JP3815019B2 - Vehicle type identification device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle type discriminating apparatus that discriminates a vehicle type by detecting a contour of an object by projecting a detection signal onto a vehicle passing through a detection region and measuring a distance.
[0002]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As this type of vehicle type discriminating device, for example, a device provided at a toll booth on an expressway, etc., is located in front of a ticketing machine in order to automatically issue a toll ticket according to the type of vehicle to pass. . Recently, there are automatic fee collection systems that are used to separately determine the type of vehicle that passes to detect unauthorized vehicles. As an apparatus for discriminating the vehicle type in this way, for example, there is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-41249 or an apparatus disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,546,188.
[0003]
FIG. 29 shows an example of such a conventional configuration. That is, in each lane 1 of the toll road on the highway, a vehicle type discriminating device 4 is provided in the gantry 3 as a device for discriminating the vehicle type of the passing vehicle 2. The vehicle type discriminating device 4 is arranged in a state facing the road surface of the lane 1, and the two laser beams Xa and Xb are separated by a predetermined distance d in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle 2. Scanning is performed so that lane 1 is cut by Lb.
[0004]
In this case, the laser beams Xa and Xb are scanned at the scanning positions La and Lb in a pulse-lit state. At this time, the delay time of the light reflected with respect to the irradiated laser beam is measured. The distance from the vehicle type discriminating device 4 is measured from the relationship between the delay time and the speed of light. Therefore, when it is detected that an object is present at a position higher than the road surface of lane 1, it can be determined that the vehicle is passing.
[0005]
Moreover, since the information corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the passing vehicle 2 can be obtained from the distance measurement result when scanned at the scanning positions La and Lb, the shape of the vehicle can be determined thereby. Furthermore, when the vehicle 2 passes, a detection time delay corresponding to the passage speed occurs between the scanning positions La and Lb. From the relationship between this delay time and the distance d between the scanning positions La and Lb. Since the traveling speed of the passing vehicle can be estimated, the vehicle length of the vehicle 2 can be estimated from the time and traveling speed from the time when the head of the vehicle 2 passes to the time when the tail passes. As a result, the vehicle outer shape and the vehicle length information can be obtained, so that the vehicle type of the passing vehicle 2 can be determined.
[0006]
However, in the conventional configuration as described above, the speed of the passing vehicle 2 is estimated by the time difference between the two points between the scanning positions La and Lb, so that the vehicle 2 is, for example, a bus or a trailer. In this case, when the speed changes after the head portion passes the scanning positions La and Lb, the reliability of the vehicle length data obtained from the relationship between the time until the tail portion passes and the speed decreases. There is a bug. Such a situation can occur, for example, in a state where traffic congestion has occurred. Therefore, a vehicle type identification device capable of performing correct measurement is desired.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to make it possible to reliably discriminate the vehicle type even when the passing speed fluctuates when passing through the detection region while having a simple configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle type discrimination device.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle enters the detection area, the detection signal projected from the signal output means located above the detection area is irradiated to the vehicle in a state scanned by the scanning means. . When the irradiated detection signal is reflected by each part of the vehicle, this is detected by the receiving means, and the distance detecting means detects the distance to each part of the vehicle that is the detection target based on the delay time of the reflected signal. Become.
[0009]
In this case, since the scanning direction of the detection signal by the scanning unit is set to a direction inclined by a predetermined angle from the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle, for example, when scanning in an oblique direction, Detection distance information of both the traveling direction of the vehicle and the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction can be detected as synthesized information. Therefore, by repeatedly performing the scanning, it is possible to obtain the detection distance information in the traveling direction of the vehicle separately from the geometrical arrangement relationship with respect to the scanning direction that is known in advance.
[0010]
Based on such a principle, the discriminating means obtains detection distance information along the traveling direction of the vehicle from the detection distance information, recognizes the outer shape of the vehicle that has entered the detection area, and thereby discriminates the vehicle type directly. Will be able to.
[0011]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the scanning direction of the detection signal of the signal output means is set by the scanning means to the traveling direction of the vehicle, that is, the inclination angle of 90 °. Since the detected distance information along can be directly obtained, it becomes possible to quickly determine the vehicle to be detected.
[0012]
According to the invention of claim 3, the entire outer shape of the passing vehicle is detected by superimposing the feature points of the outer shape obtained for each scan in the scanning direction of the signal output means by the discrimination means. For example, even when the vehicle length to be detected is long and the detection distance information of the entire detection target vehicle cannot be obtained by one scan, the whole can be detected by performing a plurality of scans. This makes it possible to determine the vehicle type.
[0013]
According to the invention of claim 4, since the scanning direction of the signal for detection of the signal output means is set by the scanning means so as to be along an intermediate angle direction between the traveling direction and the orthogonal direction of the vehicle, By performing scanning, it is possible to obtain information including detection distance information along the traveling direction of the vehicle that is passing and detection distance information in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction as equivalent information. It can be used separately.
[0014]
As a result, by repeating a plurality of scans, the outer shape along the traveling direction of the detection target vehicle can be determined, and the vehicle of the detection target vehicle is detected from the detection distance information in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. Since the width information can also be obtained, the vehicle type can be more accurately determined.
[0015]
  Claim5According to this invention, by detecting the movement of the feature point of the detection target object from the distance detection information obtained for each scan in the scanning direction of the signal output means by the discrimination means, from the scanning cycle and the movement distance of the feature point. Since the moving speed of the passing vehicle at that time is detected, if the vehicle can obtain feature point information from the detected distance information by scanning at that time, the moving speed by scanning at that time can be detected. become able to.
[0016]
  Claim6According to the invention, in the above configuration, since the traveling speed in the detection area of the passing vehicle is detected by the determining means based on the moving speed information of the feature point, at least when the leading portion or the trailing portion of the vehicle passes. Since the feature point of the vehicle can be extracted, the traffic speed can be detected from the moving speed information. Thereby, the traveling speed of the vehicle can be detected without providing a separate device for speed measurement.
[0017]
  Claim7According to the invention, in the configuration described above, since the change of the traveling speed in the detection area of the passing vehicle is detected based on the moving speed information of the feature point by the determining means, information corresponding to the acceleration can be obtained. Further, this makes it possible to recognize whether the vehicle tends to decelerate or accelerate from the moving speed information obtained for each scanning period corresponding to the case where the speed of the vehicle changes when passing through the detection region. It becomes like this.
[0018]
  Claim8According to this invention, when the vehicle type is discriminated by detecting the outer shape along the traveling direction of the passing vehicle based on the distance detection information based on the detection signal of the signal output unit by the discriminating unit, the scanning unit scans a plurality of times. When the movement of the feature point cannot be detected in the distance detection information over the distance, the travel speed between them is estimated based on the travel speed detected before and after that and the information of the change, and is used as the travel information. When a vehicle with a long vehicle length such as a vehicle with few feature points between the tip and end passes while accelerating or decelerating, the speed during which the moving speed information on the way cannot be obtained This can be obtained by estimating from the front and rear passage speeds. As a result, it becomes possible to improve the detection accuracy of the length of the vehicle, and to accurately determine the vehicle type.
[0019]
  Claim9According to the invention, in the above configuration, since the movement of the feature point cannot be detected by the discriminating means, it is assumed that the change in the passing speed is continuously occurring, and the passing speed of the passing vehicle is estimated. It is possible to calculate the traffic speed during the period when the travel speed information cannot be obtained even when there is a change in the traffic speed based on the information estimating the speed change, and the vehicle type can be accurately determined. It becomes like this.
[0020]
  Claim10According to this invention, the vehicle width information of the passing vehicle is obtained by detecting the component information in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the passing vehicle from the distance detection information obtained from the detection signal of the signal output means by the discrimination means. As a result, the vehicle type can be discriminated in consideration of the vehicle type discriminating element based on the vehicle width information in addition to the vehicle type discriminating element based on the external shape information along the traveling direction, so that more accurate vehicle type discrimination can be performed. It becomes like this.
[0021]
  Claim11According to the invention, the signal output means is the first signal output means for the detection region, and the second signal output means set to scan by the scanning means at a position different from this is provided, Since the discrimination means discriminates the vehicle type of the passing vehicle from the distance detection information based on the detection signals of the first and second signal output means, the vehicle type discrimination can be performed based on the distance detection information at different positions. Thus, the detection accuracy can be improved by performing the detection operation while covering a wider detection area.
[0022]
  Claim12According to the invention, in the above configuration, the scanning unit is provided so that the scanning direction of the second signal output unit is set to a direction different from the scanning direction of the first signal output unit. The detected distance detection information can be used as distance detection information for the target direction, and even if there is distance detection information that cannot be obtained by a single scanning direction in a wider range, this can be covered. Detection with high accuracy can be performed, and the vehicle type discrimination operation can be performed accurately.
[0023]
  Claim13According to the invention, since the scanning direction of the second signal output means is set by the scanning means in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the passing vehicle passing through the detection region, the second signal output means obtains the above configuration. Distance detection information can be obtained as vehicle width information of directly passing vehicles, vehicle width information that is one of the vehicle type identification elements can be obtained quickly without performing arithmetic processing, and vehicle type identification processing is simplified It becomes possible to perform quickly with a simple configuration.
[0024]
  Claim14According to the invention, since the scanning direction of the first signal output means is set to the traveling direction of the vehicle by the scanning means, the distance detection information obtained from the first signal output means is directly along the traveling direction. Since it can be obtained as information, it is possible to quickly obtain the outer shape information along the traveling direction, which is the vehicle type discrimination element, without performing arithmetic processing in the same manner as described above, and the vehicle type discrimination processing is quickly performed with a simple configuration. Will be able to.
[0025]
  Claim15According to the invention, the axle detection signal output means is provided so that the detection signal can be emitted also to the side surface of the vehicle passing through the detection region, and the detection signal of the axle detection signal output means is provided by the scanning means. Since scanning is performed so as to obtain distance detection information in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle passing through the detection area, from the distance detection information obtained from the detection signal irradiated on the side surface of the vehicle passing through It becomes possible to discriminate between a portion where the vehicle is grounded and a portion where it is not, and can recognize the position and number of wheels provided in the vehicle.
[0026]
  Claim16According to the invention, in the above configuration, the discriminating means detects the detection target wheel from the distance detection information obtained from the detection signal of the axle detection signal output means, and determines the number of axles of the passing vehicle. In addition to the vehicle outer shape and vehicle width information, the axle can be detected, so that the vehicle type of the passing vehicle can be determined with high accuracy.
[0027]
  Claim17According to this invention, the detection area is formed in a state separated so that the detection signal irradiation by the axle detection signal output means is not blocked by a passing vehicle other than the detection target vehicle passing through the adjacent area. Therefore, when determining the number of axles as described above, the axle detection signal emitted from the axle detection signal output means can be reliably irradiated to the detection area without being interrupted. This makes it possible to reliably detect the number of axles of the vehicle passing through.
[0028]
  Claim18According to the invention, the signal output means is provided as a laser light source for outputting laser light as a detection signal, and the scanning means scans in the scanning direction using the optical path of the laser light output from the laser light source as the detection axis. Thus, the irradiation area can be narrowed down to the target scanning position and the distance can be detected based on the time difference between light projection and light reception.
[0029]
  Claim19According to the invention, in the above-described configuration, the laser light source is provided so as to irradiate the laser beam in a pulsed manner, and the distance to the object is detected based on the delay time of the reflected light. The distance detection resolution is determined by the detection accuracy of the delay time until the light is received, and the necessary level of resolution can be obtained as vehicle distance detection information. In addition, the scanning can be performed by appropriately setting the pulse lighting cycle. The scanning speed in the direction and the detection interval can be set to appropriate levels.
[0030]
  Claim20According to the invention, since a plurality of signal sources are provided corresponding to each of the signal sources, the configuration of the control system can be simplified, and the laser for each scanning direction can be simplified. The optical axis adjustment operation of the light source can be performed independently.
[0031]
  Claim21According to the invention, when a plurality of signal output means are provided, the laser light source is also used as a detection signal for two or more of the signal output means, so the number of light sources arranged can be reduced. Thus, the overall configuration can be made compact.
[0032]
  Claim22According to the invention, the scanning means switches the laser light from the laser light source for each scanning unit with one scanning of the plurality of signal output means as a unit, so that the signal processing can be performed in the scanning unit. And can easily process the detection distance information..
  Claim23According to the invention, since the scanning of the plurality of signal output means is performed by the scanning means at the same time apparently by switching the pulse lighting of the laser light by the laser light source as a unit, the information detected simultaneously by the time division is used. Based on this, it is possible to obtain detection distance information without time delay in each scanning direction.
[0033]
  Claim24According to the invention, since the detection axis that is the optical path of the laser beam of the laser light source is scanned by the mirror by changing the reflection angle of the mirror, the scanning of the laser light source is performed in one direction at a substantially constant speed. Thus, it becomes possible to perform scanning repeatedly, signal processing can be simplified as compared with a case where the laser light source is scanned in a reciprocating manner, and a rapid detection operation can be performed.
[0034]
  Claim25According to the invention, the scanning means distributes the detection axis, which is the optical path of the laser beam of the laser light source, so as to correspond to the scanning of the plurality of signal output means, and the reflection angle of the multiple scanning mirror The optical path conversion means converts the scanning laser beams distributed by changing the laser beam so that they are set in different scanning directions, so that scanning is performed in different scanning directions using a single laser light source. The distance detection information can be obtained.
[0035]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in the case where the present invention is applied to a vehicle type discriminating apparatus provided at a toll gate on an expressway will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle type discriminating device 12 disposed in a lane 11 provided in a toll gate. The vehicle type discriminating device 12 is provided on the gantry 13 disposed so as to straddle the lane 11 so as to set the detection region S downward. The vehicle 14 to be detected passes through the lane 11 in the direction of arrow A. The lane 11 is set to have a road width that allows one vehicle 14 having four or more general wheels excluding a single vehicle to pass therethrough.
[0036]
The vehicle type determination device 12 scans the first detection laser beam 16 with respect to the detection region S in accordance with a scanning line 15 set in a direction along the traveling direction A of the vehicle 14 and is orthogonal to the traveling direction A. The second detection laser beam 18 is scanned in accordance with the scanning line 17 set in the direction. The first and second detection laser beams 16 and 18 are alternately scanned every scan, and are pulse-lit at predetermined time intervals during one scan. It has become.
[0037]
Next, the configuration of the vehicle type identification device 12 will be described with reference to FIG. For the sake of simplicity, FIG. 2 shows a configuration for outputting the detection laser beams 16 and 18 for one of the scanning lines 15 or 17. A laser beam projector 19 as a signal output unit for outputting the detection laser beam 16 (18) and a light receiver 20 as a receiving unit for receiving the reflected light 16a (18a) are provided, and a distance as a distance detecting unit, respectively. It is connected to the measuring instrument 21.
[0038]
The laser beam projector 19 outputs a laser beam 16 (18) as a detection signal by pulse lighting when a projection pulse signal having a predetermined period is given from the distance measuring device 21. The reflected light 16 a (18 a) reflected by the object is received and a light reception signal is output to the distance measuring device 21. The distance measuring device 21 is configured to obtain the distance from the reference point to the reflection position based on the delay time td from the light projection pulse signal and the light receiving signal input from the light receiving device 20.
[0039]
The laser light 16 (18) output from the projector 19 and the reflected light 16a (18a) incident on the light receiver 20 are incident on the reflecting surface of the polygon mirror 22, and are further reflected by the reflecting mirror 23 to a predetermined level. The optical path is changed in the direction. The polygon mirror 22 functions as scanning means, and is rotated at a high speed by a drive motor so that light incident on each side surface of the regular polygonal column is scanned in one direction by the rotation. Become.
[0040]
The control device 24 as a discriminating means gives a control signal to the driving device 25 that controls the rotation of the driving motor of the polygon mirror 22 described above to control scanning by laser light projection, and is detected by the distance measuring device 21. The distance detection signal is input and vehicle type discrimination processing is performed as described later.
[0041]
Although not shown, the lane 11 for toll collection is provided with a roadside machine that communicates with the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle 14 for toll collection. The ID code and various data registered in the machine are exchanged, and the toll collection data when traveling on the highway is exchanged. At this time, the vehicle type discriminating device 12 is for confirming whether or not the vehicle type data registered in the in-vehicle device matches the actual vehicle 14.
[0042]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
3 and 4 show the basic operation of the vehicle type identification device 12 and the distance detection process. FIGS. 3A and 3B show temporal changes in the scanning angles of the laser beams 16 and 18 scanned by the polygon mirror 22, and also show pulse signals for pulse-lighting the laser beams. ) And (d) show the pulse signal and the light reception signal in detail by expanding the time axis.
[0043]
First, when a light projecting signal is given from the distance measuring device 21 with a pulse repetition period tr as shown in FIG. 3C, the light projecting device 19 turns on the laser in response to the laser light 16 and 18 in response to this. Output. At this time, the pulse width of the laser beams 16 and 18 is tw, and the delay time until the reflected lights 16a and 18a are received by the light receiver 20 and output as a light reception signal is td.
[0044]
The distance measuring device 21 then determines the delay time td and the speed of light c (= 3 × 10 10) that is the speed of the laser beams 16 and 18.⁸m / sec) is the optical path length from when the laser beams 16 and 18 are projected to reach the object and the reflected lights 16a and 18a reach the light receiver 20, and the distance to the object. Since it is equal to the distance 2d which is twice the distance d, the distance d (= (c × td) / 2) to the object which is distance detection information can be obtained.
[0045]
As described above, the laser beams 16 and 18 are scanned while being lit on the scanning line 15 along the traveling direction of the vehicle 14 and the scanning line 17 corresponding to the orthogonal direction, respectively. Information on the detection distance d, which is detection distance information obtained from the reflected lights 16a and 18a, is sequentially input to the control device 24. The scanning period Tp of the laser beams 16 and 18 and the scanning time Ts (see FIG. 3A) during which the laser beam is actually scanned are determined by the rotational speed of the polygon mirror 22. The detection resolution is set by the scanning time Ts and the like.
[0046]
Accordingly, for example, by scanning the laser beam 16 along the scanning line 15, as shown in FIG. 4A, detection distance information having a shape along the traveling direction of the vehicle 14 is obtained, and the laser beam 18 is obtained. , Along the scanning line 17, the detected distance information having a shape along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 14 can be obtained as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, scanning along the scanning line 15 to obtain detection distance information is abbreviated as “vertical line measurement”, and scanning along the scanning line 17 to obtain detection distance information is referred to as “horizontal line measurement”. ".
[0047]
In the above-described configuration, in the horizontal line measurement, it is possible to obtain data obtained by measuring the distance of the entire shape of the vehicle 14 in accordance with the scanning cycle of the vehicle 14 passing through the lane 11. However, in the vertical line measurement, only the data obtained by measuring the shape of the portion passing through the central portion of the lane 11 with respect to the vehicle 14 passing through the lane 11 is obtained.
[0048]
Next, processing contents when the control device 24 performs the vehicle type determination process of the vehicle 14 will be described with reference to the flowchart of the vehicle type determination program shown in FIG. When starting the vehicle type discrimination program, the control device 24 first performs vertical line measurement and horizontal line measurement (steps S1 and S2) to determine whether or not the vehicle 14 to be detected exists in the detection region S. Judgment is made (step S3), and steps S1 to S3 are repeated until the vehicle presence condition is satisfied.
[0049]
Next, when it is determined that there is a vehicle (step S3), the control device 24 obtains by connecting the positions corresponding to the respective detection distances d from the detection distance information obtained by the vertical line measurement and the horizontal line measurement. The obtained outer shapes L1 and L2 are obtained, and the feature point P which is data characterizing the shape is extracted from the obtained outline outer shape (step S4). Thereby, the position (indicated by “·” in the figure) that becomes the feature point P can be obtained from the outer shape as shown in FIGS. In this case, in the illustrated detection distance information, it seems that it is difficult to extract the feature point P because the measurement interval is wide, but in practice, the detection point setting interval is set to be further narrowed. Point P can be determined.
[0050]
Next, the control device 24 repeats the vertical line measurement and the horizontal line measurement (steps S4 and S5), and continues to extract the feature points P while the vehicle exists (step S6). (Step S7), the position of the feature point P obtained at this time is compared with the position of the feature point P obtained at the previous measurement time (step S8).
[0051]
Thereafter, the control device 24 obtains a movement distance between the feature points P that can be associated (see FIG. 8), calculates and obtains a movement speed between them (step S9), and subsequently information on the outer shape. The vehicle height is measured (step S10), and the vehicle length is measured (step S11). In this case, if the entire vehicle 14 cannot be covered by a single scan, the vehicle length cannot be measured, but the information for measuring the vehicle length is associated by associating the feature point P. Can do.
[0052]
Subsequently, the control device 24 ends the measurement when the vertical line measurement and the horizontal line measurement are performed (steps S5 and S6), and when it is not determined that the vehicle is present (step S7), the data obtained so far. The vehicle type of the passing vehicle 14 is determined based on (step S13), the program is terminated, and the process returns to the main program.
[0053]
In this case, in determining the vehicle type, the total vehicle length of the vehicle 14 can be substantially specified by the data of the vertical line measurement. For example, when a trailer connected via a coupler passes, If the connector part cannot be detected only by measurement, it may be determined as another vehicle, but in such a case, by performing the horizontal line measurement, the presence of the connector part can be detected. Accurate vehicle type discrimination processing can be performed.
[0054]
6 and 7 show data measured when the vehicle 14 passes through the detection region S. The data shown in FIG. 6 is obtained when the vehicle 14 travels at a higher speed than the case shown in FIG. The measurement data is shown respectively. That is, when the vehicle 14 passes through the detection region S at a certain speed, by performing each of the horizontal line measurement and the vertical line measurement, with the passage of time as shown in FIGS. Data composition can be performed. From the horizontal line measurement data, a change in the outer shape in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 14 with the passage of time is obtained, and from the vertical line measurement data, a change in the outer shape of the vehicle 14 in the traveling direction with the passage of time is obtained. .
[0055]
On the other hand, when the vehicle 14 passes through the detection region S at a speed slower than that in the state of FIG. 6, the movement distance of the vehicle 14 per scan is short, so as shown in FIG. From the line measurement data, it can be seen that the vehicle length is long, and from the vertical line measurement data, the moving distance is short. Therefore, the vehicle length of the vehicle 14 can be measured from the vertical line measurement data, and the data in the width direction of the vehicle 14 can be obtained from the horizontal line measurement data, and accurate vehicle type discrimination can be performed.
[0056]
In the case of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 described above, it is assumed that the speed of the vehicle 14 passing through the detection region S is constant. However, in the case where there is a traffic jam or the like, for example, the vehicle 14 determines the vehicle type. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the lateral line measurement data continues to be measured in the vehicle width direction of the stopped vehicle 14 when the brake is applied just when passing under the device 12. Data can be obtained. Even in such a case, the vertical line measurement data can detect that there is no movement for each scan along the traveling direction as shown in FIG. It can be done.
[0057]
Next, the vehicle passing through the lane 11 is different from the vehicle 14 described above, and the vehicle length is estimated when the vehicle length is long and the characteristic point cannot be obtained from the vertical line measurement data in the middle part of the vehicle. The method will be described with reference to FIGS. This is, for example, a box-shaped vehicle that has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, such as a bus, and the length of the entire long vehicle cannot be detected along with the feature points in the vertical line measurement. This is an estimation method provided for the case where the vehicle type cannot be determined depending on circumstances.
[0058]
That is, FIG. 10 shows a program that estimates the moving speed and corrects the detection of the vehicle length when a part of the vehicle such as a bus passes through the detection region S. This program is incorporated in the above-described vehicle type discrimination program, but here, a flowchart for explaining only the control content relating to the estimation of the moving speed is shown.
[0059]
First, after determining that a vehicle is present (step S3), the control device 24 performs vertical line measurement and horizontal line measurement (steps S5 and S6), and then performs feature point extraction (step T1). Next, in the feature point extraction process, when the vehicle has an uneven outer shape from the vertical line measurement data (step T2), the control device 24 performs the speed measurement process (step T3) as described above. The vehicle length correction process (step T4) can be performed, but if the vehicle has no irregularities in the middle of the bus, it is determined as “NO” in step T2 and the following process is performed. To do.
[0060]
That is, the control device 24 first calculates the change in the moving speed when the vehicle enters from the moving speed data obtained by the movement of the feature point from the data of the vertical line measurement until the previous time, and the speed change amount from the data. Is calculated (step T5). Thereby, the acceleration of the movement of the tip when the vehicle enters the detection region S can be obtained. Then, during the measurement period during which feature points cannot be extracted, it is assumed that the acceleration applied to the vehicle does not change suddenly, and the acceleration at the time of entry continues, and the speed is estimated based on the data. (Step T6).
[0061]
Subsequently, the control device 24 calculates the speed change amount at the time of exit (step T7) and estimates the speed from this data (step T8). Since this data cannot be obtained until the exit from S, during the period in which the movement of the feature points cannot be detected, the processing of these steps T7 and T8 is not performed at this time.
[0062]
After that, when the speed change amount at the time of exit is calculated when the vehicle exits the detection area S (step T7), based on this, the speed for the period in which the speed could not be detected in the previous period is calculated. The speed is estimated by going back in time. In this case, the speed is estimated on the assumption that the speed change during the period in which the speed cannot be detected, that is, the acceleration, is substantially the same as the speed change amount at the time of exit (step T8).
[0063]
As a result, the passing speed of the vehicle during a period in which the speed could not be detected can be estimated based on the amount of change in speed before and after that period. If the speed change amount at the time of entering and leaving is different, if it is estimated that a pinch is shot by both speed change amounts and a discontinuity occurs, it is assumed that this has changed continuously. Then, the speed calculation process is performed.
[0064]
As a result, the control device 24 corrects the detected speed data based on the estimated speed data (step T9), thereby correcting the calculation result of the vehicle length when the estimation process is not performed. (Step T10), and finally the vehicle type is determined from the result (step S13).
[0065]
FIG. 11 shows two cases in which the speed of the vehicle is estimated as described above. In the first case, as shown in FIG. 11A, the speed at the time of entry and the speed at the time of exit are substantially the same. Moreover, this is a case where the speed is constant. In this case, it can be estimated that the speed is the same as the speed at the time of entry and exit even during the period in which the speed could not be detected.
[0066]
In the second case, as shown in FIG. 5B, the vehicle is decelerated when entering and stopped in the detection area S, and then accelerated to exit from the detection area. In this case, since the amount of change in speed at the time of entry decreases at a constant rate, it can be estimated that the acceleration is constant, and when the vehicle travels with that acceleration, the speed becomes zero on the way and stops. Can be estimated.
[0067]
On the other hand, since the amount of change in the speed at the time of leaving increases at a constant rate, it can be estimated that the acceleration is constant in this case as well. When the previous speed is estimated from the speed, the point in time when the speed is zero can be obtained, and the transition of the speed as illustrated can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to estimate the period Tst during which the vehicle is stopped in the communication area S, and it is possible to calculate the moving distance during this period based on the estimated stop period Tst and the estimated speed.
[0068]
Next, the setting of each numerical value when configured as described above will be described assuming various cases.
First, assuming that the upper limit of the traveling speed of the vehicle is 200 km / h and the resolution in the traveling direction, that is, the number of scans, is to be set to perform one scan every time at least 10 cm travels,
10 (cm) / 200 (km / h) = 1.8 (msec)
Therefore, it is necessary to set the scanning cycle Tp to about 1.8 msec. Therefore, the number of scans per second represented by the reciprocal of this scan period Tp is 555.
[0069]
Next, since the scanning speed for speed measurement is determined by how many times the measurement is performed while passing through the detection area S, the upper limit of the traveling speed of the vehicle is assumed to be 200 km / h, for example, as described above. If the length of S is about 5 m and the number of measurements while passing through it is set to at least 20 times,
5 (m) / 200 (km / h) / 20 (times) = 4.5 (msec)
Therefore, it is necessary to set the scanning cycle Tp to about 4.5 msec, and the number of scans per second is 222 times.
[0070]
Further, since the sampling period tr is determined by the scanning speed and the angular resolution, for example, when the resolution necessary for determining the vehicle shape is set to 10 cm, the length of the detection region S is set to 3 m. It is necessary to perform 30 samplings per scan. As shown in FIG. 3A, the actual scanning time Ts in the period of the scanning cycle Tp is shorter than this, so that it is estimated that it is about half the time.
1.8 (msec) / 30 (times) / 2 = 30 (μsec)
Thus, the sampling period tr is about 30 μsec.
[0071]
On the other hand, when the resolution of speed measurement is 5 cm and the length of the detection region S is 5 m, it is necessary to perform 100 samplings per scan. Therefore, when the sampling period tr is obtained in the same manner as described above,
4.5 (msec) / 100 (times) /2=22.5 (μsec)
It becomes.
[0072]
As for the width of the detection area S, since one vehicle type discriminating device 12 is basically installed in one lane 11, the detection length in the vehicle width direction is in the range of about 3 m to 4 m, and the traveling direction The detection length is in the range of about 5 m to 10 m as assumed above. In addition, the detection length of this traveling direction is generally higher when the detection accuracy is higher. However, in practice, the installation height of the vehicle type identification device 12 cannot be so high, Since the scanning is performed over a wide angle with the laser light source as the center, a blind spot may occur, so the upper limit is about 10 m.
[0073]
In the above-described estimation, the example in which the detection accuracy is about 10 cm has been described. However, in practice, this is a level where shape measurement is sufficiently possible and necessary for processing. Therefore, it is a practically reasonable value as a result of selecting each appropriate condition.
[0074]
According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, first, since the outer shape of the vehicle 14 is directly measured by scanning the laser beam 16 with the scanning line 15 along the traveling direction of the vehicle 14, the speed is estimated from the time passing between the two points. Compared to the conventional configuration, the vehicle length of the vehicle 14 can be detected more accurately, thereby making it possible to reliably determine the vehicle type.
[0075]
Second, since the scanning line 15 is set in the traveling direction of the vehicle 14, the arithmetic processing is simplified.
Third, each time the vertical line measurement is scanned once, the feature point P is extracted and the movement for each scan can be detected, so that the speed of the vehicle 14 when moving in the detection region S and the amount of change in the speed are determined. A certain acceleration can be detected.
[0076]
Fourth, since speed and acceleration can be detected as described above, even if there is no feature that can recognize movement in the middle part of the vehicle body such as a bus, it is based on detection data at the time of entry and exit of the vehicle. Thus, the speed in the undetectable part can be estimated. Thereby, for example, even when the vehicle stops in the detection region S due to traffic jams or the like, this can be estimated, so that the detection accuracy of the vehicle length can be improved and the vehicle type determination can be performed accurately. become.
[0077]
Fifth, since horizontal line measurement is performed in addition to vertical line measurement, even if only vertical line measurement measured at the center of lane 11 is insufficient, by obtaining horizontal line measurement data, Even when the trailer connecting portion or the like does not pass through the central portion, or when the single vehicle is running in parallel, this can be recognized with certainty and more accurate detection processing can be performed.
[0078]
(Second Embodiment)
FIGS. 12 and 13 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the position of the line indicated by the scanning line 15 with respect to the traveling direction instead of the vehicle type discriminating device 12 is shown in FIG. For example, a vehicle type discriminating device 26 is provided which can be changed and set to a position indicated by a scanning line 15a or 15b, for example, at a position shifted by an arbitrary distance in the vehicle width direction to the left and right with respect to the center position 15.
[0079]
In this case, the means for changing the position of the scanning line is a known means that can be formed by knowledge of the configuration of a normal optical system. Although not shown, for example, a configuration for tilting the rotation axis of the polygon mirror 22 is provided. A configuration for changing the setting of the reflection angle of the reflecting mirror 23 is provided, or a configuration for tilting the entire optical system of the vehicle type discriminating device 26 is provided, which is changed by being driven by driving means such as a motor.
[0080]
Next, the operation when the position of the scanning line 15 is changed to the scanning lines 15a and 15b will be described. That is, FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a vehicle type discrimination program in such a case, which is configured by adding vehicle position measurement step S14 and position correction step S15 to the first embodiment. .
[0081]
That is, in this embodiment, when the vehicle 14 passing through the lane 11 has a vehicle width with respect to the width of the lane 11, the vehicle 14 passes through a position shifted from the center of the lane 11, or the vehicle In the case of a narrow vehicle such as a single vehicle, the distance detection information based on the horizontal line measurement can be obtained, but the detection distance information based on the vertical line measurement is shifted from the center position of the vehicle 14. This is done in response to the fact that the accurate outer shape of the vehicle may not be detected.
[0082]
After the control device 24 determines that there is a vehicle in the same manner as in the first embodiment (step S3), the vertical line measurement (step S5) and the horizontal line measurement (step S6) for determining the vehicle type of the vehicle 14 are performed. Each time, a feature point is extracted (step S8), and vehicle speed measurement, vehicle height measurement and vehicle length measurement are performed based on the data (steps S10 to S12). Based on the line measurement data, the position of the vehicle 14 within the range of the lane 11 is measured (step S14).
[0083]
Thereby, the scanning of the scanning line 15 of the laser beam 16 that scans the scanning line 15 is suitable for measuring the outer shape of the vehicle 14, for example, the scanning of the center like the scanning line 15a or 15b so as to pass through the center line of the vehicle 14. Control is performed so as to shift from the line 15 to the left and right (step S15), and thereafter, vertical line measurement is performed along the scanning line.
[0084]
According to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the passing position of the vehicle 14 in the lane 11 is measured, and the vertical line measuring scanning line 15 is appropriately set according to the passing position. Since there is a vehicle or a single vehicle that passes through a biased position in the lane 11, a vertical line measurement scanning line is set at a position where the vehicle passes reliably to detect distance detection information. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect the outer shape of the vehicle and more reliably discriminate the vehicle type.
[0085]
(Third embodiment)
FIGS. 14 to 18 show a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, a scanning line 17 for measuring a horizontal line. As the axle detection signal output means for irradiating the laser beam obliquely from above, the laser beam is scanned at the scanning position of the same scanning line 17 and provided at a position shifted laterally from the lane 11 by a predetermined distance. A horizontal line measuring device 27 for detecting the axle is provided.
[0086]
14 and 15 show a configuration in which an axle detection lateral line measuring device 27 is provided. In the lane 11, a separation band 29 is provided with a predetermined width between adjacent lanes 28. A gantry 30 is provided so as to straddle both the lane 11 and the lane 28, the aforementioned vehicle type discriminating device 12 is provided, and an axle detection lateral line measuring device 27 is provided at the boundary between the separation band 29 and the lane 28. It is provided at an upper position near the part.
[0087]
The axle detection horizontal line measuring device 27 is configured in the same manner as the configuration of the vehicle discriminating device 12 described above, and is provided so as to output the detection laser beam 31 to be scanned along the scanning line 17. The reflected light is received to detect the distance, and the detected data is output to the control device 24 of the vehicle discrimination device 12.
[0088]
FIG. 16 is an axle number detection program showing a process of detecting the number of axles of the vehicle 14 passing the detection region S by the control device 24. That is, when the distance detection data by the horizontal line measurement of the axle detection horizontal line measurement device 27 is input to the control device 24 (step R1), the current scanning of the passing vehicle 14 is performed based on the distance detection data. It is determined whether or not the portion that has been grounded (step R2).
[0089]
As shown in FIG. 17, when the scanned laser beam 31 is irradiated to a portion where the tire 14 a of the vehicle 14 is not present (see FIG. 17A), the portion where the tire 14 a exists is irradiated. The determination is made by using the fact that the distance detection data differs depending on the case (see FIG. 5B). When the distance detection data indicates a grounded state, the control device 24 determines whether or not it is a wheel (tire) (step R3).
[0090]
Here, the control device 24 can determine that the tire 14a is present based on the preset threshold data based on the distance determined to be grounded during a plurality of scans. If there is, “1” is added to the variable data indicating the number of axles (step R4). This is to prevent erroneous detection of a tire due to detection of a rope mounted on the vehicle 14 or a mudguard attached thereto even when the ground contact state is detected. Such detection processing is repeated until the vehicle 14 passes (step R5), thereby detecting the total number of axles.
[0091]
As a result, the control device 24 can obtain the shape shown in FIG. 18 by combining the detection data from the axle detection lateral line measurement device 27. Then, in addition to data such as vehicle length, vehicle height, or vehicle width, the number of axles is combined to determine the vehicle type.
[0092]
According to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to make a determination by adding the data of the number of axles as the vehicle type determination data, and more accurate determination processing can be performed. You can do it. In this case, a separation band 29 is provided between the lane 11 and the adjacent lane 28 to prevent the laser beam 31 of the axle detection horizontal line measuring device 27 from being blocked on the way. It is possible to prevent erroneous detection by other vehicles passing through the lane 28.
[0093]
(Fourth embodiment)
FIGS. 19 and 20 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the laser beams 16 and 18 irradiated along the scanning lines 15 and 17 are one. It has just been configured to generate from a laser light source. That is, only one set of the projector 19 and the light receiver 20 of the vehicle type identification device 12 in the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is provided, and a polygon mirror 32 having a special reflecting surface is provided as a polygon mirror 22 as a scanning means. .
[0094]
The polygon mirror 32 functions as a double-scanning polygon mirror for scanning at a plurality of scanning positions, and the adjacent reflecting surfaces 32a and 32b are inclined at a predetermined angle in the opposite direction with respect to the rotation axis. It is formed in the state. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, when the laser beam 33 output from the projector 19 is irradiated on the reflecting surface 32a, the laser beam is reflected in a direction inclined downward with respect to the rotation axis of the polygon mirror 32, and at this angle. It is scanned and can be obtained as a laser beam 16 (see FIG. 5A). On the other hand, when the laser beam 16 is irradiated onto the reflecting surface 32b, the laser beam 16 is reflected in the direction inclined upward, and scanned at this angle to obtain the laser beam 18 (see FIG. 5B). As a result, as shown in FIG. 5C, the laser beam 33 is reflected by the polygon mirror 32 and scanned, so that beams corresponding to the laser beams 16 and 18 can be obtained.
[0095]
Now, as shown in FIG. 19, the laser beams 16 and 18 output in this way form scanning lines in directions orthogonal to each other by two reflecting mirrors 34 to 37 along each optical path. Thus, the scanning lines 15 and 17 can be set for the detection region S as the projection surface.
[0096]
According to the fourth embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the scanning lines 15 and 17 can be set in the orthogonal directions by providing only one laser light source.
[0097]
(Fifth embodiment)
FIGS. 21 to 25 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the vehicle type scans the laser beam 16 only in the traveling direction 15 instead of the vehicle type discriminating device 12. A discriminator 38 is provided. The configuration of the fifth embodiment is a configuration in which the vehicle type discrimination is performed only by the vertical line measurement, whereas the vehicle type discrimination device 12 performs the horizontal line measurement in the first embodiment. Is.
[0098]
In this embodiment, in addition to the vehicle type discrimination method based on the vertical line measurement performed in the first embodiment, the vehicle length of the passing vehicle 14 is relatively smaller than the length of the detection region S in the traveling direction. The contents of data processing when the entire vehicle 14 cannot be covered by a long scan of the laser beam 16 along the traveling direction 15 will be described.
[0099]
That is, as shown in FIG. 22, if the vehicle 14 is moving from the position 14A toward the position 14B in the figure, the vertical line measurement data at this time is shown in FIG. The distance detection data obtained by scanning a part of is gradually moving. When feature points are extracted from the vertical line measurement data obtained by scanning a part of the vehicle 14 as described above, there are feature points that are related to each other, and these can be superimposed.
[0100]
As shown in FIG. 24, for example, if there is measurement data D1, D2, D3 obtained by measuring a part of the vehicle 14 in a vertical line, the feature points of the measurement data D2 are the feature points P1 to P3 of the measurement data D1. Since it can be seen that it coincides with P3, it can be overlaid at this position, and the feature point P4 of the measurement data D2 can be overlaid with the feature point P4 of the measurement data D3.
[0101]
As a result, the measurement data D1 to D3 can be overlapped with the matching feature points to obtain the entire shape as shown in FIG. 25A, and the feature points P1 to P6 can be obtained. As a result, the overall shape of the traveling direction of the vehicle 14 can be obtained as shown in FIG. 5B, and the vehicle length can be determined.
[0102]
According to the fifth embodiment as described above, even when the vehicle 14 having a length exceeding the range in the detection region S passes while the scanning line of the laser beam 16 is a simple configuration having only the traveling direction 15. When the feature point can be detected, the entire shape can be detected by synthesizing the vertical line measurement data obtained by scanning a plurality of times.
[0103]
(Sixth embodiment)
FIGS. 26 to 28 show a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that a vehicle type discriminating device 39 is provided instead of the vehicle type discriminating device 12. In this vehicle type discriminating apparatus 39, the scanning direction is set only to the scanning line 40 inclined obliquely by 45 ° from the traveling direction 15 (or the orthogonal vehicle width direction 17) of the vehicle. The distance is detected by irradiating a laser beam 41 along the line.
[0104]
As shown in FIG. 27, assuming that the vehicle 14 is moving from the position 14A to the position 14B in the figure, the oblique line measurement data is three-dimensionally as time passes as shown in FIG. It can be obtained as an image. At this time, since it can generally be assumed that the normal vehicle 14 has a rectangular shape when seen in a plan view, based on this assumption, an operation for correcting the change even when the speed changes with progress. By performing the above, the shape shown in the figure can be obtained.
[0105]
As a result, the outer shape data of the vehicle 14 with respect to the traveling direction 15 and the outer shape data of the vehicle 14 with respect to the vehicle width direction 17 can be obtained at the same time. Can also be corrected by performing an operation. In the case of this embodiment, the calculation processing burden actually increases somewhat compared to that of the first embodiment, but in order to make the resolution comparable, the calculation capability of the control device 24 is increased. It is possible to cope by improving
[0106]
According to the sixth embodiment, the configuration of the portion that outputs the laser light 41 can be a simple configuration that performs only scanning on the scanning line 40 in the oblique direction with a single laser light source. The hardware configuration can be simplified, and the distance detection data for the traveling direction 15 and the vehicle width direction 17 can be calculated by scanning the scanning line 40 while reducing the man-hours required for maintenance of the laser light source. Will be able to.
[0107]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The scanning with the laser beam may be performed first in the horizontal line measurement, or may be performed at the same time apparently by irradiating the laser pulse in a time division manner. In this case, when the laser pulse light is irradiated in a time division manner, the detection timing may be adjusted and the timing process may be performed for separation. Furthermore, if the laser beam of the vertical line and the horizontal line can be separated and detected by using light sources having different wavelengths (frequencies), it can be irradiated substantially simultaneously.
[0108]
The vehicle speed, vehicle length, or vehicle height can be detected by batch processing at the time of vehicle type determination, and every time vertical line measurement and horizontal line measurement are performed, calculation processing is performed within the range that can be detected from the obtained data. You may make it prepare for determination.
[0109]
The laser beam is not limited to a method in which the vertical line and the horizontal line are alternately scanned once, but the scanning frequency should be set to different conditions as necessary in consideration of constraints such as detection accuracy and scanning speed. You can also.
By performing the horizontal line measurement, even when a plurality of vehicles pass at the same time when passing a single vehicle or the like, this can be detected and specified.
[0110]
The optical system is configured so that the laser light emitted from the polygon mirror 22 or 32 is reflected by the reflecting mirror 23 or 34 to 37 and guided to a predetermined optical path. It is also possible to provide a prism that can set an optical path equivalent to the above-described configuration.
[0111]
For example, a galvanometer mirror other than the polygon mirror 22 may be used as the mirror as the scanning means. In this case, in order to perform double scanning with a galvanometer mirror, it can be divided and scanned by swinging about two axes. The scanning means can be configured using a hologram scanner in addition to the mirror.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic external perspective view in an installed state showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle type identification device
FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the relationship between a scanning angle of a laser beam, a light emission signal, and a light reception signal.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of vertical line measurement and horizontal line measurement.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a vehicle type identification program.
FIG. 6 Horizontal line measurement data and vertical line measurement data over time
7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 when the vehicle speed is low.
FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram showing the relationship between vertical line measurement data and feature points.
FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 when the vehicle stops halfway.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a vehicle speed estimation program.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the principle of vehicle speed estimation.
FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a front view of an overall configuration showing a third embodiment of the present invention in an arrangement state;
FIG. 15 is an external perspective view of the overall configuration shown in an arrangement state.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an axle number detection program.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a difference in data depending on the presence or absence of a tire in the horizontal line measurement for detecting an axle.
FIG. 18 Axle detection lateral line measurement data over time
FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram of an arrangement of an optical system showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of divided scanning of laser light by a polygon mirror.
FIG. 21 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the laser beam scanning and the vehicle.
FIG. 23: Vertical line measurement data over time
FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the relationship between measurement data and feature points
FIG. 25 is a diagram in which measurement data is synthesized by overlapping processing with feature points.
FIG. 26 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 27 is a view corresponding to FIG.
FIG. 28: Oblique line measurement data over time
29 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 is a lane, 12 is a vehicle type identification device, 14 is a vehicle, 15 is a first scanning direction, 16 is a laser beam (first detection laser beam), 17 is a second scanning direction, and 18 is a laser beam (first 2 is a laser beam projector (signal output means), 20 is a light receiver (reception means), 21 is a distance measuring device (distance detection means), 22 is a polygon mirror (scanning means), and 23 is Reflector, 24 is a control device (discriminating means), 25 is a driving device, 26 is a vehicle type discriminating device, 27 is an axle detection lateral line measuring device (axle detection signal output means), 28 is a lane, 29 is a separation band, 31 is a laser beam for detection, 32 is a polygon mirror (multi-scanning mirror), 33 is a laser beam, 34 to 37 are reflecting mirrors, 38 and 39 are vehicle type discriminators, 40 is a scanning line, 41 is a laser beam, and S is This is a detection area.

Claims (26)

A signal output means for projecting a detection signal from a predetermined position above the detection region to which the vehicle to be detected passes toward the measurement target position in the detection region;
A scanning unit that scans a measurement target position on which the detection signal is projected by the signal output unit in a scanning direction inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to a traveling direction of a vehicle that passes through the detection region;
A receiving means for receiving a reflected signal that is reflected from the detection signal irradiated from the signal output means and reflected in the detection area; and
Distance detecting means for detecting a distance to a detection target based on a delay time of a reflected signal received by the receiving means with respect to a detection signal emitted from the signal output means;
The detected distance information in the traveling direction of the vehicle is separated from the distance detection information detected by the distance detecting means , the outer shape is recognized from the components along the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the vehicle type of the passing vehicle is determined based on this. A vehicle type discriminating apparatus comprising a discriminating means for discriminating. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 1,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means sets the scanning direction of the detection signal of the signal output means to the traveling direction of the vehicle. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 2,
The discriminating means detects the overall outer shape of a passing vehicle by superimposing the feature points of the outer shape obtained for each scan in the scanning direction of the signal output means. . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 1,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means sets the scanning direction of the detection signal of the signal output means along an intermediate angle direction between the traveling direction and the orthogonal direction of the vehicle. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 3 or 4 ,
The discrimination means detects the movement speed of the passing vehicle at that time by detecting the movement of the feature point of the detection target object from the distance detection information obtained for each scan in the scanning direction of the signal output means. A vehicle type identification device. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 5 ,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus, wherein the discriminating unit detects a traffic speed of the passing vehicle in the detection area based on movement speed information of the feature points . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 5 or 6,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the discriminating means detects a change in traffic speed in the detection area of the passing vehicle based on movement speed information of the feature points . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 7 ,
The discrimination means includes
When detecting the outer shape along the traveling direction of the passing vehicle based on the distance detection information based on the detection signal of the signal output means to determine the vehicle type, the distance detection information over a plurality of scans by the scanning means A vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that when the movement of the feature point cannot be detected, the traffic speed between them is estimated based on the traffic speeds detected before and after that and the change information thereof to obtain the movement information . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 8,
The discriminating means is configured to estimate the passing speed of the passing vehicle, assuming that the change in the passing speed during the period during which the movement of the feature point cannot be detected is considered to occur continuously. apparatus. The vehicle type identification device according to any one of claims 4 to 9 ,
The discriminating unit obtains vehicle width information of the passing vehicle by detecting information of a component in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the passing vehicle from distance detection information obtained from a detection signal of the signal output unit. A vehicle type identification device. The vehicle type identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
Wherein said signal output means to the detection region as a first signal output means, and providing the second signal output means is configured to scan by said scanning means at a position that is different from this,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the discriminating unit discriminates a vehicle type of a passing vehicle from distance detection information based on detection signals of the first and second signal output units. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 11 ,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means is provided so as to set the scanning direction of the second signal output means in a direction different from the scanning direction of the first signal output means . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 12,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means is provided so as to set the scanning direction of the second signal output means in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of a passing vehicle passing through the detection region . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 13,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means is provided so as to set the scanning direction of the first signal output means to the traveling direction of the vehicle . The vehicle type identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
Axle detection signal output means capable of irradiating a detection signal also to the side surface of the vehicle passing through the detection region,
The scanning unit is configured to scan the detection signal of the axle detection signal output unit so as to obtain distance detection information in a direction orthogonal to a traveling direction of a vehicle passing through the detection region. A vehicle type identification device. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 15 ,
The vehicle type discriminating device characterized in that the discriminating unit detects a detection target wheel from distance detection information obtained from a detection signal of the axle detection signal output unit and determines the number of axles of the passing vehicle . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 15 or 16,
The detection area is formed in a state of being separated so that irradiation of the detection signal by the axle detection signal output means is not blocked by a passing vehicle other than the detection target vehicle passing through the adjacent area. A distinctive vehicle type identification device. The vehicle type identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 17 ,
The signal output means is provided as a laser light source that outputs laser light as a detection signal,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means is configured to scan in the scanning direction using an optical path of laser light output from the laser light source as a detection axis . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 18 ,
The said laser light source is provided so that the said laser beam may be lit and irradiated and it detects the distance to a target object based on the delay time of the reflected light, The vehicle type discrimination | determination apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 18 or 19,
The said laser light source is provided corresponding to each when the said signal source is provided with two or more, The vehicle type discrimination | determination apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 18 or 19 ,
The laser light source, when a plurality of the signal output means are provided, is configured to be used as a detection signal for two or more of the signal output means . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 20 or 21 ,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means scans by switching the laser light from the laser light source for each scanning unit with one scanning of the plurality of signal output means as a unit. The vehicle type identification device according to claim 20 or 21 ,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning means is configured to simultaneously perform the scanning of the plurality of signal output means by apparently switching in units of pulsed laser light by the laser light source . The vehicle type identification device according to any one of claims 18 to 23 ,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus, wherein the scanning unit is configured to scan a detection axis, which is an optical path of laser light of the laser light source, by changing a reflection angle of a mirror . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 21 ,
The scanning means includes
A multi-scanning mirror that distributes a detection axis that is an optical path of laser light of the laser light source so as to correspond to scanning of a plurality of signal output means;
An apparatus for discriminating a vehicle type, comprising: optical path conversion means for converting a plurality of scanning laser beams to be set in different scanning directions by changing a reflection angle of the multi-scanning mirror . The vehicle type identification device according to claim 25 ,
The vehicle type discriminating apparatus characterized in that the scanning direction converting means is a reflecting mirror .

Images