Apparatus for assisting the operation safety of railroad construction vehicles

Abstract

The present invention relates to an operation safety assistance device for a railway construction vehicle, comprising: a first monitoring device installed and operated at the front of the railway construction vehicle; and a second monitoring device installed and operated at the rear of the railway construction vehicle. Each of the first and second monitoring devices includes: an image capturing unit that captures and provides multiple images having different shooting points through multiple cameras distributed on the railway construction vehicle; an image distribution unit that supports image sharing with other monitoring devices; a driver status monitoring unit that receives and analyzes only the driver-captured images among the multiple images to determine the driver's status and the severity of the status; a speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed; a control panel that provides the driver with a monitoring screen and warning information while simultaneously receiving the driver's control values; and an integrated control unit that has multiple camera modes, configures and provides the monitoring screen by adjusting the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver, and generates and provides the warning information based on the driver's status and vehicle speed.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an operational safety assistance device for a railway construction vehicle that can collect various types of information to enable safer driving of the vehicle and provide them to the driver. Background Technology

[0002] Railway construction vehicles are vehicles used for railway maintenance and accident recovery, and consist of a single car, allowing for the additional installation of special devices such as electric ladders.

[0003] These railway construction vehicles are characterized by having driver's cabs installed at both the front and rear of the vehicle, allowing for driving in both directions.

[0004] Accordingly, the vehicle driver must drive safely while sitting in a cab installed at the front or rear of the vehicle and monitoring the vehicle's condition and surroundings; however, conventionally, there was a disadvantage in that the judgment and prevention of vehicle abnormalities or accident situations relied solely on the driver's subjective judgment.

[0005] In particular, there was a limitation in that vehicle drivers could only check and perceive the surroundings of the vehicle through the windows. Prior art literature

[0006] Korean Registered Patent No. 10-2194245 (Registration Date: Dec. 16, 2020) The problem to be solved

[0007] Accordingly, in order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide an operational safety assistance device for railway construction vehicles that collects and provides various information to assist vehicle driving based on cameras and sensors, thereby enabling the driver to drive the vehicle more safely by referring to this information.

[0008] The objectives of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned objectives will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains from the description below. means of solving the problem

[0009] As a means to solve the above problem, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an operation safety assistance device for a railway construction vehicle is provided, comprising: a first monitoring device installed and operated at the front of a railway construction vehicle; and a second monitoring device installed and operated at the rear of the railway construction vehicle, wherein each of the first and second monitoring devices includes: an image capturing unit that captures and provides multiple images having different shooting times through a plurality of cameras distributed on the railway construction vehicle; an image distribution unit that supports image sharing with other monitoring devices; a driver status monitoring unit that receives and analyzes only the driver-captured image among the plurality of images to determine the driver's status and the severity of the status; a speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed; a control panel that guides the driver to a monitoring screen and warning information while simultaneously receiving the driver's control value; and an integrated control unit that has a plurality of camera modes, configures and provides the monitoring screen by adjusting the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver, and generates and provides the warning information based on the driver's status and vehicle speed.

[0010] The above-described image capturing unit is characterized by comprising: a first camera installed at the front or rear of the railway construction vehicle; a second camera installed at the front upper side or rear upper side of the railway construction vehicle; a third camera installed at the front left side or rear left side of the railway construction vehicle; a fourth camera installed at the front right side or rear right side of the railway construction vehicle; and a fifth camera installed at the front driver's seat or rear driver's seat of the railway construction vehicle.

[0011] The above integrated control unit is characterized by comprising: a monitoring screen configuration unit that has a plurality of camera modes and configures and provides a monitoring screen by adjusting the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver; a driver state warning unit that generates and provides warning information corresponding to the driver state and state severity; and a speed violation warning unit that generates and provides warning information corresponding to the vehicle driving mode and vehicle speed.

[0012] The above integrated control unit is characterized by further including a data storage unit that maps the plurality of images, the driver state, and the vehicle speed and stores them sequentially in chronological order.

[0013] In addition, the integrated control unit further includes an object detection unit that performs an object detection operation based on an image acquired through at least one of a plurality of cameras, and then generates and provides warning information corresponding to the object detection result. Effects of the invention

[0014] The present invention enables a driver to drive a vehicle more safely by allowing the driver to easily check the area around the vehicle and beyond the trolley through multi-channel video, and also to easily recognize the driver's condition and vehicle speed abnormalities. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0015] FIGS. 1 to 4 are drawings for explaining an operation safety assistance device for a railway construction vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5 to 6 are drawings for explaining an integrated control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention in more detail. FIG. 7 is a drawing for explaining an integrated control unit according to another embodiment of the present invention in more detail. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0016] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily practice the present invention. However, in describing the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present invention, such detailed description is omitted. Additionally, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts having similar functions and operations.

[0017] Additionally, throughout the specification, when a part is described as being 'connected' to another part, this includes not only cases where they are 'directly connected,' but also cases where they are 'indirectly connected' with other elements in between. Furthermore, the description of a component as 'including' means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components.

[0018] FIGS. 1 to 4 are drawings for explaining an operation safety assist device for a railway construction vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the device of the present invention consists of two monitoring devices, namely a first monitoring device and a second monitoring device (100, 200), which are respectively installed and operated at the front and rear of a railway construction vehicle.

[0020] And each monitoring device (100, 200) includes an image capturing unit (110, 210), an image distribution unit (120, 220), a driver status monitoring unit (130, 230), a speed sensor (140, 240), a position tracking unit (150, 250), a control panel (160, 260), an integrated control unit (170, 270), etc.

[0021] Each video capturing unit (110, 210) includes, as shown in FIG. 2, a first camera (111, 211) installed at the front or rear of a railway vehicle, a second camera (112, 212) installed at the front upper or rear upper side of a railway vehicle, a third camera (113, 213) installed at the front left side or rear left side of a railway vehicle, a fourth camera (114, 214) installed at the front right side or rear right side of a railway vehicle, and a fifth camera (115, 215) installed at the front driver's seat or rear driver's seat of a railway vehicle, and simultaneously acquires and provides multiple images, i.e., multi-channel images, of the front and rear of the vehicle from various viewpoints.

[0022] At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, it is preferable that the first camera (111, 211) be implemented as a standard camera and the second camera (112, 212) be implemented as a wide-angle camera, so as to minimize the occurrence of blind spots by overlapping shots of the same area at different viewing angles and shooting positions.

[0023] The image distribution unit (120, 220) is equipped with first and second distributors (121, 122) and shares images of the first and second cameras ((111, 211), (112, 212)) with other monitoring devices.

[0024] The driver state monitoring unit (130, 230) tracks and monitors the driver's position, movement, and gaze changes based on the driver video captured by the fifth camera (115, 215), and confirms and notifies the driver's state and the severity of the state based on this. At this time, the driver's state may be drowsy, inattentive, or absent, but is not limited to these.

[0025] A speed sensor (140, 240) is installed at the front or rear of a railway construction vehicle to sense the vehicle's movement speed in real time.

[0026] The location tracking unit (150, 250) obtains the current location information of the railway construction vehicle in real time.

[0027] The control panel (160, 260) is equipped with a monitor (161), a warning light (162), and a keypad (163), and through these, provides the driver with monitoring screens and warning information, while simultaneously receiving various control values ​​input by the driver.

[0028] The integrated control unit (170, 270) is equipped with multiple camera modes and configures and provides a monitoring screen while adjusting the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver. In addition, it generates and provides various warning information based on the driver's status and vehicle speed.

[0029] In this way, the present invention enables the driver to check the area around the vehicle and beyond the trolley through multi-channel video, and also warns of driver status and abnormal vehicle speed, thereby allowing the driver to drive the vehicle more safely by referring to this information.

[0030] FIGS. 5 and 6 are drawings for explaining an integrated control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the integrated control unit (170) of the present invention includes a monitoring screen configuration unit (171), a driver status warning unit (172), a speed violation warning unit (173), and a data storage unit (174), etc.

[0032] The monitoring screen configuration unit (171) is equipped with a plurality of camera modes and configures and provides a monitoring screen while adjusting the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver.

[0033] The camera mode of the present invention may be configured as a general mode, an extended mode, a panorama mode, a detailed viewing mode, etc., as shown in FIG. 6.

[0034] In general mode, images from the first to fourth cameras located in the front or rear are displayed in a split-screen manner, and in extended mode, images from the first and second cameras located in the rear or front are additionally displayed in a split-screen manner in addition to the first to fourth cameras located in the front or rear, and in panoramic mode, images from the first to fourth cameras located in the front or rear are aligned and displayed as a single panoramic image, and in detailed viewing mode, only the image of a specific camera selected by the driver can be enlarged and displayed, but it is obvious that the screen configuration method for each camera mode may be diversified and changed in the future.

[0035] The driver state warning unit (172) stores a warning intensity corresponding to the driver state and state severity in advance, and performs a warning action corresponding to the driver state and state severity based on this.

[0036] For example, if the possibility of driver drowsiness is confirmed, the warning light green lamp may be illuminated; if driver drowsiness is confirmed, the warning light green lamp and the first buzzer sound may be activated together; if severe driver drowsiness is confirmed, the warning light green lamp and the second buzzer sound may be activated together; if driver inattention is confirmed, the third buzzer sound may be output; and if the driver is absent from the seat, the warning light green lamp and the fourth buzzer sound may be illuminated. In this case, the first to fourth buzzer sounds may be implemented using the same sound source differing only in volume, may be implemented using different sound sources, or may be implemented as a combination thereof, but are not limited thereto.

[0037] The speed violation warning unit (173) stores a warning intensity corresponding to the vehicle driving mode and vehicle speed in advance, and performs a warning action corresponding to the vehicle speed based on this.

[0038] For example, when the speed exceeds 25 km / h in working mode or 85 km / h in driving mode, the warning red lamp and buzzer are activated together, and the buzzer sound volume is increased in proportion to the excess speed.

[0039] The data storage unit (174) maps multiple images, driver status, and vehicle speed and stores them sequentially in chronological order, thereby enabling the driver to search for and view necessary information later.

[0040] FIG. 7 is a drawing for explaining an integrated control unit according to another embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

[0041] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the integrated control unit (170) of the present invention includes an object detection unit (175), in addition to a monitoring screen configuration unit (171), a driver status warning unit (172), a speed violation warning unit (173), and a data storage unit (174).

[0042] The object detection unit (175) performs an object detection operation based on an image obtained through at least one of a plurality of cameras (in particular, a side image obtained through the third camera and the fourth camera ((113,213), (114,214))), and then calculates the probability of a collision based on the position and movement speed of the object. By generating and providing warning information corresponding to the probability of a collision, it is possible to prevent safety accidents of railway construction vehicles in advance.

[0043] In addition, based on the object detection results, at least one of the object's location, movement speed, and collision probability is overlaid on the monitoring screen, allowing the user to recognize the possibility of a collision and drive defensively.

[0044] In this case, the object position may be displayed and provided in the form of a box, and the movement speed and collision probability in the form of text, but are not limited thereto.

[0045] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. It is understood that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essence of the invention as claimed in the claims, and such modifications should not be understood individually from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.

Claims

Claim 1 A device for assisting the operational safety of a railway construction vehicle comprises: a first monitoring device installed at the front of the railway construction vehicle; and a second monitoring device installed at the rear of the railway construction vehicle, wherein each of the first and second monitoring devices includes: an image capturing unit that acquires multiple images having different shooting points through multiple cameras distributed on the railway construction vehicle to capture the front and rear working environments of the railway construction vehicle at different points in time; an image distribution unit configured to enable mutual sharing of the multiple images between the first monitoring device and the second monitoring device; a driver status monitoring unit configured to receive and analyze only the driver-captured image among the multiple images to verify the driver status and the severity of the status; a speed sensor configured to detect the vehicle speed of the railway construction vehicle; and a control panel configured to provide the driver with a monitoring screen based on the multiple images and warning information corresponding to the driver status or the vehicle speed, while simultaneously receiving the driver's control value. The operation safety assistance device for a railway construction vehicle is characterized by comprising an integrated control unit configured to have a plurality of camera modes, adjust the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver to configure and provide the monitoring screen, and generate and provide warning information based on the driver status and vehicle speed, wherein the image capturing unit comprises: a first camera installed at the front or rear of the railway construction vehicle; a second camera installed at the front upper side or rear upper side of the railway construction vehicle; a third camera installed at the front left side or rear left side of the railway construction vehicle; a fourth camera installed at the front right side or rear right side of the railway construction vehicle; and a fifth camera installed at the front driver's seat or rear driver's seat of the railway construction vehicle. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 The operation safety assistance device for a railway company vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the integrated control unit comprises: a monitoring screen configuration unit that configures and provides a monitoring screen by adjusting the type and number of images according to the camera mode selected by the driver, and a driver status warning unit that generates and provides warning information corresponding to the driver's status and status severity; and a speed violation warning unit that generates and provides warning information corresponding to the vehicle operation mode and vehicle speed. Claim 4 A safety assistance device for the operation of a railway construction vehicle, characterized in that, in paragraph 3, the integrated control unit further includes a data storage unit that maps the plurality of images, the driver state, and the vehicle speed and stores them sequentially in chronological order. Claim 5 The operation safety assistance device for a railway construction vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the integrated control unit further comprises an object detection unit that performs an object detection operation based on an image acquired through at least one of a plurality of cameras, and then generates and provides warning information corresponding to the object detection result.

Images