color signal B, the A/D converter 452 receives the color signal B2, and the A/D converter 453 receives the color signal B. The color signal & is converted into a digital value corresponding to each analog level (in the same manner as below).

46 are these A/D converters 45. ,452,...4
5m output digital data to the OR gate 44.
This register 46 captures and stores data in response to a sampling signal output from the pulse generator 41. After sequentially storing data, the register 46 transfers the data to the outside using a clock pulse C output from the pulse generator 41.

A data transfer circuit 47 receives data output from the register 46 and the counter 43 and transfers it to a ticket issuing machine or a ticket validating machine in synchronization with the clock pulse C output from the pulse generator 41.

In the case of a pass ticket issuing machine, this transferred data is recorded as pass ticket information, and in the case of a pass ticket verification machine, this data is compared with the reproduced data from the pass ticket.

Next, the operation of this apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be explained.

When there is no vehicle 21 between the emitter 2 and the receiver 3, the light emitting element 22 of the emitter 2. ,...,2
2m and the light receiving element 23 of the light receiver 3,...23m
Each light ball is not blocked from light. Moreover, the light emitting element 22
, . . . 22m respectively emit red frequency modulated light while being modulated by the output of the oscillator 24, and provide it to the corresponding light receiving elements 23 . . . 23m. Each light receiving element 23, . ...23m is each red sensor R
and blue sensor B, therefore, the red frequency modulated light from the light emitting element is transmitted to each red sensor R.
detected by. The detection outputs are each given to an AC amplifier 34 and amplified there, and then a filter 35 extracts the output of only the modulated frequency component of the frequency modulated light. Then, the determination circuit 36 determines whether or not there is an extracted output of the frequency component. In this case, since it is receiving frequency modulated light, it becomes "present" and generates an output of logic level "L". This "L" signal output from each signal processing circuit of each light receiving element 23...23m causes the A/D converter 45 corresponding to each of these signal processing circuits to
1,...45m is cleared. When the vehicle 21 approaches the position of the light emitter 2 and the light receiver 3, the optical axes of at least one pair of light emitting and light receiving elements are blocked, so the light receiving element at the blocked optical axis position receives red light from the light emitting element. Since the frequency modulated light is blocked and no longer enters the filter
There is no longer any signal input to the discrimination circuit 36 via the discrimination circuit 36, and the discrimination circuit 36 determines that there is no frequency modulated light and outputs a logic level "H", that is, a cutoff signal Ai (i=1, 2, 3,
...... m) is output. For example, if the optical axis of the light receiving element 232 is blocked, the signal processing circuit of the light receiving element 232 generates a cutoff signal A2. Then, the cutoff signal A2 of level "H" is applied to the A/D converter 452 corresponding to this light receiving element 232, so that the A/D converter 452 enters the enable (EMble) state.

On the other hand, reflected light from the vehicle body enters the light receiving element 232 whose optical axis is blocked by the vehicle instead of the red frequency modulated light from the light emitting element 222.

The light emitting element 232 consists of a red sensor R that has sufficient sensitivity in the wavelength band of red light and a blue sensor B that has sufficient sensitivity in the wavelength band of blue light, and the outputs of each sensor R and B are the corresponding logarithms. After being logarithmically amplified separately by amplifiers 31 and 32, the signals are applied to a differential amplifier 33. Therefore, the differential amplifier 33 amplifies the logarithmically amplified difference component of the signals output from the red and blue sensors at a detection level corresponding to the color of the vehicle body. This is red, which corresponds to the paint color of the car body.
This is the ratio of the amount of growth, and is color information unique to that vehicle. The output & of the difference amplifier 33, which is this color information, is given to the corresponding A/○ converter 452 as a color signal. This A/
Since the D converter 452 receives the cutoff signal and is in the enabled state, when it receives the color signal &, it converts it into a digital value corresponding to the level of this color signal B2, and converts it into a digital value corresponding to the level of the color signal B2, and stores it as digital data in the register 46 corresponding to this A/○ converter 452. Give to portions. On the other hand, the cutoff signal A2 at "H" level
Therefore, the OR gate 40 reaches the level "H" as shown in FIG. 6b.
A passing signal S is generated.

As a result, when the passing signal S rises, the pulse generator 41 generates pulses P, -, as shown in FIG. 6c. This pulse P.-, is applied to the OR gate 44, and the OR gate 44
generates a sampling signal and applies it to register 46.
Therefore, the register 46 uses this sampling signal to set the A/D
Converter 45. ,...Fetch the output of 45m and store it. In the above example, the data other than the A/D converter 45 is cleared and the data is "zero", and such data is stored in the portions of the register 46 corresponding to the respective A/D converters. The next time the register 46 takes in new data is when the next sampling signal is output from the OR gate 44.

The OR gate 44 can output a sampling signal when the footboard 6 is pressed and when the output of the OR gate 40 rises and falls. That is, the OR gate 40 receives as its input the cutoff signal A of each signal processing circuit.
Am is given, and these are the values of each light receiving element 2.
31, 232, . . . 23 m, the output is output during the period when the optical axis is blocked. Therefore, as shown in FIG. ” becomes. Therefore, the pulse generator 41, which operates on this earth's power and supplies the pulse P, to the OR gate 44, operates at the time when the front position of the vehicle blocks even one optical axis, and when there are no optical axes being blocked, that is, A pulse P is output only when the rear position of the vehicle has completed passing. In addition, the tread plate 6 receives tread pressure when the wheel steps on the tread plate 6.
When the wheels pass as shown in FIG. 6A, the pulse generator 42 generates pulses P2-, P2-2 as shown in FIG. In the end, the sampling signal is generated only when the front part of the vehicle reaches the optical axis position (detection point) of the light receiving element, when the wheels reach this detection point, and when the rear part completes passing the detection point. . At the time when this sampling signal is generated, only the color signal from the light receiving element whose optical axis is blocked as described above is given as digital data to each corresponding position of the register 46 via each A/D converter, and the sampling signal is It will be stored by. The data collection state of each light receiving element 23, 232, . . . , 23m stored in the register 46 in this way is as shown in FIG.

Here, P,-,,P,-2,P2-,,P2-2 are the pulses, and indicate the time point at which sampling occurs. Also,"
0”, “2”, “3”, “4” etc. indicate color data, “
0" indicates no interruption (that is, no color data). The data stored in the register 46 in this way indicates that the passing signal S output from the OR gate 40 is "L" when the vehicle has completed passing.
When the clock pulse C falls, the pulse generator 41 outputs the clock pulse C as shown in FIG.

Also, the counter 4 counts the number of axes by counting the pulse P2 output from the pulse generator 42 every time the footboard 6 is pressed.
The count value of 3 is also read out by the clock pulse C and sent to the data transfer circuit 47.

The data transfer circuit 47 edits these data into a predetermined format and sends them to an external terminal. Therefore, if it is a terminal, for example a pass ticket issuing machine, this issuing machine will record the transferred data on the pass, and if it is a pass ticket confirmation machine, it will record the transferred data on the pass ticket. Compare the data read from the ticket to check whether the data matches or does not match.

The data includes the number of axles counted by the counter 43, the vehicle height at the front and rear ends of the vehicle and the axle position (height information can be obtained from the distribution of blocked light receiving elements), and vehicle color data. Since detailed characteristics of each vehicle can be obtained, by using this as data for vehicle identification, it is possible to identify with high accuracy whether or not the vehicle is the same as the one recorded on the pass ticket. Unauthorized use can be prevented.

In this way, there is a step board device that extends in the width direction of the road and emits a signal in response to the pedal pressure of a vehicle placed on the road, and a step board device that is installed on one side of the road shoulder corresponding to the installation position of the step board device that constantly emits red frequency modulated light. A light projector including a plurality of light projectors that emit light spaced apart in the height direction, and a light receiver provided on the other shoulder of the road opposite to the light projector and having a red light receiving element and a blue light receiving element arranged side by side, are attached to the light projector. A plurality of light receiving devices are arranged facing each other in the height direction, and output a detection signal when the modulated light is blocked by a vehicle, and also output a color signal of the vehicle based on the signal ratio of the light receiving element, and a rising signal of the light receiving device. , a pulse generator that outputs a timing pulse signal in response to a falling signal and an output signal of the step board device; and a detection device that detects a color pattern according to the output signal of the pulse generator, and detects a color pattern based on the detection result. It consists of an identification device that outputs an identification signal of a passing vehicle, and constantly emits red frequency modulated light to each of a plurality of light receivers spaced apart in the height direction, each consisting of a red light receiving element and a blue light receiving element, and detects passing vehicles. When the incidence of the red frequency modulated light is blocked by the vehicle body in each light receiver, this is detected from the output of the red light receiving element to obtain a cutoff signal, and the output of the red and blue rain light receiving elements of the light receiver is detected. At the same time, the front and rear of the vehicle are detected from each of the cutoff signals, and the number of axles and the position of the axle are detected from the output of the footboard device, and the number of axles and the position of the axle are determined based on the axle position and the front and rear portions of the vehicle during the cutoff by the vehicle body. Since the color information of each light receiving element is extracted and used as data for vehicle identification, the data includes information such as vehicle height at the front and rear of the vehicle and axle position, color, and number of axles. This data is sufficient to identify the vehicle, so record this data on the pass ticket, perform the above-mentioned detection again at the exit to obtain the data, and compare this with the data on the pass ticket. It is possible to provide a vehicle identification device that has excellent features such as being able to check with high reliability whether or not the ticket has been issued for the vehicle in question, and preventing unauthorized use such as exchanging a ticket.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist thereof.

0 Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a conventional vehicle identification device, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a light projector and light receiver arrangement part in the device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a conventional vehicle identification device. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the signal processing circuit, FIGS. 4 a to i are diagrams for explaining its operation, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the determination circuit used in the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 a to 6 f is a diagram for explaining the operation.

2... Emitter, 3... Receiver, 6...
...Treadboard, 221, 222, ~, 22m...Light emitting element,
231, 232, ~23m... Light receiving element, 24
...... Oscillator, 31.32... Logarithmic amplifier, 33
...Differential amplifier, 35...Filter amplifier, 36
...Discrimination circuit, 40, 44...OR gate, 41,
42... Pulse generator, 43... Counter, 4
5.,452. ~45m...A/○ converter, 46...
...Register, 47...Data transfer circuit.

Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 2 Diagram Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A footboard device that extends in the width direction of the road and is installed on the road and emits a signal in response to vehicle pedal pressure, and a floodlight that is installed on one side of the road shoulder corresponding to the installation position of the footboard device and that constantly emits red frequency modulated light. A light projecting device in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged at intervals in the height direction, and a light receiver provided on the other road shoulder facing the projecting device and having a red light receiving element and a blue light receiving element arranged side by side, facing the light projecting device. a plurality of light receiving devices arranged at intervals in the height direction and outputting a detection signal when the modulated light is blocked by a vehicle and also outputting a color signal of the vehicle based on the signal ratio of the light receiving element; and a rising signal and a falling signal of the light receiving device. a pulse generator that generates a timing pulse signal in response to the signal and the output signal of the stepboard device;
A vehicle identification device comprising: a detection device for detecting the light receiving device according to the output signal of the pulse generator; and an identification device that detects a color pattern and outputs an identification signal of a passing vehicle based on the detection result.