Method for determining position of on-track equipment

Abstract

To realize a method for determining a position of on-track equipment, the method enabling the position of the on-track equipment to be determined from observation data about an overhead power line along a track.SOLUTION: The method for determining a position of on-track equipment can determine that an observation data location corresponding to a data group (equipment position reference information) with which identification information S (a utility pole number) about the on-track equipment is associated, in overhead power line observation data (e.g., deviation data about an overhead power line and image data about the overhead power line) which is acquired by an observation unit 1 (e.g., a reflection type sensor and an imaging apparatus) observing the overhead power line L while a railway vehicle T is running on a track and which is continuous in a track direction, is data about the position of equipment on the track (e.g., a utility pole) in accordance with the identification information. That is, the method for determining a position of on-track equipment enables the position of the on-track equipment to be acquired by observing the on-track overhead power line L to acquire the overhead power line observation data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for determining the position of on-track equipment from observation data of overhead wires along the track. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a technology has been known in which cameras and sensors are mounted on railway vehicles, and the inspection data obtained by capturing and measuring images of railway facilities (railroad facilities) such as overhead lines and rails as the railway vehicle travels on the track is used to inspect the condition of railway facilities. For example, the technology of Patent Document 1 compares inspection data acquired while a railway vehicle is running on a track with pre-stored reference data to determine whether or not there has been a change in railway equipment. The inspection data acquired by railway vehicles and the reference data that serves as the basis are linked to position information on the track, so by comparing the characteristic points of the inspection data and the reference data to match the position information, it is possible to monitor whether any changes have occurred in railway equipment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-223474 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, position information on the track is generally obtained based on detection signals from axle rotation speed detection devices using tachographs or rotational displacement detection devices for railway vehicle axles such as rotary encoders. Therefore, if the wheels of the railway vehicle from which inspection data is obtained spin or slide, differences will occur in the measured distances for each piece of data, causing errors in the position information on the track. Therefore, it was sometimes necessary to determine the position on the track from which the inspection data acquired by the railway vehicle was taken by correcting the position information. Therefore, the present inventors have conducted extensive research and have developed a technique for determining the position of on-orbit equipment without relying on on-orbit position information.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for determining the position of on-track equipment, which can determine the position of equipment on a track from observation data of overhead wires along the track. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility, comprising: an overhead line data acquisition step of observing in advance overhead lines along a predetermined range of the track by an observation unit mounted on a railway vehicle traveling on the track, and continuously acquiring data related to the overhead lines in the direction of the track; a data group creation step of sequentially extracting a predetermined number of consecutive data from the plurality of consecutive data related to the overhead line acquired in the overhead line data acquisition step, and creating a plurality of data groups each consisting of the predetermined number of consecutive data; a position reference creation step of associating identification information of a data group, among the plurality of data groups created in the data group creation step, with identification information of the predetermined facility for a data group in which data corresponding to the position of the predetermined facility on the orbit is located at a specific position within the predetermined number of consecutive data, and setting the data group as facility position reference information; as a preparation step, Among the continuous overhead line observation data in the track direction obtained by observing the overhead line using the observation unit while the railway vehicle is traveling on the track within the specified range, the observation data location corresponding to the data group considered to be the equipment position reference information is determined to be data on the position of the specified equipment corresponding to the identification information.

[0007] With such a method for determining the position of on-track equipment, it is possible to determine that, among the continuous overhead line observation data (e.g., overhead line deviation data or overhead line image data) in the track direction obtained by observing the overhead line with an observation unit (e.g., a reflective sensor or an imaging device) while a railway vehicle is traveling on the track, the observation data location corresponding to a data group (e.g., equipment position reference information) associated with identification information of on-track equipment is data on the position of the on-track equipment (e.g., an overhead line support point such as a utility pole) corresponding to that identification information. In other words, with this method for determining the position of on-track equipment, the position of the on-track equipment can be determined by observing the overhead lines on the track and obtaining overhead line observation data.

[0008] For example, in the case of conventional technology, railway vehicles would travel along the track while observing track equipment, measuring track position information, and linking the track position information to the track equipment to determine the position of the track equipment.However, if the wheels of the railway vehicle spin or slide, the track position information would become inaccurate, which could cause problems. In contrast, this method for determining the position of on-track equipment can grasp the position of on-track equipment by observing overhead wires on the track without measuring the position information of the track, making it possible to determine the position of on-track equipment more easily.

[0009] Also, preferably, The predetermined facility is a support point of an overhead line, and the specific location is the center of a predetermined number of consecutive data. This makes it possible to conveniently grasp the positions of support points for overhead wires, such as utility poles, on the track.

[0010] Also, preferably, the observation unit is a reflective sensor, The data relating to the overhead wire obtained by the observation by the observation unit is data on the left and right deviation of the overhead wire meandering in the direction of its extension. If the observation unit is a reflective sensor, it is possible to measure the width of the wear surface of the overhead wire, which is on the underside of the overhead wire and comes into sliding contact with the pantograph (sliding strip), making it possible to effectively observe the overhead wire even inside a tunnel, for example. In other words, by observing the overhead wires over the entire track, deviation data of the overhead wires over the entire track can be obtained, and based on that deviation data, the positions of the equipment on the track over the entire track can be determined.

[0011] Also, preferably, the observation unit is an imaging device, The data relating to the overhead line obtained by the observation by the observation unit is image data of the overhead line. If the observation unit is an imaging device, the position of the equipment on the track can be determined based on image data of the overhead wires captured by the imaging device, and the condition of the equipment on the track can also be checked based on the image data.

[0012] Also, preferably, The data group that is the facility location reference information includes the original data group and a plurality of data groups generated by data augmentation. This enables highly robust determination processing that is less susceptible to the influence of noise even if the overhead line observation data contains noise. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, a method for determining the position of on-track equipment can be obtained, which can determine the position of on-track equipment from observation data of overhead wires along the track. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of deflection data of an overhead line; [Figure 3]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which deviation data of overhead wires is associated with position information of on-track equipment (electric poles). [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data group (facility position reference information) associated with facility identification information (utility pole number). [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data group that is not associated with identification information of equipment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a plurality of data groups generated by data augmentation. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image data obtained by capturing an image of an overhead wire. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data group (facility position reference information) associated with facility identification information (utility pole number). [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data group that is not associated with identification information of equipment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are subject to various limitations that are technically preferable for implementing the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

[0016] In this embodiment, a method for determining the position of on-track equipment is described, which determines the position of a utility pole P, which is a support point for an overhead line as an on-track equipment, based on observation data observed by an observation unit 1 mounted on a railway vehicle T running on a track (on the rails R of the track), the observation data observing an overhead line L along the track (see Figure 1). A plurality of utility poles P are installed on the track at appropriate intervals. The overhead wire L is installed on a utility pole P using, for example, a suspension fitting (not shown), and the overhead wire L is suspended between a plurality of utility poles P via the suspension fittings and installed along a track. As is well known, the overhead wires L are strung in a zigzag pattern, and are suspended between multiple utility poles P so as to snake in a zigzag pattern in the direction of the track. The deviation (sway) of the overhead wires L on the left and right is about 30 cm each. The present invention, which will be described below, not only detects the deviation of the zigzag winding overhead wire L, but also makes it possible to detect the overall deviation changes of multiple spans as characteristics.

[0017] (Embodiment 1) For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a railway vehicle T running on rails R along a track has an observation unit 1 mounted on its roof. The observation unit 1 is capable of communicating with an information management device 10 installed at a designated railway facility, and the observation data obtained by the observation unit 1 observing the overhead line L is transmitted to the information management device 10, where various data processing operations are performed. The observation unit 1 includes a storage unit (not shown) that temporarily stores data obtained by observation, a communication unit (not shown) that transmits the data to the information management device 10, and the like. The observation unit 1 is capable of communicating with an information management device 10 installed inside the railway vehicle T via wired or wireless communication, and the observation data stored in the information management device 10 may be transferred to an information management device 10 installed in a railway facility, or the information management device 10 with the observation data stored in the railway vehicle T may be taken out to a railway facility, etc.

[0018] The observation unit 1 of the first embodiment is a reflective sensor, and includes, for example, a laser element that irradiates a strip-shaped laser light toward the overhead wire L, and a light receiving element that receives the light reflected from the overhead wire L. This observation unit 1 is the underside of the overhead wire L and is capable of measuring the width of the wear surface of the overhead wire L that slides against the pantograph (sliding strip), and can observe data regarding the left and right deviation of the overhead wire L as it zigzags in the direction of the track. The data on the overhead wire L obtained by the observation by the observation unit 1 is, as shown in FIG. 2 (described later), data on the left and right deviation of the overhead wire L that meanders in the direction of its extension.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the information management device 10 includes, for example, a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, an operation unit 13, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15, and the like. This information management device 10 is a computer operated by a railway employee and installed in a control room or the like of a railway line.

[0020] The communication unit 12 has, for example, an antenna and a communication circuit, and communicates with the observation unit 1 under the control of the control unit 11, and receives data relating to the overhead line L from the observation unit 1. The operation unit 13 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel formed integrally with the display unit 14, and operation input for executing various data processes can be performed using this operation unit 13. The display unit 14 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, and displays data related to the overhead line L, various processing results, and the like. The storage unit 15 is configured with, for example, RAM, ROM, non-volatile memory, a hard disk drive, etc., and stores various control programs executed by the CPU (control unit 11), various basic data, etc. The storage unit 15 also stores data related to the overhead line L observed by the observation unit 1, data related to the overhead line L that has been subjected to predetermined processing, etc. The control unit 11 is, for example, a CPU, and controls each unit of the information management device 10 , and executes various processes according to a control program stored in the storage unit 15 . The position determination process of the on-orbit facility performed by the control unit 11 will be described later.

[0021] Next, a description will be given of a preparation process performed to enable execution of the on-orbit facility position determination process of the first embodiment, which is based on the on-orbit facility position determination method according to the present invention.

[0022] First, the observation unit 1, which is a reflective sensor mounted on a railway vehicle T running on the track, observes the overhead wire L along the track within a predetermined range in advance, and continuously acquires data regarding the overhead wire L in the direction of the track (overhead wire data acquisition process). At this time, the railway vehicle T runs on the track at a predetermined observation speed so as to maintain a constant observation pitch. In this way, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, deviation data of the overhead wire L, which is deviated to the left and right from the center of the rail, can be obtained continuously in the track direction. The deviation data of the overhead wire L is transmitted to the information management device 10. The deviation data of the overhead wire L shown in FIG. 2 is data for a part of a predetermined range.

[0023] Next, the information management device 10 executes a process of associating the position information of the utility pole P as the equipment on the track with the deviation data of the overhead wire L (see FIG. 2) that is continuous in the track direction. For example, the deviation data of the overhead wire L obtained in the preparation process is linked to the position information of the track on which the deviation data was obtained (information on the distance from the starting point), so the deviation data of the overhead wire L is associated with the position information of the utility pole P based on the position information of the track. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, within this predetermined range, among the utility pole numbers that are the position information of the utility pole P, the position information of utility pole numbers 1 to 30 is associated with the deviation data of the overhead wire L.

[0024] Next, the information management device 10 executes a process of sequentially extracting a predetermined number of consecutive data from a plurality of consecutive data (deflection data of the overhead line L) related to the overhead line L, and creating multiple data groups each consisting of the predetermined number of consecutive data (data group creation process). For example, when 113 consecutive data items are extracted in order from a plurality of consecutive data items related to the overhead line L (deflection data of the overhead line L) and a plurality of data groups each consisting of 113 consecutive data items are created, a plurality of data groups are created in which some data items overlap, such as a first data group consisting of the 1st to 113th consecutive data items, a second data group consisting of the 2nd to 114th consecutive data items, a third data group consisting of the 3rd to 115th consecutive data items, and so on.

[0025] Next, among the multiple data groups created by the information management device 10, for a data group in which data corresponding to the position of a utility pole P, which is a specified facility on the track, is located at a specific location within a specified number of consecutive data, the identification information of the specified facility is associated, and a process is performed in which the data group is used as facility position reference information (position reference creation process). For example, as shown in Figure 4, among a data group consisting of 113 consecutive data, for a data group in which the data corresponding to the position of utility pole P is located in the center of the 113 consecutive data (the 57th data out of 113), the identification information S (utility pole number) of a specified facility is associated with the data group, and the data group is used as facility location reference information. Here, the data group corresponding to the position of utility pole P with "utility pole number 7" is located in the center (57th data) of 113 consecutive data pieces, and the identification information of utility pole P, "7," is associated with this data group, and this data group is used as the equipment location reference information. The numerical values ​​shown in Figure 4 (part of 113 consecutive data points) are the displacement data of the data group shown in Figure 4 quantified, and the 57th central data point, "207," corresponds to the position of utility pole P with "utility pole number 7." In this way, the data corresponding to the position of utility pole P with utility pole numbers 1 to 30 is associated with the identification information of utility pole P, "1" to "30", respectively, for the data group located in the center (57th data) of 113 consecutive data, and this data group is used as the equipment location reference information.

[0026] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 5, among a data group consisting of 113 consecutive data, if the data in the center (57th data) of the 113 consecutive data does not correspond to the location of utility pole P, the data group is associated with identification information "0" as identification information S indicating that it is not the location of utility pole P. There are countless data groups like this that are associated with identification information "0" that does not represent equipment. The numerical values ​​shown in FIG. 5 (a part of 113 consecutive data points) are the numerical values ​​of the deviation data of the data group shown in FIG.

[0027] In this way, the multiple data groups created in the data group creation process are classified into data groups (equipment location reference information) associated with the identification information of utility pole P ("1" to "30") and data groups associated with the identification information "0", which indicates that the data is not the location of utility pole P, and the preparation process is completed.

[0028] It is preferable to perform an augmentation process on the data group (facility position reference information) associated with the identification information ("1" to "30") of the utility pole P to generate a plurality of patterns of data groups. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the information management device 10, an augmentation process is performed on the original data group associated with the identification information "7" of utility pole P, and multiple (here, three) data groups generated by data augmentation are prepared. This enables a highly robust position determination process that is less susceptible to the influence of noise, even if the displacement data contains noise. Of course, augmentation processing is performed on all data groups associated with the identification information ("1" to "30") of utility pole P, and multiple patterns of data groups are generated and prepared for each data group. Although performing augmentation processing at all locations, including data groups associated with the identification information "0," has a noise reduction effect, it is particularly desirable to perform augmentation processing on data groups associated with the identification information ("1" to "30") of utility poles P, the number of which is limited.

[0029] Next, the position determination process of the on-orbit facility according to the first embodiment will be described. Once the preparation process described above has been completed, the observation unit 1, which is a reflective sensor mounted on a railway vehicle T running on the track, observes the overhead wire L along the track within a predetermined range, and continuously acquires deviation data of the overhead wire L (overhead wire observation data continuous in the track direction) in the track direction. The deflection data (overhead line observation data) of the overhead line L obtained after the preparation process is expected to be roughly the same as the deflection data observed in the preparation process, unless modifications to the overhead line L have been made. Overhead wire observation data, which is deviation data of the overhead wire L obtained by this observation, is transmitted to the information management device 10.

[0030] Next, the information management device 10 searches for a location corresponding to a data group (equipment position reference information) associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P in the deflection data (overhead line observation data) of the overhead line L observed and acquired to determine the position of the on-track equipment, and executes a process to extract the location corresponding to that data group. In the case of this embodiment 1, the location corresponding to the central data in the data range extracted as the location corresponding to the data group (equipment position reference information) associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P in the deflection data (overhead line observation data) of the utility pole L is determined to be the position of the utility pole P. For example, in the deflection data (overhead line observation data) of the overhead line L, the location corresponding to the central data (57th data) in the data range extracted as the location corresponding to the data group associated with the identification information "7" of the utility pole P is determined to be the location of the utility pole P with utility pole number 7.

[0031] In this way, among the continuous overhead line observation data in the track direction obtained by observing the overhead line L using the observation unit 1 while the railway vehicle T is traveling on the track, the observation point corresponding to the data group (equipment position reference information) associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P can be determined to be the position of the utility pole P, which is equipment on the track corresponding to the identification information S. In other words, in the position determination process of the on-track equipment of this embodiment 1, the overhead wire L on the track is observed and deviation data of the overhead wire L is obtained, thereby making it possible to grasp the position of the utility pole P, which is the on-track equipment.

[0032] In conventional technology, railway vehicles would travel along the track while observing track equipment, measuring track position information, and linking the track position information to the track equipment to determine the location of the track equipment.However, if the wheels of the railway vehicle spin or slide, the track position information would become inaccurate, which could cause problems. In contrast, in the on-track facility position determination process of this embodiment, the position of the utility pole P, which is an on-track facility, can be determined by observing the overhead wires L on the track without measuring the position information of the track, making it possible to more easily determine the position of the on-track facility.

[0033] For example, while a railway vehicle T is traveling on the track, the observation unit 1 observes the overhead wire L to obtain deflection data (overhead wire observation data) of the overhead wire L, and an imaging device mounted on the railway vehicle T is used to image a utility pole P, which is equipment on the track, to obtain image data.Based on the position of the utility pole P determined by the position determination process of the equipment on the track, the utility pole number of the utility pole P in the image data imaged by the imaging device can be determined. Then, the condition of each utility pole P of the on-track equipment can be checked based on the image data captured by the imaging equipment, and it becomes possible to check whether or not there is any abnormality in each utility pole P.

[0034] As described above, with the method for determining the position of on-track equipment according to the first embodiment, the position of on-track equipment (electric pole P in this embodiment) can be determined from observation data of the overhead wires L along the track.

[0035] (Embodiment 2) Next, a method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and only the different parts will be described.

[0036] The observation unit 1 of the second embodiment is an imaging device, for example, a line sensor camera installed on the roof of a railway vehicle T so as to be able to capture an image of the overhead wires L. This observation unit 1 (imaging device) can capture an image of the overhead wire L so as to observe it from directly below or obliquely below, and acquire image data of the overhead wire L. The data on the overhead wire L obtained by observation by the observation unit 1 is a plurality of image data obtained by capturing images of the overhead wire L every 2 m, as shown in Fig. 7 (described later). The plurality of image data are connected in order in the track direction to form image data that is long in the track direction. It should be noted that the "image data of the overhead wire L taken every 2 m" referred to here is, for example, 100 pieces of thin image data taken every 2 mm, which are combined and saved as 2 m worth of data.

[0037] Next, a description will be given of a preparation process performed to enable execution of the on-orbit facility position determination process of the second embodiment, which is based on the on-orbit facility position determination method according to the present invention.

[0038] First, the observation unit 1, which is an imaging device mounted on a railway vehicle T running on the track, observes the overhead wire L along the track within a predetermined range in advance, and continuously acquires data related to the overhead wire L in the direction of the track (overhead wire data acquisition process). At this time, the railway vehicle T runs on the track at a predetermined observation speed so as to maintain a constant observation pitch. In this way, image data of the overhead wire L obtained by capturing images of the overhead wire L along the track direction is obtained continuously in the track direction, and for example, a plurality of image data are obtained as shown in the upper part of FIG. This image data of the overhead wires L is transmitted to the information management device 10. Then, the image data of the multiple overhead wires L are connected in order in the track direction in the information management device 10, and image data that is long in the track direction is created. For example, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 7, when all the image data are connected, image data of the overhead wires over the entire track is obtained.

[0039] Next, the information management device 10 executes a process of sequentially extracting a predetermined number of consecutive data from a plurality of consecutive data (image data of the overhead line L) relating to the overhead line L, and creating multiple data groups each consisting of the predetermined number of consecutive data (data group creation process). For example, when extracting 51 consecutive data items in order from a plurality of consecutive data items related to overhead wire L (image data of overhead wire L) and creating multiple data groups consisting of 51 consecutive data items, multiple data groups are created in which some image data overlap, such as a first data group consisting of the 1st to 51st consecutive image data items, a second data group consisting of the 2nd to 52nd consecutive image data items, a third data group consisting of the 3rd to 53rd consecutive image data items, and so on.

[0040] Next, among the multiple data groups created by the information management device 10, for a data group in which data corresponding to the position of a utility pole P, which is a specified facility on the track, is located at a specific location within a specified number of consecutive data, the identification information of the specified facility is associated, and a process is performed in which the data group is used as facility position reference information (position reference creation process). For example, as shown in Figure 8, among a data group consisting of 51 consecutive image data, for a data group in which the data corresponding to the position of utility pole P is located in the center of the 51 consecutive image data (the 26th data out of 51), the equipment identification information S (utility pole number) is associated with the data group, and the data group is used as equipment position reference information. Here, the data corresponding to the position of utility pole P with "utility pole number 7" is located in the center (26th data) of 51 consecutive data pieces, and the identification information of utility pole P, "7," is associated with this data piece, and this data piece is used as the equipment location reference information. For example, the data group in FIG. 8 is linked to the file name "Yoru0145.jpg" and is associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P as "7". In this way, the image data corresponding to the positions of utility poles P with pole numbers 1 to 30 are associated with the identification information of utility pole P, "1" to "30", respectively, for the data group located in the center (26th data) of 51 consecutive image data, and the data group is used as the equipment position reference information.

[0041] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 9, among a data group consisting of 51 consecutive image data pieces, for a data group in which the image data of the central part (the 26th data) among the 51 consecutive image data pieces does not correspond to the position of utility pole P, the identification information "0" is associated as the identification information S indicating that it is not the position of utility pole P. There are countless data groups like this associated with the identification information "0" that is not equipment. For example, the data group in FIG. 9 is linked with the file name "Yoru0160.jpg" and associated with the identification information S of "0".

[0042] If we consider the data group to consist of 51 consecutive image data, approximately three utility poles are captured in the image data, which is approximately 100 m long, corresponding to the length of the track, and therefore each of the multiple data groups will be a distinctive data group that can be distinguished from the other data groups.

[0043] In this way, the multiple data groups created in the data group creation process are classified into data groups (equipment location reference information) associated with the identification information of utility pole P ("1" to "30") and data groups associated with the identification information "0", which indicates that the data is not the location of utility pole P, and the preparation process is completed.

[0044] Furthermore, even if the data group is made up of image data, it is preferable to perform augmentation processing on the data group (equipment location reference information) associated with the identification information of utility pole P ("1" to "30") to generate multiple patterns of data groups. In the information management device 10, by performing an augmentation process on the original data group associated with the identification information of the utility pole P and preparing multiple data groups generated by the data augmentation, it becomes possible to perform a highly robust position determination process that is less susceptible to the influence of noise even if the image data contains noise.

[0045] Next, the position determination process of the on-orbit facility according to the second embodiment will be described. Once the preparation process as described above has been completed, the observation unit 1, which is an imaging device mounted on a railway vehicle T running on the track, observes the overhead wire L along the track over a predetermined range, and continuously acquires image data of the overhead wire L (overhead wire observation data continuous in the track direction) in the track direction. The image data of the overhead line L (overhead line observation data) obtained after the preparation process is expected to be roughly the same as the image data observed during the preparation process, unless any modifications have been made to the overhead line L. Overhead wire observation data, which is image data of the overhead wire L obtained by this observation, is transmitted to the information management device 10. Then, all the image data are connected in the information management device 10 to generate image data of the overhead wires over the entire track (overhead wire observation data).

[0046] Next, the information management device 10 searches for a location corresponding to a data group (equipment location reference information) associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P in the image data (overhead line observation data) of the overhead line L observed and acquired to determine the position of the on-track equipment, and executes a process to extract the location corresponding to that data group. In the case of this embodiment 2, among the image data (overhead line observation data) of the overhead line L over the entire track, the location corresponding to the central data in the data range extracted as the location corresponding to the data group (equipment position reference information) associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P is determined to be the position of the utility pole P. For example, in the image data (overhead line observation data) of the overhead line L over the entire track, the location corresponding to the central data (26th data) in the data range extracted as the location corresponding to the data group associated with the identification information "7" of the utility pole P is determined to be the location of the utility pole P with utility pole number 7.

[0047] In this way, among the continuous overhead line observation data in the track direction obtained by observing the overhead line L using the observation unit 1 while the railway vehicle T is traveling on the track, the observation point corresponding to the data group (equipment position reference information) associated with the identification information S of the utility pole P can be determined to be the position of the utility pole P, which is equipment on the track corresponding to the identification information S. In other words, in the position determination process for on-track equipment of this embodiment 2, the overhead wire L on the track is observed and image data of the overhead wire L is obtained, thereby making it possible to determine the position of the utility pole P, which is equipment on the track.

[0048] In particular, in the case of the position determination process for on-track equipment in this embodiment 2, the position of the utility pole P on the track is determined based on image data of the overhead wire L, so that the condition of each utility pole P of the on-track equipment can be checked based on that image data, and it becomes possible to check whether or not there is an abnormality in each utility pole P.

[0049] As described above, with the method for determining the position of on-track equipment according to the second embodiment, the position of on-track equipment (electric pole P in this embodiment) can be determined from observation data of the overhead wires L along the track.

[0050] In the above embodiment, the overhead wires L on the track are observed to determine the position of the utility pole P, which is a predetermined facility on the track, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the position of other facilities (for example, a ground coil) other than the utility pole P may also be determined. In addition, in tunnel sections, the position of the support point of the overhead wire, such as a steel pipe lower bundle, is determined instead of the utility pole P.

[0051] In addition, when implementing the method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to this embodiment, it is preferable to perform machine learning to create a determination model or the like.

[0052] Furthermore, it goes without saying that other specific detailed structures and the like can be modified as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1. Observation section 10 Information management device 11 Control section 12 Communications Department 13 Control section 14 Display section 15 Storage section R rail T Railway vehicle L overhead line P Utility pole (support point for track equipment and overhead lines) S Identification Information

Claims

1. an overhead line data acquisition step of observing in advance overhead lines along a predetermined range of the track by an observation unit mounted on a railway vehicle traveling on the track, and continuously acquiring data related to the overhead lines in the direction of the track; a data group creation step of sequentially extracting a predetermined number of consecutive data from the plurality of consecutive data related to the overhead line acquired in the overhead line data acquisition step, and creating a plurality of data groups each consisting of the predetermined number of consecutive data; a position reference creation step of associating identification information of a data group, among the plurality of data groups created in the data group creation step, with identification information of the predetermined facility for a data group in which data corresponding to the position of the predetermined facility on the orbit is located at a specific position within the predetermined number of consecutive data, and setting the data group as facility position reference information; as a preparation step, a method for determining the position of an on-track facility, the method comprising: determining, among continuous overhead line observation data in the track direction obtained by observing the overhead line with the observation unit while the railway vehicle is traveling on the track within the specified range, that an observation data location corresponding to a data group defined as the facility position reference information is data on the position of the specified facility corresponding to the identification information.

2. 2. The method for determining the position of an on-track facility according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined facility is a support point of an overhead line, and the specific location is the center of a predetermined number of consecutive data points.

3. the observation unit is a reflective sensor, 2. The method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to claim 1, wherein the data on the overhead line obtained by the observation by the observation unit is data on the left and right deviation of the overhead line which meanders in the direction of its extension.

4. the observation unit is an imaging device, 2. The method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to claim 1, wherein the data relating to the overhead line obtained by the observation by the observation unit is image data of the overhead line.

5. 5. The method for determining the position of an on-orbit facility according to claim 1, wherein the data group used as the facility position reference information includes an original data group and a plurality of data groups generated by data augmentation.

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