Cross-border monitoring system

Abstract

We provide a border crossing monitoring system that allows for easy setting and resetting of boundaries. [Solution] A boundary crossing monitoring system 1 monitors crossings that cross a boundary K, comprising a boundary forming unit 2 installed along the boundary K to clearly indicate the boundary K, and a boundary crossing detection unit 3 to detect crossings. The boundary forming unit 2 comprises a plurality of rod-shaped members 21 arranged in series along the boundary K at a predetermined height, wiring 24 routed along the rod-shaped members 21, and a pair of contact parts 25 arranged at both ends of the rod-shaped members 21 and electrically connected to each other via the wiring 24. The plurality of wiring 24 routed to each of the plurality of rod-shaped members 21 are connected in a series by the contact parts 25 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 coming into contact with each other. The boundary crossing detection unit 3 is connected to both ends of the series of connected wiring 24 and detects crossings based on the electrical conductivity of the series of connected wiring 24.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cross-border monitoring system.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a cross-border monitoring system for monitoring cross-border crossings beyond a boundary. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a monitoring device that sets the movable range of a heavy machine as a prohibited entry area and issues an alarm signal when a person enters the set prohibited entry area. Also, at the work site of an automatic construction machine (a construction machine that operates autonomously) where development and improvement are currently underway, a boundary is set so as to surround the work area of the automatic construction machine, and when the automatic construction machine crosses the boundary, safety measures are also required to stop the automatic construction machine immediately.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in conventional cross-border monitoring systems, since cross-border crossings were detected using cameras, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), infrared sensors, etc., it was difficult to set and re-set the boundary. For example, at a civil engineering work site where the work area changes daily, a cross-border monitoring system that can easily set and re-set the boundary is required.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a cross-border monitoring system in which the setting and re-setting of the boundary are easy.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In one aspect, the following solution means are provided. A border crossing monitoring system that monitors crossings that cross a boundary, A boundary forming section is installed along the boundary and clearly indicates the boundary, The system includes a border crossing detection unit that detects the aforementioned border crossing, The boundary forming portion is A plurality of rod-shaped members arranged in series along the boundary at a predetermined height, Wiring routed along the aforementioned rod-shaped member, The rod-shaped member comprises a pair of contact points arranged at both ends and electrically connected to each other via the wiring, The multiple wires, each routed to one of the multiple rod-shaped members, are connected in a continuous manner by the contact portions of adjacent rod-shaped members coming into contact with each other. The boundary crossing detection unit is connected to both ends of the series of connected wirings and is characterized by detecting the boundary crossing based on the conductivity state of the series of connected wirings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] This disclosure makes it possible to provide a border crossing monitoring system that allows for easy setting and resetting of boundaries. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic plan view of the cross-border monitoring system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] (a) is a side view of the boundary formation area, and (b) is an enlarged view of section A. [Figure 3] (a) is a side view showing a connecting ring for connecting the boundary formation unit and the boundary crossing detection unit, and (b) is a diagram showing an example of the use of the connecting ring. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the border crossing detection unit. [Figure 5] (a) is a diagram showing the ideal contact state of the contact points, and (b) is a diagram showing the contact state with misalignment of the contact points. [Figure 6] (a) is a diagram showing the first modification, (b) is a diagram showing the second modification, (c) is a diagram showing the third modification, and (d) is a diagram showing the fourth modification. [Figure 7] This figure shows the contact state with an inclination at the contact point. [Figure 8] (a) is a diagram showing the fifth modified example, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the BB of the fifth modified example, and (c) is a cross-sectional view of the BB showing the floating state of the contact point of the fifth modified example. [Figure 9] (a) is a side view showing the boundary forming portion of the second embodiment, and (b) is an enlarged view of section C. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes each embodiment in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are merely examples and are not exhaustive. Furthermore, shapes and other details in the drawings may be partially exaggerated for illustrative purposes. Also, for clarity, in some cases, only a portion of parts with the same attribute are assigned reference numerals in the drawings.

[0010] [First Embodiment] Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a cross-border monitoring system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the border crossing monitoring system 1 includes a boundary forming unit 2 installed along the boundary K to clearly define the boundary K, and a border crossing detection unit 3 to detect border crossings beyond the boundary K.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, at a construction site where an automated construction machine M is used for civil engineering work, a supervisor S typically monitors the operation of the automated construction machine M. The supervisor S possesses a remote control terminal (not shown) capable of transmitting an emergency stop signal, and transmits an emergency stop signal to stop the operation of the automated construction machine M if the automated construction machine M performs an unexpected operation or if a person enters the work area of ​​the automated construction machine M.

[0012] The cross-border monitoring system 1 of this embodiment is used to duplicate or multiplex such on-site safety measures. That is, the boundary forming unit 2 of this embodiment forms a boundary K so as to surround the working area of the automatic construction machine M, and the cross-border detection unit 3 detects crossing by the automatic construction machine M or a person. Then, the cross-border detection unit 3 that has detected crossing transmits an emergency stop signal to stop the operation of the automatic construction machine M.

[0013] Note that the cross-border monitoring system 1 is not limited to the use of monitoring the working area of the automatic construction machine M, and can be applied to cross-border monitoring related to various boundaries K. Further, when the cross-border detection unit 3 of this embodiment detects crossing, it transmits an emergency stop signal of the automatic construction machine M, but may also operate an alarm device such as a patrol light (registered trademark) or notify a predetermined terminal of the crossing.

[0014] (a) of FIG. 2 is a side view of the boundary forming unit 2, and (b) of FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the boundary forming unit 2 includes a plurality of rod-shaped members 21 arranged in series along the boundary K at a predetermined height. The rod-shaped member 21 of this embodiment is a cone bar installed in a bridging manner between conical cones 22, and has ring portions 23 hooked on the tops of the cones 22 at both ends.

[0015] Each rod-shaped member 21 is provided with a wiring 24 and a contact portion 25. The wiring 24 is routed along the length direction of the rod-shaped member 21. As shown in (b) of FIG. 2, the wiring 24 may be routed along the outer surface of the rod-shaped member 21 or may be routed through the hollow portion of the rod-shaped member 21.

[0016] The contact points 25 are conductors positioned at both ends of the rod-shaped member 21 and are electrically connected to each other via the wiring 24. In this embodiment, the rod-shaped member 21 is made of a cone bar, and the contact points 25 are provided on the upper or lower surface of the ring portion 23. That is, as shown in Figure 2(b), when the ring portions 23 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 are hooked onto the top of the same cone 22 in an overlapping manner, the contact points 25 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 can be brought into contact with each other. As a result, the multiple wirings 24 routed to each of the multiple rod-shaped members 21 are connected in a continuous manner by the contact points 25 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 coming into contact with each other.

[0017] Figure 3(a) is a side view showing a connecting ring 26 for connecting the boundary forming unit 2 and the boundary crossing detection unit 3, and Figure 3(b) is a diagram showing an example of the use of the connecting ring 26. The boundary crossing detection unit 3 is connected to both ends of a series of interconnected wires 24 and detects boundary crossings of the boundary K based on the conductivity of the series of interconnected wires 24. For example, as shown in Figure 1, when forming a closed boundary K, the boundary crossing detection unit 3 is connected to both ends of the series of interconnected wires 24 via the connecting ring 26 shown in Figure 3.

[0018] As shown in Figure 3(a), the connecting ring 26 has a ring shape equivalent to the ring portion 23 of the rod-shaped member 21, and contact portions 27 and 28 are provided on its upper and lower surfaces. Wirings 27a and 28a for connecting to the boundary crossing detection unit 3 are drawn out from each of the contact portions 27 and 28. As shown in Figure 3(b), the connecting ring 26 is installed in the cone 22 sandwiched between the ring portion 23 that is the starting point of the boundary K and the ring portion 23 that is the ending point of the boundary K. At this time, one contact portion 27 of the connecting ring 26 contacts the contact portion 25 of the ring portion 23 that is the starting point of the boundary K, and the other contact portion 28 of the connecting ring 26 contacts the contact portion 25 of the ring portion 23 that is the ending point of the boundary K. This allows one end of the continuous wiring 24 to be connected to the border crossing detection unit 3 via contact points 25, 27 and wiring 27a, and the other end of the continuous wiring 24 to be connected to the border crossing detection unit 3 via contact points 25, 28 and wiring 28a.

[0019] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the border crossing detection unit 3. As shown in Figure 4, the border crossing detection unit 3 comprises a continuity detection circuit 31, a communication unit 32, and a control unit 33.

[0020] The continuity detection circuit 31 detects the continuity state of the sequentially connected wiring 24. For example, when the automated construction machine M crosses the boundary K, the contact points 25 separate due to the overturning of the cone 22 or the falling of the rod-shaped member 21, and the continuity of the sequentially connected wiring 24 is broken. The continuity detection circuit 31 detects such changes in the continuity state that occur when crossing a boundary.

[0021] The communication unit 32 transmits an emergency stop signal to the automated construction machine M. The emergency stop signal may be transmitted directly to the automated construction machine M, or it may be transmitted to the automated construction machine M via the remote control terminal of the supervisor S.

[0022] The control unit 33 is configured with a microcontroller and the like, and detects boundary crossings based on input signals from the continuity detection circuit 31. When the control unit 33 detects a boundary crossing, it transmits an emergency stop signal to the automatic construction machine M via the communication unit 32.

[0023] As described above, the border crossing monitoring system 1 of this embodiment allows for the setting and resetting of the boundary K to be monitored by the border crossing monitoring system 1 with only the effort, time, and skill level required to arrange cones 22 and cone bars (rod-shaped members 21) along the boundary K. Furthermore, compared to detecting border crossings using cameras, LiDAR, infrared sensors, etc., it not only reduces implementation costs but also has the advantage of clearly indicating the boundary K in a visually identifiable way.

[0024] [Differentiation] Figure 5(a) shows the ideal contact state of the contact portion 25, and Figure 5(b) shows the contact state with misalignment of the contact portion 25. As shown in Figure 5(a), when the ring portions 23 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 overlap concentrically, the contact area between the contact portions 25 increases, thus achieving a stable electrical conductivity. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 5(b), when the ring portions 23 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 overlap with a misalignment, the contact area between the contact portions 25 decreases, resulting in an unstable electrical conductivity and potentially reducing the accuracy and reliability of boundary crossing detection. Modifications to solve these problems are shown below.

[0025] Figure 6(a) shows the first modified example, Figure 6(b) shows the second modified example, Figure 6(c) shows the third modified example, and Figure 6(d) shows the fourth modified example. As shown in Figure 6(a), in the first modified example, one of the overlapping ring portions 23 is made into a flat plate-shaped ring portion 23A that contacts the flat surface 23a, and a contact portion (not shown) is provided on the flat surface 23a. With this first modified example, even if the ring portions 23 and 23A of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 overlap with a misalignment, the contact area between the contact portions 25 can be increased to achieve a stable conductive state.

[0026] As shown in Figure 6(b), in the second modified example, the magnet 23b is placed on the back side of the ring portion 23A of the first modified example. With this second modified example, the contact portions 25 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21 make strong contact with each other due to magnetic force, thus achieving a more stable conductive state.

[0027] As shown in Figure 6(c), in the third modified example, the diameters of the overlapping ring portions 23 and 23B are given a difference corresponding to the conical shape of the cone 22. In other words, by reducing the diameter of the ring portion 23B that overlaps on the upper side, misalignment between the ring portions 23 and 23B is suppressed. According to this third modified example, a reduction in the contact area due to misalignment between the contact portions 25 can be prevented, and a stable conductive state can be achieved.

[0028] As shown in Figure 6(d), in the fourth modified example, the overlapping ring portions 23C and 23D are brought into contact with each other at the tapered surfaces 23c and 23d, and contact portions (not shown) are provided on the tapered surfaces 23c and 23d. According to this fourth modified example, misalignment of the overlapping ring portions 23C and 23D can be suppressed, and a stable conductive state can be achieved.

[0029] Figure 7 shows the contact state with inclination of the contact portion 25. As shown in Figure 7, when adjacent rod-shaped members 21 are installed on the cone 22 in a relatively inclined state, the ring portions 23 and contact portions 25 of the adjacent rod-shaped members 21 come into contact with each other in a relatively inclined state. In such a contact state, the contact area between the contact portions 25 becomes small, which can lead to an unstable conductivity state and a decrease in the accuracy and reliability of boundary crossing detection. A modified example to solve this problem is shown below.

[0030] Figure 8(a) shows the fifth modified example, Figure 8(b) is a cross-sectional view of the BB of the fifth modified example, and Figure 8(c) is a cross-sectional view of the BB showing the floating state of the contact point of the fifth modified example. As shown in Figure 8(a), in the fifth modified rod-shaped member 21, the ring portion 23 is made capable of swinging up and down relative to the main body of the rod-shaped member 21. Such a fifth modified example can be implemented, for example, by adopting a pin structure that allows the ring portion 23 to swing using the pivot shaft as a fulcrum, or by making the connection between the main body of the rod-shaped member 21 and the ring portion 23 from a highly flexible material or shape. With such a fifth modified example, even if adjacent rod-shaped members 21 are installed on the cone 22 in a relatively tilted state, the swinging of the ring portion 23 absorbs the relative tilt between the ring portions 23 and the contact portions 25 of the rod-shaped members 21. As a result, the contact area between the contact portions 25 can be increased, achieving a stable conductive state.

[0031] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 8(b) and 8(c), in the fifth modified rod-shaped member 21, the contact portion 25 is movable relative to the ring portion 23 (allowing slight vertical movement and oscillation). With this fifth modified example, contact involving movement between the contact portions 25 further absorbs the relative inclination between the contact portions 25, achieving a more stable conductive state.

[0032] [Second Example] Next, the boundary forming section 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 9. However, for components common to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment may be used, and the description of the first embodiment may be referred to.

[0033] Figure 9(a) is a side view showing the boundary forming portion 2 of the second embodiment, and Figure 9(b) is an enlarged view of portion C. As shown in Figure 9, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the boundary forming section 2 is constructed using a single-pipe barricade, and the single pipes P of the single-pipe barricade are rod-shaped members 21. The single-pipe barricade is constructed by fixing two single pipes P, one above the other, across a pair of leg members L. In the second embodiment, the upper single pipe P is a rod-shaped member 21, wiring 24 is routed along the rod-shaped member 21, and contact portions 25 are provided at both ends. Magnets (not shown) are provided at the contact portions 25 so as to make magnetic contact with the contact portions 25 of adjacent rod-shaped members 21. Even with a boundary forming section 2 constructed using such a single-pipe barricade, a border crossing monitoring system 1 equivalent to that of the first embodiment can be constructed.

[0034] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the invention is not limited to any particular embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims. Furthermore, it is possible to combine all or more of the components of the embodiments described above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 1. Cross-border monitoring system 2 Boundary forming part 21 Rod-shaped member 22 Corn 23, 23A~C Ring section 23a flat surface 23b Magnet 23c tapered surface 24 Wiring 25 Contact point 26 connecting rings 27, 28 Contact points 27a, 28a wiring 3. Border crossing detection unit 31 Continuity detection circuit 32 Communications Department 33 Control Unit K boundary M automatic construction equipment S Watcher

Claims

1. A border crossing monitoring system that monitors crossings that cross a boundary, A boundary forming section is installed along the boundary and clearly indicates the boundary, The system includes a border crossing detection unit that detects the aforementioned border crossing, The boundary forming portion is A plurality of rod-shaped members arranged in series along the boundary at a predetermined height, Wiring routed along the aforementioned rod-shaped member, The rod-shaped member comprises a pair of contact points arranged at both ends and electrically connected to each other via the wiring, The multiple wires, each routed to one of the multiple rod-shaped members, are connected in a continuous manner by the contact portions of adjacent rod-shaped members coming into contact with each other. The border crossing detection unit is connected to both ends of the series of connected wiring, and the border crossing is detected based on the conductivity state of the series of connected wiring, in a border crossing monitoring system.

2. The rod-shaped member is a cone bar installed across the cones, and has ring portions at both ends that hook onto the tops of the cones. The border crossing monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is provided on the upper or lower surface of the ring portion.

3. The border crossing monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the rod-shaped member is a single pipe constituting a single-pipe barricade.

4. The border crossing monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the rod-shaped members are equipped with magnets that magnetically connect the contact portions of adjacent rod-shaped members.

5. The boundary forming unit forms the boundary so as to surround the work area of ​​the autonomously operating automatic construction machine. The border crossing monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the border crossing detection unit transmits an emergency stop signal for the construction machine when it detects the border crossing.

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