Train Monitoring System

Abstract

The train monitoring system in this example comprises cameras 110 (110A to 110D) installed on each car of a train, video display devices 130 (130A, 130) installed on both the leading and trailing cars of the train to display videos received from the cameras 110 on each car of the train, and video recording devices 140 (140A, 140B) installed on both the leading and trailing cars of the train to record the videos received from the cameras 110 on each car of the train. The cameras 110 on each car of the train distribute a live playback stream to the video display device 130 (130A, for example) on the leading car of the train, and distribute a video recording stream to the video recording device 140 (140B, for example) on the trailing car of the train.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a train monitoring system that monitors trains using camera images. [Background technology]

[0002] Ensuring safety when passengers board or disembark trains on station platforms is an important issue for train operations. As part of such safety measures, a train monitoring system has been developed that uses cameras attached to the exterior sides of each train car to capture images of the area around the doors and displays the camera images on a video display device in the driver's cab. In addition, in the event of an emergency, images recorded on a video recorder (NDR) are used to understand and analyze the situation.

[0003] Prior art in the technical field of the present invention includes the following: For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a train monitoring system in which the screen area of ​​a video display device is divided into multiple areas, and multiple camera images captured by cameras on each vehicle are assigned to each area and displayed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6758203 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A train driver operates the train in the front car in the direction of travel. The direction of travel of a train changes between uphill and downhill, and the front and rear cars switch places accordingly. For this reason, video display devices used by the driver to monitor passengers getting on and off are installed in both cars at both ends of the train, that is, in both the front and rear cars. In contrast, video recording devices only need to be able to record video, so they are generally installed in one of the cars, for example, either the front or rear car.

[0006] The cameras on each carriage of the train have the function of distributing the captured video data as a live playback stream to the video display device and a video recording stream to the video recording device. The live playback stream is transmitted to the video display device, where it is decoded and displayed. The video recording stream is transmitted to the video recording device, where it is continuously recorded.

[0007] Train monitoring systems are generally implemented on an IP network, which is constructed by installing relay devices in each train car to connect the devices inside the cars and cascading the relay devices in each car. In such train monitoring systems, there is a concern about the network load caused by the distribution of live playback streams and video recording streams.

[0008] Therefore, to reduce the network load, conventional method (1) involves constantly recording camera footage on a video recording device in either the lead car or the tail car, and displaying the camera footage on a video display device in the lead car only when an event occurs. An example of an event is the opening of a door at a station. Conventional method (2) involves reducing the video size to reduce the transmission capacity per channel, and constantly recording camera footage on a video recording device in either the lead car or the tail car, while displaying the camera footage on a video display device in the lead car.

[0009] However, in the conventional method (1), when a train is moving with a car equipped with a video recording device at the front, both the live playback stream and the video recording stream are simultaneously delivered to the front car when an event occurs, which results in a very high network load when an event occurs.Furthermore, in the conventional method (2), the video size is reduced, so both the recorded video by the video recording device and the played video by the video display device become unclear.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and aims to reduce the network load in a train monitoring system equipped with a video display device and a video recording device without reducing the video bit rate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, a train monitoring system according to one aspect of the present invention is configured as follows. That is, the train is equipped with a camera mounted in each car, a video display device mounted in both the front and rear cars of the train that displays the images received from the cameras, and a video recording device mounted in both the front and rear cars of the train that records the images received from the cameras, and the cameras transmit images to the video display device in the front car of the train and the video recording device in the rear car of the train.

[0012] Here, the train monitoring system may further include a control device that controls the transmission of images from the camera to the image display device in the lead car of the train, and the transmission of images from the camera to the image recording device in the trailing car of the train.

[0013] The control device may also be configured to identify the video display device and video recording device to which the camera video is to be sent, based on event information input from the outside. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, in a train monitoring system equipped with a video display device and a video recording device, it is possible to reduce the network load without reducing the video bit rate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a train monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart relating to the operation of the train monitoring system of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a train monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The train in FIG. 1 is composed of three cars, namely, a first car 101, a second car 102, and a third car 103, connected together. When the train travels leftward in the drawing, the first car 101 is the leading car and the third car 103 is the trailing car. When the train travels rightward in the drawing, the third car 103 is the leading car and the first car 101 is the trailing car. The number of cars in a train is arbitrary, and a train may be composed of more or fewer cars.

[0017] Multiple cameras 110 are attached to the exterior side of car 101, facing the doors, to capture images of passengers getting on and off the train. In the example of FIG. 1, based on the train's movement to the left of the drawing, camera 110A is installed on the front right side of the car body, camera 110B is installed on the rear right side of the car body, camera 110C is installed on the rear left side of the car body, and camera 110D is installed on the front left side of the car body. Cameras 110A and 110D are positioned to capture images from the front to the rear. Meanwhile, cameras 110B and 110C are positioned to capture images from the rear to the front. In addition, cameras 110A to 110D are attached to car 2 102 and car 3 103 in the same arrangement as car 101. In this example, four cameras are installed per car, but more or fewer cameras may be installed.

[0018] Car 1 101, located at one end of the train, has a driver's cab, which is equipped with a monitoring video display device 130A. Car 3 103, located at the opposite end of the train, also has a driver's cab, which is equipped with a monitoring video display device 130B. Video display device 130 may consist of one unit or multiple units.

[0019] Car 1 101, located at one end of the train, is further equipped with video recording device 140A, which records the video images distributed from camera 110 on each car. Car 3 103, located at the opposite end of the train, is also equipped with video recording device 140B, which records the video images distributed from camera 110 on each car. Video recording device 140 may consist of one unit or multiple units.

[0020] Video display device 130A in car 101 is used when the train is traveling leftward in the drawing, and video display device 130B in car 3 103 is used when the train is traveling rightward in the drawing. Conversely, video recording device 140A in car 101 is used when the train is traveling rightward in the drawing, and video recording device 140B in car 3 103 is used when the train is traveling leftward in the drawing. Switching between video display devices 130A and 130B and video recording devices 140A and 140B is controlled by control device 150 installed on the train. In FIG. 1, control device 150 is installed in car 101, but it may also be installed in another car (for example, car 3 103), or may be distributed across multiple cars for redundancy.

[0021] Each car is also equipped with a relay device 120 (e.g., a switching hub). The relay device 120 in car 101 is connected to the devices within that car, namely, cameras 110A-110D, video display device 130A, video recording device 140A, and control device 150. The relay device 120 in car 2 102 is connected to the devices within that car, namely, cameras 110A-110D. The relay device 120 in car 3 103 is connected to the devices within that car, namely, cameras 110A-110D, video display device 130B, and video recording device 140B. The relay device 120 in each car is further connected to the relay device 120 in an adjacent car in a cascade configuration, thereby establishing an IP network within the train.

[0022] Each of cameras 110A-110D in each car has the function of distributing video data obtained by capturing an image within a predetermined field of view (for example, near the doors) as a live playback stream and a video recording stream. The live playback stream is transmitted to video display device 130A in car 101 when the train is traveling leftward in the drawing, and to video display device 130B in car 3 103 when the train is traveling rightward in the drawing. On the other hand, the video recording stream is transmitted to video recording device 140B in car 3 103 when the train is traveling leftward in the drawing, and to video recording device 140A in car 1 101 when the train is traveling rightward in the drawing. In other words, the distribution directions of the live playback stream and the video recording stream are controlled to be opposite to each other, regardless of the direction of train travel.

[0023] Video display devices 130A and 130B have the function of receiving a live playback stream and displaying the video. However, between video display device 130A on car No. 1 101 and video display device 130B on car No. 3 103, only the device on the front car in the direction of train travel is selected as the device to display the camera video. The camera 110 to be displayed by video display device 130 is selected based on information from control device 150, for example.

[0024] As an example, the image display device 130 of the lead car that displays the image divides its screen area into multiple areas, and allocates and displays camera images on the platform side (i.e., the door-opening side) of each car to each area. Note that the image display device 130 may also display multiple camera images by other methods, such as by switching between camera images of each car in sequence. The start and stop of display on the image display device 130 is controlled in accordance with train operation. For example, the display is controlled to automatically start when the train stops at a station or the train doors open, and to automatically stop when the train doors close or the train departs from the station.

[0025] Video recording devices 140A and 140B have the function of receiving a video recording stream and recording the video. However, between video recording device 140A on car No. 1 101 and video recording device 140B on car No. 3 103, only the device on the rear car in the direction of train travel is selected as the device to record camera video. The camera 110 to be recorded by video recording device 140 is selected based on information from control device 150, for example.

[0026] For example, the video recording device 140 in the rear car that records video records the camera footage received from all cameras 110 in the train in association with the identification information of each camera and the time of shooting. The start and stop of recording by the video recording device 140 is controlled based on a signal from the control device 150. For example, the video recording device 140 is controlled to automatically start recording when the train starts operating at the departure station and to automatically stop recording when the train ends operating at the destination station.

[0027] Based on external information, the control device 150 identifies the camera 110 that will display and record the camera video, the video display device 130 that displays the video, and the video recording device 140 that records the video, and controls their operations. Details of this will be explained below with reference to Figure 2.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows an example flow chart for the operation of the train monitoring system of FIG. The control device 150 receives first event information for identifying the video display device 130 that will display the video (step S101). As an example, the first event information is transmitted when a train starts operating at a departure station. The first event information may be, for example, a sensor signal or a trigger signal transmitted from an external system, or a sensor signal transmitted from a sensor mounted on the control device 150. Furthermore, if the video display device 130 is equipped with an operation means such as a mouse or a touch panel, the first event information may be transmitted to the control device 150 based on operation information obtained by the operation means.

[0029] Based on the event information, the control device 150 identifies whether the video display device 130A in the first car 101 or the video display device 130B in the third car 103 will display the video (step S102). Since the driver who will use the video display device 130 is located in the leading car in the direction of train travel, the video display device 130 in the leading car will be identified.

[0030] In step S102, if video display device 130A in car 101 is identified, control device 150 transmits a video recording start signal to video recording device 140B in car 3 103 (step S103). On the other hand, in step S102, if video display device 130B in car 3 103 is identified, control device 150 transmits a video recording start signal to video recording device 140A in car 1 101 (step S104). The video recording start signal is a signal that instructs video recording device 140 to start video recording.

[0031] Upon receiving the video recording start signal, the video recording device 140 requests each camera 110 to be recorded to deliver a video recording stream. Each camera 110 that receives this request delivers a video recording stream to the video recording device 140 that made the request. The video recording device 140 records the video recording stream delivered from each camera 110 to be recorded. For example, all cameras in the train are selected as the cameras 110 to be recorded, but they may also be limited to cameras on the door-opening side. Furthermore, if the door-opening side changes at each station, the camera to be recorded may be changed accordingly.

[0032] Thereafter, the control device 150 determines whether or not second event information for starting video display by the video display device 130 has been received (step S105). As an example, the second event information is transmitted when a train stops at a station or when the doors open. The second event information may be, for example, a sensor signal or a trigger signal transmitted from an external system, or a sensor signal transmitted from a sensor mounted on the control device 150. Furthermore, if the video display device 130 is equipped with an operation means such as a mouse or a touch panel, the second event information may be transmitted to the control device 150 based on operation information obtained by the operation means.

[0033] If it is determined in step S105 that the second event information has been received, a video display start signal is transmitted to the video display device 130 identified in step S102 (step S106). The video display start signal is a signal that instructs the video display device 130 to start displaying a video.

[0034] Upon receiving the video display start signal, the video display device 130 requests each of the cameras 110 to be displayed to distribute a live playback stream. Each of the cameras 110 that have received this request distributes the live playback stream to the requesting video display device 130. The video display device 130 displays the live playback stream distributed from each of the cameras 110 to be displayed.

[0035] Thereafter, in response to third event information transmitted, for example, when the train doors are closed or when the train departs from the station, video display device 130 stops displaying the video. Thereafter, the processing from step S105 onwards is repeated every time the train arrives at a stop station. Then, in response to fourth event information transmitted when the train ends its operation at the terminal station, video recording by video recording device 140 stops.

[0036] In the above description, the video display device 130 and the video recording device 140 request each camera 110 to distribute a video stream, but this is merely an example and the flow is not limited to this. For example, the control device 150 may transmit a distribution request including a video stream type and a distribution destination specification to each camera 110, and the camera 110 that receives this request may distribute a live playback stream or a video recording stream to the video display device 130 or the video recording device 140 that is specified as the distribution destination.

[0037] As described above, the train monitoring system of this example comprises cameras 110 (110A to 110D) mounted on each car of the train, video display devices 130 (130A, 130B) mounted on both the front and rear cars of the train and displaying the images received from the cameras 110 on each car of the train, and video recording devices 140 (140A, 140B) mounted on both the front and rear cars of the train and recording the images received from the cameras 110 on each car of the train, and is configured so that the cameras 110 on each car of the train deliver a live playback stream to the video display device 130 (e.g., 130A) on the front car of the train, and deliver a video recording stream to the video recording device 140 (e.g., 140B) on the rear car of the train.

[0038] In this way, by reversing the distribution direction of the video (live playback stream) to the video display device 130 and the distribution direction of the video (video recording stream) to the video recording device 140, it is possible to reduce the amount of data flowing in the same direction within the network. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the load on the IP network within the train without reducing the bit rate of each video stream.

[0039] Here, the distribution of the live playback stream to the video display device 130 and the distribution of the video recording stream to the video recording device 140 can be controlled by the control device 150. Such control device 150 can be realized, for example, by a computer equipped with hardware resources such as a processor and memory reading from memory a program for realizing each process according to the present invention and executing the program in the processor.

[0040] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely illustrative and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take on various other embodiments, and various modifications such as omissions and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and spirit of the invention described in this specification, etc., and are included in the invention described in the claims and their equivalents.

[0041] Furthermore, the present invention can be provided not only as devices such as those described above or as systems composed of these devices, but also as methods executed by these devices, programs for realizing the functions of these devices using a processor, and storage media for storing such programs in a computer-readable manner. [Industrial Applicability]

[0042] The present invention can be used in a train monitoring system that monitors trains using camera images. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 101, 102, 103: Vehicles, 110A to 110D: Cameras, 120: Relay device, 130A, 130B: Video display device, 140A, 140B: Video recording device, 150: Control device

Claims

1. A camera mounted on each carriage of the train for delivering captured images as a live playback stream and a video recording stream; a video display device mounted in each of the leading and trailing cars of the train, for displaying the video of the live playback stream received from the camera; a video recording device mounted in each of the leading and trailing cars of the train, for recording the video of the video recording stream received from the camera; A train monitoring system characterized in that the camera distributes the live playback stream only to the video display device in the front car of the train among the respective video display devices, and distributes the video recording stream only to the video recording device in the rear car of the train among the respective video recording devices.

2. 2. The train monitoring system according to claim 1, A train monitoring system further comprising a control device that controls the distribution of the live playback stream from the camera to a video display device in the front car of the train, and the distribution of the video recording stream from the camera to a video recording device in the rear car of the train.

3. 3. The train monitoring system according to claim 2, A train monitoring system characterized in that the control device identifies the video display device and video recording device to which the live playback stream and the video recording stream will be delivered based on event information input from outside.

Images