Public road facility inspection system

Abstract

To provide a public road facility inspection system capable of efficiently inspecting facilities such as water pipes, electric wires, etc., which are arranged in a straight line along a public road.SOLUTION: A public road facility inspection system comprises position information calculation means consisting of RTK positioning capable of calculating the position of a patrolman as patrolman position information at a predetermined time interval, facility information data 61 that stores the positions of one end and the other end of the facility as facility position information consisting of a pair of one end position and the other end position, a patrol determination area setting unit 42 that sets a predetermined area around the patrolman position as a patrol determination area based on the patrolman position information, and a patrol determination unit 43 that checks whether the one end position and / or the other end position are present within the patrol determination area. The patrol determination unit 43 determines that the patrol of the facility is completed when the one end position and the other end position are present within the patrol determination area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a public road facility inspection system, and in particular to a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities such as water pipes and electric wires that are arranged along public roads and that are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above. [Background technology]

[0002] GNSS has been used for location search, patrol, positioning, etc. of public facilities. Car navigation systems are known as devices that receive signals from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) to perform positioning. The positioning error of this GNSS is on the order of a few meters (meters), which is an error level that is practical for use in car navigation systems, etc.

[0003] On the other hand, in surveying and other applications, high-precision positioning is required, with a positioning error of a few centimeters (cm). For this reason, positioning technologies such as DGPS (Differential GPS) and RTK (Real Time Kinematic) are used.

[0004] Positioning using quasi-zenith satellites has also begun, and the increased number of receivable satellites has improved positioning accuracy in mountainous areas, urban areas, etc. By using the RTK service using the L6 band provided by the quasi-zenith satellite "Michibiki," even more accurate positioning can be ensured.

[0005] In recent years, applications and services requiring centimeter-level high-precision location information have expanded beyond surveying to include determining the location of public infrastructure such as water, gas, and electricity meters, and the locations of underground water pipes, gas pipes, and utility conduits, as well as autonomous driving of unmanned vehicles.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a navigation device for patrol monitoring used when conducting patrol monitoring of underground buried objects such as water pipes, gas pipes, etc. According to Patent Document 1, the navigation device for patrol monitoring includes a current position detection means for detecting a current position, a map data acquisition means for acquiring map data, a display means for displaying the map data as a map screen, a portable storage medium that stores information about underground buried objects, and a control means for displaying information about underground buried objects read from the portable storage medium superimposed on the map screen displayed on the display means.

[0007] As a result, while normal navigation devices only display roads and facilities that are visible on the ground, the navigation device of Patent Document 1 can also display information about underground buried objects that are not visible on the ground, making it possible to check underground buried objects on the map screen even at night or when there is snow.

[0008] Patent Document 2 discloses a method for detecting the location of a specific portion of an underground pipeline from above ground. According to this detection method, coordinate data in the Earth's coordinate system of the pipeline's route buried underground is pre-registered in a portable terminal with a GPS function, a detection position on the pipeline is specified on the portable terminal, and when the current position of the portable terminal detected by the GPS function matches the specified detection position, the portable terminal notifies the outside. In addition, various processes are performed for the specified detection position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-279172 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 4389814 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] There has long been a need to grasp the location information of public infrastructure facilities for their maintenance and management, and in recent years, there has been a growing need to grasp the location of facilities with high accuracy and to efficiently inspect them. For example, water pipe facilities are often buried underground and are laid out along public roads over wide areas and long distances.

[0011] Maintaining water pipes requires regular visual inspections from above ground to check for leaks. Visual inspections are also conducted to check for abnormalities on the road surface and surrounding areas that may be the cause of leaks, and to ensure that the condition of the road and its surroundings is not affecting the water pipes.

[0012] However, because the water pipes are underground, this visual inspection work requires identifying the location of the water pipes, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, making it hard work, and it is expected that there will inevitably be duplication or omission of visual inspection work.

[0013] Furthermore, in areas with heavy snowfall, roads and their surrounding areas can be buried in snow, making it difficult to check for leaks, etc. Furthermore, inspection work on water pipe facilities can be restricted depending on the season and climate, such as the rainy season or long periods of rain.

[0014] For this reason, it is necessary to inspect water pipe facilities that are spread over a wide area and long distances efficiently in a short period of time.

[0015] In this situation, the inventor of the present invention conducted extensive research and experiments to improve the above-mentioned problems, and found that, in the past, it took a great deal of time and a large number of personnel to inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires. In order to solve this situation, the inventor focused on the fact that, since facilities such as water pipes and electric wires are arranged in a straight line along public roads, it is possible to get a wide view of the condition of the facilities by moving along the public road. Based on the inspector's position information, a predetermined area around the inspector's position is set as a patrol judgment area, and it is confirmed whether one end position and the other end position of the facilities are present within the patrol judgment area, and thus came up with the present invention, which makes it possible to efficiently inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires.

[0016] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a public road facility patrol system that can efficiently patrol facilities such as water pipes and electric wires that are arranged in a straight line along a public road by, for example, calculating the location information of a patrol officer using RTK positioning (system) that can acquire highly accurate location information as a location information calculation means, setting a patrol judgment area using the calculated location information of the patrol officer, and determining whether the location information of the facility is present within the patrol judgment area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] In order to achieve the above object, the public road facility inspection system of the present invention is a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities that are arranged along a public road and that are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above, and comprises: a position information calculation means that can calculate the position of a patrol person as patrol person position information at predetermined time intervals; an equipment position information database that stores the positions of one end and the other end of the facilities as equipment position information consisting of a pair of one end side position and the other end side position; a patrol judgment area setting unit that sets a predetermined area around the position of the patrol person as a patrol judgment area based on the patrol person position information; and a patrol judgment unit that confirms whether the one end side position and / or the other end side position is present within the patrol judgment area, and The method is characterized in that if the one end position is located within the patrol judgment area and the other end position is located within another patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with one of the patrol judgment areas, if the one end position is located within one of the patrol judgment areas and the other end position is located within yet another patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the one of the patrol judgment areas, or if the one end position is located within one of the patrol judgment areas and the other end position is located within another patrol judgment area and there are multiple yet other patrol judgment areas that partially overlap with adjacent patrol judgment areas between the one patrol judgment area and the other patrol judgment area, the method determines that the patrol judgment requirements are met and that the inspection of the equipment has been completed.

[0018] Furthermore, the patrol determination area setting unit of the present invention sets a predetermined distance in the forward direction as a predetermined distance from the other patrol position information in a direction 90 degrees to the right of the patrol position information of the patrol person in the forward direction of the patrol person, a predetermined distance in the right direction as a predetermined distance from the other patrol position information in a direction 90 degrees to the left of the patrol position information of the patrol person in the forward direction of the patrol person, and a predetermined distance in the left direction as a predetermined distance from the other patrol position information in a direction 90 degrees to the left of the patrol position information of the patrol person in the forward direction of the patrol person. With regard to the predetermined distance in the direction, a line perpendicular to the direction of travel and spaced a predetermined distance in the direction of travel from the other patrol person position information is defined as the first side, a line parallel to the direction of travel and spaced a predetermined distance to the right from the other patrol person position information is defined as the second side, a line parallel to the direction of travel and spaced a predetermined distance in the left direction from the other patrol person position information is defined as the third side, and a line perpendicular to the direction of travel from the other patrol person position information is defined as the fourth side, and an area surrounded by at least the first side, the second side, the third side and the fourth side is set as the patrol judgment area, and the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance in the right direction and the predetermined distance in the left direction are set according to the means of transportation and / or travel speed of the patrol person.

[0019] Furthermore, when the means of transportation of the present invention is an automobile, the patrol officer is positioned in the passenger seat, and the specified distance to the right is set to a constant value that is shorter than the specified distance to the left, regardless of the speed at which the automobile is moving.

[0020] Furthermore, when the transportation means of the present invention is an automobile, the speed of horizontal movement from the previous other patrol position information that is successive in time series with respect to one of the patrol position information to the one of the patrol position information is defined as the travel speed, and the travel speed comprises a first speed band consisting of a stopped state and a speed close to a stopped state, a second speed band that is a speed higher than the first speed band, a third speed band that is a speed higher than the second speed band, a fourth speed band that is a speed higher than the third speed band, and a fifth speed band that is a speed higher than the fourth speed band, and in the second speed band the predetermined left-side distance in the first speed band is longer than the predetermined left-side distance in the first speed band, the predetermined left-side distance in the third speed band is shorter than the predetermined left-side distance in the second speed band, the predetermined left-side distance in the fourth speed band is shorter than the predetermined left-side distance in the third speed band, and the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fourth speed band is longer than the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the third speed band, and the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fifth speed band is longer than the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fourth speed band.

[0021] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the specified time interval and / or the specified distance in the direction of travel for each of the speed zones are set so that, when transitioning to adjacent speed zones, one of the patrol officer position information belongs to the patrol judgment area related to the previous other patrol officer position information that is chronologically consecutive to the one of the patrol officer position information.

[0022] In addition, when the means of transportation of the present invention is walking, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right, and the predetermined distance to the left are set to be constant regardless of the speed of travel.

[0023] Furthermore, when the means of transportation of the present invention is walking, the predetermined distance in the direction of travel is set shorter, and the predetermined distance to the right and the predetermined distance to the left are set longer than when the means of transportation is an automobile.

[0024] Further, in the present invention, when the one end side position is located within one of the patrol judgment areas and the other end side position is located within another of the patrol judgment areas that partially overlaps with the one of the patrol judgment areas, when the one end side position is located within one of the patrol judgment areas and the other end side position is located within another of the patrol judgment areas that partially overlaps with the one of the patrol judgment areas, or when the one end side position is located within one of the patrol judgment areas and the other end side position is located within another of the patrol judgment areas and there are multiple another of the patrol judgment areas that partially overlap with adjacent patrol judgment areas between the one of the patrol judgment areas and the other of the patrol judgment areas, the determination that the patrol is completed is characterized in that the patrol judgment requirements are met in the patrol judgment areas that constitute the patrol judgment requirements within a predetermined time from the patrol time of the patrol judgment area that was first patrolled.

[0025] The present invention is also characterized in that the facility is a water pipe or an electric wire. [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently inspect water pipes that are laid over a wide area and long distances along public roads.

[0027] In other words, in the past, inspecting facilities such as water pipes and electric wires required a great deal of time and a large number of personnel, but because facilities such as water pipes and electric wires are arranged in a straight line along public roads, it is now possible to get a broad overview of the condition of the facilities by moving along the public roads, making it possible to inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires efficiently.

[0028] In addition, according to the present invention, the direction of travel is determined based on the position information of the patrolman, and a specified area around the patrolman's position is set as a patrol judgment area.The patrol judgment area can be varied depending on the means of transportation and travel speed, making it possible to patrol public road facilities in a manner suitable for patrol methods such as by car or on foot.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the means of transportation is an automobile, it is possible to classify the speed of the patrolman into speed ranges and set a patrol judgment area according to each speed range, thereby making it possible to patrol public road facilities in a manner suited to the automobile's speed of travel.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the present invention, if one end of a piece of equipment is located within a patrol judgment area, and then the other end of the equipment is located within a patrol judgment area that is inspected within a specified time and partially overlaps with the previous patrol judgment area, the inspection of the equipment can be completed, eliminating the need to inspect the same equipment again from the beginning, thereby enabling efficient inspection of the equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0031] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the configuration of a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities arranged in a straight line along a public road. [Figure 2] 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of RTK positioning and a mobile terminal as position information calculation means in the public road facility patrol system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a facility management server in the public road facility inspection system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 10 is a diagram illustrating an inspection determination area set by an inspection determination area setting unit. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a predetermined distance in the forward direction, a predetermined distance to the right, and a predetermined distance to the left of the patrol determination area in the patrol person's means of transportation. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing the setting of an inspection judgment area from an inspection position during equipment inspection, and the position of equipment within the inspection judgment area. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the presence of equipment points of equipment within an inspection determination area is processed and an inspection completion determination is made. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the determination of the completion of inspection of the same equipment at different inspection times. [Figure 9]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing water pipes arranged in a U-shape. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of creating an inspection determination area from the position of an inspector and processing the inspection determination of equipment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for creating an inspection determination area. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of inspection determination processing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the public road facility inspection system according to the present invention will be described. The present invention is a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities arranged in a straight line along a public road. A predetermined area around the position of the patrol officer is set as a patrol determination area based on the position information of the patrol officer obtained by RTK positioning, and the system determines whether the position of one end and the other end of the facility is within the patrol determination area. This makes it possible to efficiently patrol facilities along public roads in a short amount of time.

[0033] In addition, the facilities to be inspected in the public road facility inspection system of the present invention include underground water pipes and electric wires arranged between utility poles above ground that are located along the public road and are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above.

[0034] [Configuration of public road facility inspection system] First, a public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities arranged linearly along a public road will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

[0035] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a public road facility patrol system that patrols facilities arranged in a straight line along a public road using position information of a patrol person obtained by RTK positioning. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of RTK positioning and a mobile terminal as position information calculation means in the public road facility patrol system shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a facility management server in the public road facility patrol system shown in Fig. 1.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, the public road facility inspection system 1 includes a GNSS 3, a GNSS receiver 10, an RTK reference station 5, a mobile terminal 20, and a facility management server 38.

[0037] 1 and 2, the GNSS3 in the public road facility inspection system 1 is a satellite positioning system such as QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) or GPS, and radio signals for positioning are transmitted from satellites. Quasi-Zenith satellites such as "Michibiki" can be used as satellites in the GNSS3.

[0038] The radio signal from the GNSS3 can be received by a GNSS receiver 10. For example, as shown in Fig. 1, when the means of transport for patrolling is an automobile 80, the GNSS receiver 10 is attached to the automobile 80 in which a patrol officer 82 rides. Alternatively, the GNSS receiver 10 can be carried by the patrol officer 82 riding in the automobile. When the means of transport for patrolling is on foot, the patrol officer 82 carries the GNSS receiver 10. The GNSS receiver 10 converts the radio signal received from the GNSS3 into latitude and longitude data.

[0039] The RTK reference station 5 in the public road facility patrol system 1 is fixedly installed on the ground, receives radio signals for positioning from GNSS 3 satellites, calculates the difference between the position information determined by the received radio signals and the predetermined absolute position information of the RTK reference station 5 as an error at the RTK reference station 5, and transmits this together with the absolute position information of the RTK reference station 5. Because the positioning error appears similar to that of the RTK reference station 5 in the vicinity (surrounding area) of the RTK reference station 5, the positioning error of the GNSS receiver 10 located around the RTK reference station 5 can be corrected using the error at the RTK reference station 5. Correction data (RTK correction data) from the RTK reference station 5 can be obtained from a correction data distribution server (not shown) via a mobile network (Internet) 17.

[0040] The GNSS receiver 10 calculates the position of the patrol person 82 using the latitude and longitude data from the GNSS 3 and the RTK correction data from the correction data distribution server. The GNSS receiver 10 outputs the calculated position to the mobile terminal 20 carried by the patrol person 82 as latitude and longitude positioning data.

[0041] The facility management server 38 shown in FIG. 1 includes a patrol management server 40, a map display management server 50, and a facility database (DB) 60.

[0042] The inspection management server 40 acquires the location information of the mobile terminal 20 via the Internet 17, and sequentially stores the location information of the inspector 82 in the memory unit 48 (shown in FIG. 3). The inspection management server 40 also performs processes such as determining whether the inspection of the equipment has been completed by referring to the equipment database 60, which stores equipment location information, using the location information of the inspector 82. The inspection management server 40 also receives various processing requests from the manager terminal 70, and outputs processed data to the manager terminal 70. As shown in FIG. 1, the manager terminal 70 is composed of a fixed terminal 71 whose installation location is fixed and a mobile terminal 72 that can be moved.

[0043] The map display management server 50 reads out the map stored in the map data 64 of the facility database 60 and performs processing to display the track of the inspector 82, the inspection results, etc. on the map.

[0044] [Configuration of location information calculation means] Next, the configurations of the location information calculation means and facility management server in the public road facility inspection system 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the position information calculation means for calculating the position of the patrol person 82 as patrol person position information at predetermined time intervals is composed of the GNSS 3, the GNSS receiver 10, the RTK reference station 5, and the mobile terminal 20.

[0046] GNSS3 is a satellite positioning system similar to QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) and GPS, in which radio signals for positioning are transmitted from satellites.

[0047] 2, the GNSS receiver 10 in the public road facility patrol system 1 includes a receiving antenna 12 that receives radio signals for positioning from GNSS 3 satellites, a GNSS receiver unit 11 that generates position data from the radio signals received by the receiving antenna 12, a communication unit 16 that acquires RTK correction data from the RTK reference station 5 via a mobile network (Internet) 17 and outputs the data to an RTK calculation unit 13, an RTK calculation unit 13 that corrects the position data by performing calculation processing on the position data from the GNSS receiver unit 11 and the RTK correction data from the RTK reference station 5 and outputs the corrected position data as positioning data, and a radio device 14 that outputs the positioning data of the GNSS receiver 10 processed by the RTK calculation unit 13 from an antenna 15. The radio device 14 communicates with a mobile terminal 20 and outputs the positioning data of the GNSS receiver 10 to the mobile terminal 20.

[0048] As described above, in order to obtain highly accurate position information, the public road facility patrol system 1 according to the present invention can use RTK correction data for the absolute position information of the RTK reference station 5 in addition to position data measured using radio signals received from GNSS 3 satellites. Although the public road facility patrol system 1 can be used with only position data from GNSS 3, the use of RTK correction data makes it possible to obtain highly accurate position information, so the best embodiment for the public road facility patrol system 1 is to use RTK correction data.

[0049] 2, the mobile terminal 20 in the public road facility patrol system 1 is, for example, a tablet terminal, and includes a receiving antenna 22 and radio 21 that receive positioning data from the GNSS receiver 10, a network communication unit 34 that connects to the Internet 17 and inputs and outputs data, a control processing unit 24 that includes a location information processing unit 25 and a patrol condition setting unit 29, etc., a memory unit 30 that stores various data, etc., and a map image data unit 31 that stores maps of patrol routes, etc. The mobile terminal 20 also includes a display unit 33 that displays map data and operation menus for roads, etc., for patrolling facilities located along public roads, and an operation unit 32 that allows a patrol person 82, etc., to set patrol conditions and perform various input operations.

[0050] The position information processing unit 25 has a positioning data processing unit 26, a patrol information processing unit 27, and a position display processing unit 28. The control processing unit 24 of the portable terminal 20 processes the positioning data from the GNSS receiver 10 received by the radio 21 via the receiving antenna 22 in the positioning data processing unit 26 of the position information processing unit 25. The positioning data is data received from the GNSS receiver 10 at predetermined time intervals.

[0051] The positioning data processed by the positioning data processing unit 26 is position data consisting of corrected latitude and longitude of the GNSS receiver 10. The corrected position data is stored in the memory unit 30 by the positioning data processing unit 26 together with the date and time as position information of the patrol person 82, and is also output from the network communication unit 34 via the Internet 17 to the patrol management server 40 of the external facility management server 38 as position information of the patrol person 82.

[0052] If an abnormality or the like is found in the equipment during a patrol, the patrol information processing unit 27 records the equipment position, date and time, abnormality status, etc. input by the patrol person 82 in the memory unit 30. The position display processing unit 28 plots the position information of the positioning data processing unit 26 stored in the memory unit 30 as a movement trajectory on a map of the patrol area stored in the map image data unit 31, and displays the plotted movement trajectory on the display unit 33.

[0053] The control processing unit 24 also has a patrol condition setting unit 29 that sets the conditions for patrol input by the operation unit 32. The patrol person 82 can use the operation unit 32 of the mobile terminal 20 to perform operations such as setting the means of transportation, starting and ending patrol, and recording any abnormal conditions during patrol.

[0054] The control processing unit 24 has a built-in CPU and executes programs stored in the memory unit 30 to perform various processes related to location information, and also controls the map image data unit 31, the display unit 33, and the operation unit 32.

[0055] [Configuration of the equipment management server] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the facility management server 38 in the public road facility inspection system 1 shown in Figure 1. In the following explanation, the facility is patrolled using a water pipe installed along a road as an example. As shown in Figure 3, the facility management server 38 has a patrol management server 40, a map display management server 50, and a facility database 60, all of which are connected via a network 66. The facility management server 38 is also configured to be connectable to a mobile terminal 20 and an administrator terminal 70 via the Internet 17.

[0056] The inspection management server 40 includes a control processing unit 41 and a memory unit 48 that stores inspection result information 69 .

[0057] The control processing unit 41 has a patrol judgment area setting unit 42 that creates and sets a patrol judgment area from the position information of the patrol person 82, a patrol judgment unit 43 that determines whether equipment is present within the patrol judgment area, a patrol condition setting unit 44 that sets the conditions for patrol, a mobile terminal communication processing unit 46 that communicates with the mobile terminal 20 to receive data, etc., and an administrator terminal processing unit 47 that communicates with the administrator terminal 70 to receive commands, send processing data, etc. The control processing unit 41 has a built-in CPU and executes programs stored in a memory unit 48 to perform various processes.

[0058] The map display management server 50 of the facility management server 38 has a facility data processing unit 51, a patrol trajectory mapping processing unit 52, a layer display processing unit 53, and a map display processing unit 54.

[0059] The equipment data processing unit 51 processes the display of the position of equipment on a map, and also processes the display of the attributes of the equipment by specifying the equipment. The inspection trajectory mapping processing unit 52 processes the display of the inspection trajectory on a map. The layer display processing unit 53 processes the hierarchical display of the specified equipment on multiple maps. The map display processing unit 54 reads the specified map from the map data 64 in the equipment database 60 and performs display processing.

[0060] The equipment database 60 of the equipment management server 38 stores various data such as equipment information data 61, inspection track data 62, inspection result data 63, and map data 64.

[0061] The equipment information data 61 records information about the equipment, such as the name of the equipment, the attributes of the equipment, the location of the equipment, the year the equipment was installed, and the history of the installer. The patrol track data 62 records location information data acquired from the mobile terminal 20 of the patrol person 82. The patrol result data 63 records the results of the equipment patrol judgment processed by the patrol management server 40. The map data 64 stores a map of the area where the equipment is installed, a topographical map related to the equipment, etc.

[0062] Incidentally, although an example has been shown in which the equipment management server 38 is configured with the patrol management server 40, the map display management server 50, and the equipment database 60, it is not limited to these configurations, and for example, the patrol management server 40 and the map display management server 50 may be configured as an integrated unit. Furthermore, the functions of the map display management server 50 and the equipment database 60 are not limited to those described above, and they can be configured to have optimal functions as appropriate.

[0063] [Creating a Patrol Judgment Area] The inspection determination area will be described below with reference to Figures 4 and 5. The inspection determination area setting unit 42 of the inspection management server 40 sets a predetermined area around the position of the inspector 82 as the inspection determination area based on the position information of the inspector 82.

[0064] The patrol management server 40 receives position information of the patrol person 82 obtained at predetermined time intervals from the mobile terminal 20 via the Internet 17. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the patrol judgment area set by the patrol judgment area setting unit 42. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the predetermined distance in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance to the right, and the predetermined distance to the left of the patrol judgment area for each of the first to fifth speed zones.

[0065] Based on the position information from the mobile terminal 20, the patrol judgment area setting unit 42 first sets the distances that the patrol officer 82 can patrol in three directions, forward, to the right, and to the left, relative to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82: a predetermined distance in the direction of travel as the distance that can be patrolled forward, a predetermined distance to the right as the distance that can be patrolled on the right, and a predetermined distance to the left as the distance that can be patrolled on the left.

[0066] That is, as shown in Figure 4(a), the patrol judgment area setting unit 42 determines the horizontal movement direction (md shown in Figure 4(a)) from the previous patrol officer position information P1, which is chronologically consecutive to the current patrol officer position information P2 obtained by the mobile terminal 20, to the current patrol officer position information P2, and sets the movement direction as the traveling direction of the patrol officer 82.

[0067] As shown in Figure 4(b), a predetermined forward distance Lf is set as a predetermined distance in the direction of travel of the patrolman 82 from the previous patrolman position information P1, a predetermined rightward distance Lm is set as a predetermined distance located 90 degrees to the right of the direction of travel of the patrolman 82 from the previous patrolman position information P1, and a predetermined leftward distance Lh is set as a predetermined distance located 90 degrees to the left of the direction of travel of the patrolman 82 from the previous patrolman position information P1.

[0068] As shown in Figure 4(c), for a predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left, a line perpendicular to the direction of travel from the previous patrol officer position information P1 by a predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 is defined as the first side H1, a line parallel to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 by a predetermined distance Lm to the right from the previous patrol officer position information P1 is defined as the second side H2, a line parallel to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 by a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the previous patrol officer position information P1 is defined as the third side H3, and a line perpendicular to the direction of travel of the patrol officer 82 from the previous patrol officer position information P1 is defined as the fourth side H4.

[0069] As shown in Figure 4(d), the position coordinates of the four intersections with each side (shown as white circles in Figure 4(d)) are calculated, and a rectangular area with a horizontal size of (Lm+Lh) and a vertical size of (Lf) surrounded by the first side H1, second side H2, third side H3, and fourth side H4 is set as the patrol determination area A. The predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are set according to the means of transportation and travel speed of the patrol officer 82.

[0070] [Regarding the specified distance of the inspection area] Next, we will explain in detail the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left, which are set according to the travel speed of the transportation means of the patrol officer 82. Examples of the form of transportation include when the patrol officer 82 patrols as a passenger in a car, when the patrol officer 82 patrols on foot, or when the patrol officer 82 patrols by bicycle.

[0071] The movement speed of the patrolman 82 is calculated by determining the distance traveled by the patrolman 82 within a specified time period from the position information of the patrolman 82 obtained at specified time intervals and the previous position information of the patrolman 82 that is consecutive in time series, and then dividing the determined distance by the specified time period.

[0072] When the means of transportation is a car, five speed zones, from speed zone 1 to speed zone 5 shown below, are set in advance, and it is determined which speed zone the calculated movement speed of the patrol officer 82 falls into. The speed zones, from speed zone 1 to speed zone 5, are shown below.

[0073] That is, each speed band consists of a first speed band v1 consisting of a stopped state and a speed near the stopped state, a second speed band v2 that is a higher speed band continuing from the first speed band, a third speed band v3 that is a higher speed band continuing from the second speed band, a fourth speed band v4 that is a higher speed band continuing from the third speed band, and a fifth speed band v5 that is a higher speed band continuing from the fourth speed band. For example, the first speed band v1 is from 0 km / h to less than 10 km / h, the second speed band v2 is from 10 km / h to less than 20 km / h, the third speed band v3 is from 20 km / h to less than 30 km / h, the fourth speed band v4 is from 30 km / h to less than 50 km / h, and the fifth speed band v5 is 50 km / h or higher. In this way, each speed band means a speed band with a range of speeds per hour.

[0074] Furthermore, when the means of transportation is an automobile 80, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are set according to the speed range. This point will be explained below with reference to FIG.

[0075] [Example of the specified distance for the inspection area] Fig. 5 shows an example of the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left of the patrol determination area for the patrol person's means of transportation. Fig. 5(a) to Fig. 5(d) show an example of the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left of the patrol determination area for each speed range from the first speed range to the fifth speed range.

[0076] As shown in Figure 5(a), for example, in the first speed zone v1, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 20 m. Also, as shown in Figure 5(b), in the second speed zone v2, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 40 m. As shown in Figure 5(a), in the third speed zone v3, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 20 m. As shown in Figure 5(c), in the fourth speed zone v4, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set to 30 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction is set to 10 m. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5(d), in the fifth speed zone v5, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction is set to 40 m, the predetermined distance Lm to the right is set to 5 m, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left is set to 10 m.

[0077] That is, the patrol officer 82 is positioned in the passenger seat of the automobile 80, and the predetermined distance Lm to the right is set to be shorter and constant than the predetermined distance Lh to the left, regardless of the speed of the automobile 80. This is because the area to the left is easy to see and has good visibility from the passenger seat position, so the patrolable distance to the left can be set long, but visibility to the right area is somewhat limited, so the patrolable distance to the right is shorter.

[0078] The predetermined distance Lf in the traveling direction and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in each of the speed zones from the first speed zone v1 to the fifth speed zone v5 are set as follows: The predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in the second speed zone v2 is set longer than the predetermined distance Lh in the first speed zone v1, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in the third speed zone v3 is set shorter than the predetermined distance Lh in the second speed zone v2. The predetermined distance Lh in the left direction in the fourth speed zone v4 is set shorter than the predetermined distance Lh in the third speed zone v3, and the predetermined distance Lf in the traveling direction in the fourth speed zone v4 is set longer than the predetermined distance Lf in the third speed zone v3, and the predetermined distance Lf in the traveling direction in the fifth speed zone v5 is set longer than the predetermined distance Lf in the traveling direction in the fourth speed zone v4.

[0079] Furthermore, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel for each speed zone is set so that, when transitioning to an adjacent speed zone, the current patrol officer position information falls within the patrol determination area related to the previous patrol officer position information that is chronologically consecutive to the current patrol officer position information. The predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is set so that the distance from the current patrol officer position information to the first side H1 of the patrol determination area shown in FIG. 4(c) is, for example, at least approximately 4 meters. Similarly to the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined time interval for calculating the position information of the patrol officer 82 is also set so that the current patrol officer position information falls within the patrol determination area related to the previous patrol officer position information.

[0080] In this case, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction are the same for the first speed zone v1 and the third speed zone v3. The predetermined distance Lh in the left direction for the first speed zone v1 is shorter than the predetermined distance Lh in the second speed zone v2, and the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel for the first speed zone v1 and the second speed zone v2 are the same. Therefore, the inspection determination area for the first speed zone v1 is narrower than the inspection determination area for the second speed zone v2. This is because, when patrolling the first speed zone v1, the predetermined distance Lf in the direction of travel is shorter due to the slower travel speed and shorter travel distance. Furthermore, patrols are affected by traffic conditions because there is less time to look around due to waiting at traffic lights while stopped, etc.

[0081] The values ​​of the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm to the right, and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are merely examples, and are not limited to these, and other values ​​may be used.

[0082] In this way, the patrol judgment area setting unit 42 selects one of the five speed zones from the first speed zone to the fifth speed zone based on the calculated moving speed of the vehicle, and sets the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction and the predetermined distance Lh to the left according to the moving speed of the vehicle.

[0083] Figure 5(e) shows an example of the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction when the means of transportation is walking. As shown in Figure 5(e), when the means of transportation is walking, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction is 20 m, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction are 20 m. When walking, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction, the predetermined distance Lm in the right direction, and the predetermined distance Lh in the left direction are set to constant values ​​regardless of the travel speed.

[0084] Furthermore, when patrolling on foot, the predetermined distance Lf in the forward direction is set shorter, and the predetermined distance Lm to the right and the predetermined distance Lh to the left are set longer than when the means of transportation is an automobile. This is because when patrolling on foot, the movement speed is slow and the patrol person 82 can see far to the left and right by turning his / her head from side to side, so the patrolable distances on the left and right can be set longer.

[0085] [Positional relationship between inspection area and equipment] Next, the relationship between the setting of the inspection judgment area from the inspection position and the position of the equipment within the inspection judgment area when inspecting equipment arranged in a line will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the setting of the inspection judgment area from the inspection position when inspecting equipment, and the position of the equipment within the inspection judgment area.

[0086] It is assumed that information about the equipment to be inspected is stored in advance in equipment information data 61 (shown in FIG. 3) of equipment database 60 (shown in FIG. 3) as equipment position information consisting of a pair of one-end position and the other-end position, with the positions of one end and the other end of the equipment being one of the pairs. The positions of one end and the other end of the equipment are stored in the equipment information data 61 in the form of a geographic coordinate system of latitude and longitude, for example.

[0087] In the following explanation, the location of equipment is indicated by a point, which is referred to as an equipment point. An equipment point has latitude and longitude information indicating its location and equipment attributes. There are four types of equipment points: single, starting point, intermediate point, and end point. Equipment is classified into single equipment such as fire hydrants and valves, and pipeline equipment such as distribution pipes and water supply pipes. Single equipment has a single equipment point, while pipeline equipment has equipment points at its starting point and end point, and may also have an intermediate equipment point. The target of pipeline equipment is indicated by an equipment point and a line connecting two equipment points. As a result, for equipment stored in the equipment information data 61, one end of the equipment can be set as the starting point, and the other end of the equipment can be set as the end point.

[0088] As shown in Figure 6, first, a moving direction md1 from the previous observer position information P1 calculated at a predetermined time interval to the current observer position information P2, and a moving vector of a moving speed vs1 between the observer position information P1 and the observer position information P2 are calculated. A speed zone from v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated moving speed vs1. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the moving direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P1 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A1 is created.

[0089] Next, the inspection determination unit 43 of the patrol management server 40 checks whether an equipment point s1, for example, which is the starting point of the equipment S, is located within the created inspection determination area A1. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the equipment point s1, which is the starting point of the equipment S, is located within the patrol determination area A1. Similarly, the movement direction md2 from the observer position information P2 to the observer position information P3, calculated at a predetermined time interval, and the movement speed vs2 between the observer position information P2 and the observer position information P3 are calculated. One of the speed zones v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated movement speed vs2. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the traveling direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P2 are set, and a rectangular inspection determination area A2 is created.

[0090] Next, the inspection determination unit 43 checks whether the created inspection determination area A2 contains an equipment point s2, which is, for example, the end point of the equipment S, and an equipment point t1, which is, for example, the start point of the equipment T. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the equipment point s2, which is the end point of the equipment S, and the equipment point t1, which is the start point of the equipment T, exist within the inspection determination area A2.

[0091] As a result, equipment point s1, which is the starting point of equipment S, is located within the patrol judgment area A1, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, is located within the patrol judgment area A2, which partially overlaps with the patrol judgment area A1.Since the starting point and end point of equipment S are located within the patrol judgment areas, it is determined that the inspection of equipment S has been completed.

[0092] The reason why the end point of equipment S and the start point of equipment T are located in the same place is because, for example, equipment S and equipment T are pipes, and this position is the joint between equipment S and equipment T. Also, in Figure 6, the overlap area B12 between the patrol judgment area A1 and another patrol judgment area A2, which partially overlaps the area, is shown by diagonal lines.

[0093] In this way, the patrol judgment area (A1 shown in Figure 6) related to the previous patrol officer position information (P1 shown in Figure 6) which is chronologically consecutive to the current patrol officer position information (P2 shown in Figure 6) and the patrol judgment area (A2 shown in Figure 6) related to the current patrol officer position information (P2 shown in Figure 6) which is chronologically consecutive to the next patrol officer position information (P3 shown in Figure 6) have an overlapping area (B12 shown in Figure 6).

[0094] Similarly, a moving direction md3 from the observer position information P3 to the observer position information P4, calculated at a predetermined time interval, and a moving vector of a moving speed vs3 between the observer position information P3 and the observer position information P4 are calculated. A speed zone from v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated moving speed vs3. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the moving direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P3 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A3 is created.

[0095] Next, the inspection determination unit 43 checks whether, for example, equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, exists within the created inspection determination area A3. In the example shown in Fig. 6, equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, does not exist within the inspection determination area A3. Fig. 6 also shows an overlapping area B23 between the inspection determination area A2 and the inspection determination area A3.

[0096] Similarly, a moving direction md4 from the observer position information P4 to the observer position information P5, calculated at a predetermined time interval, and a moving vector of a moving speed vs4 between the observer position information P4 and the observer position information P5 are calculated. A speed zone v1 to v5 is determined based on the calculated moving speed vs4. Based on the determined speed zone, a predetermined distance Lf in the moving direction, a predetermined distance Lm to the right, and a predetermined distance Lh to the left from the observer position information P4 are set, and a rectangular patrol determination area A4 is created. FIG. 6 also shows an overlapping area B34 between the patrol determination area A3 and the patrol determination area A4.

[0097] Next, the inspection determination unit 43 checks whether, for example, equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, is present within the created inspection determination area A4. In the example shown in Fig. 6, equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, is present within the inspection determination area A4. As a result, equipment point t1, which is the start point of equipment T, is present within the inspection determination area A2, and equipment point t2, which is the end point of equipment T, is present within the inspection determination area A4, which also partially overlaps with the inspection determination area A2. Since the start point t1 and end point t2 of equipment T are present within the inspection determination areas, it is determined that the inspection of equipment T has been completed.

[0098] [Processing of equipment points within the inspection area] Next, the process of checking whether there is an equipment point for equipment within the inspection judgment area for equipment inspection will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the state in which the presence of equipment points for equipment within the inspection judgment area is processed and the inspection completion judgment is made. Note that the arrow from the inspector position information shown in Fig. 7 indicates a progress vector. Assuming that the inspection judgment requirements are met, the inspection of the equipment is judged to be completed in the following four cases.

[0099] In the first case, as shown in Figure 7(a), an inspection judgment area A1 is created from inspector position information P1 by moving from inspector position information P1 to inspector position information P2, and an equipment point s1, which is the start point of equipment S, and an equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, exist within the inspection judgment area A1. In this way, when the start point and end point of equipment S exist within the same inspection judgment area, it is determined that the inspection judgment requirements are met and the inspection of equipment S has been completed.

[0100] In the second case, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the observer moves from the observer position information P1 to the observer position information P2, an inspection determination area A1 is created from the observer position information P1, and the equipment point s1, which is the start point of the equipment S, is located within the inspection determination area A1. Next, when the observer moves from the observer position information P2 to the observer position information P3, an inspection determination area A2 is created from the observer position information P2, and the equipment point s2, which is the end point of the equipment S, is located within the inspection determination area A2. In this way, when the start point of the equipment S is located within the inspection determination area A1 and the end point of the equipment S is located within the inspection determination area A2, which partially overlaps with the inspection determination area A1, it is determined that the inspection determination requirements are met and the inspection of the equipment S is completed. Note that FIG. 7(b) shows an overlapping area B12 between the inspection determination area A1 and the patrol determination area A2.

[0101] In the third case, as shown in Figure 7(c), by moving from observer position information P1 to observer position information P2, a patrol judgment area A1 is created from observer position information P1, and equipment point s1, which is the start point of equipment S, exists within the patrol judgment area A1. Next, by moving from observer position information P2 to observer position information P3, a patrol judgment area A2 is created from observer position information P2, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, does not exist within the patrol judgment area A2. Next, by moving from observer position information P3 to observer position information P4, an inspection judgment area A3 is created from observer position information P3, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, is located within the patrol judgment area A3.

[0102] In this way, the starting point of equipment S is within inspection judgment area A1, the end point of equipment S is not within inspection judgment area A2 which partially overlaps with patrol judgment area A1, and the end point of equipment S is within inspection judgment area A3 which partially overlaps with patrol judgment area A2. In such a case, it is determined that the inspection requirements are met and the inspection of equipment S has been completed. Note that Figure 7(c) shows overlapping area B12 between patrol judgment area A1 and patrol judgment area A2, and overlapping area B23 between patrol judgment area A2 and patrol judgment area A3.

[0103] In the fourth case, as shown in FIG. 7(d), when the observer moves from the observer position information P1 to the observer position information P2, an inspection determination area A1 is created from the observer position information P1, and the equipment point s1, which is the start point of the equipment S, is located within the inspection determination area A1. Next, when the observer moves from the observer position information P2 to the observer position information P3, an inspection determination area A2 is created from the observer position information P2, and the equipment point s2, which is the end point of the equipment S, is not located within the inspection determination area A2. Next, when the observer moves from the observer position information P3 to the observer position information P4, an inspection determination area A3 is created from the observer position information P3, and the equipment point s2, which is the end point of the equipment S, is not located within the patrol determination area A3. Next, by moving from observer position information P4 to observer position information P5, an inspection judgment area A4 is created from observer position information P4, and equipment point s2, which is the end point of equipment S, is located within the inspection judgment area A4.

[0104] In this way, if the starting point of equipment S is within inspection judgment area A1, the end point of equipment S is not within inspection judgment area A2 that partially overlaps with patrol judgment area A1, and furthermore the end point of equipment S is not within patrol judgment area A3 that partially overlaps with patrol judgment area A2, and the end point of equipment S is within patrol judgment area A4 that partially overlaps with patrol judgment area A3, it is determined that the inspection requirements are met and the inspection of equipment S has been completed. Note that Figure 7(d) shows overlapping area B12 between patrol judgment area A1 and patrol judgment area A2, overlapping area B23 between patrol judgment area A2 and patrol judgment area A3, and overlapping area B34 between patrol judgment area A3 and patrol judgment area A4.

[0105] [Inspection of facilities at different times] Next, the determination of the completion of inspection of the same equipment at different inspection times by the inspection determination unit 43 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the determination of the completion of inspection of the same equipment at different inspection times.

[0106] As shown in Figure 8, a water pipe K1 is located on a road 84 shown on the right side of the drawing, and a water pipe K2 is located on a road 84 shown on the left side of the drawing. Furthermore, a water pipe K3 is located on a road 84 connecting the two roads, and the water pipe K3 is connected to the water pipes K1 and K2 on both roads. When the water pipe K3 is located in such a location, part of the water pipe K3 is located within a patrol determination area A1 during an inspection of the water pipe K1, and part of the water pipe K3 is located within a patrol determination area A2 during an inspection of the water pipe K2, which is inspected on a different day or at a different time.

[0107] In such a case, the inspection determination unit 43 determines that the inspection of the equipment is complete if one end position (for example, equipment point j1, which is the starting point of the equipment, water pipe K3) is located within the inspection determination area A1, the area partially overlaps with the patrol determination area A1, and the other end position (for example, equipment point j2, which is the end point of the equipment, water pipe K3) is located within another patrol determination area A2 that has been inspected within a predetermined time from the inspection time for the patrol determination area A1. Note that Figure 8 shows an overlapping area B12 between the patrol determination area A1 and the patrol determination area A2.

[0108] This allows the inspection of equipment to be completed if one end of the equipment is located within an inspection judgment area, and the other end of the equipment is located within an inspection judgment area that partially overlaps with the previous inspection judgment area after inspection within a predetermined time. This eliminates the need to inspect the same equipment from the beginning again, making it possible to inspect equipment efficiently.

[0109] In this way, not only when one end position exists within a patrol judgment area and the other end position exists in another patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the patrol judgment area, but also when one end position exists within a patrol judgment area and the other end position exists in yet another patrol judgment area that partially overlaps with the patrol judgment area, or when one end position exists within a patrol judgment area and the other end position exists in another patrol judgment area and there are multiple yet other patrol judgment areas between one patrol judgment area and another patrol judgment area that partially overlap with adjacent patrol judgment areas, the inspection is determined to be completed provided that the patrol judgment requirements are met in the patrol judgment areas that make up the patrol judgment requirements within a specified time from the inspection time of the first patrol judgment area.

[0110] For example, if the starting point of the equipment is located within the first inspection judgment area, the end point of the equipment is located within the fifth inspection judgment area, and there are multiple other inspection judgment areas that partially overlap between the first and fifth inspection judgment areas, then if the existence of the end point of the equipment within the fifth patrol judgment area is confirmed, and then within a specified time from the inspection time of the fifth patrol judgment area, the starting point of the equipment is confirmed in the first patrol judgment area from the fifth patrol judgment area via multiple other patrol judgment areas that partially overlap, the inspection of the equipment can be completed.

[0111] Furthermore, the inspection is not limited to the first inspection judgment area or the fifth inspection judgment area, but may also start from the second inspection judgment area or the third inspection judgment area, which do not have a start point or an end point of the equipment. In this way, on the condition that the inspection judgment requirements are met within a predetermined time from the inspection time of the first inspected inspection judgment area, other inspection judgment areas that partially overlap the areas where one end and the other end of the equipment are located are inspected, and the inspection is determined to be complete.

[0112] [Patrolling the U-shaped facility] Next, we will explain the inspection of equipment such as a water pipe arranged in a U-shape. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a water pipe arranged in a U-shape. As shown in FIG. 9, a water pipe Ks (shown by a solid line) as an equipment installed along a road 84 branches off from a main water pipe Km (shown by a dotted line) and is arranged in a U-shape. As a result, the water pipe Ks is not arranged in a straight line from the starting point, equipment point Q1, to the end point, equipment point Q4. For this reason, the water pipe Ks as an equipment has terminal points c1 and c2 as intermediate points between the starting point, equipment point Q1, and the end point, equipment point Q4, and the positions of the terminal points c1 and c2 are registered in advance as intermediate points, equipment points Q2 and Q3. As a result, the lines from the starting point, equipment point Q1, to the intermediate point, equipment point Q2, from the intermediate point, equipment point Q2, to the intermediate point, equipment point Q3, and from the intermediate point, equipment point Q3, to the end point, equipment point Q4, are each formed in a straight line. When the equipment point Q1, which is the starting point, the equipment point Q2, which is the intermediate point, the equipment point Q3, which is the intermediate point, and the equipment point Q4, which is the end point, are present within the inspection judgment area during the inspection, the inspection of the water pipe Ks as equipment is determined to be completed.

[0113] This makes it possible to inspect equipment that is not arranged in a straight line between its start and end points, but is instead arranged in multiple straight lines. Also, if the equipment is arranged in a curved rather than linear fashion, it is possible to inspect the equipment by, for example, setting an intermediate point at the midpoint of the curve. Furthermore, if the equipment is arranged in a straight line and the distance between the start and end points is long, it is also possible to inspect the equipment by setting one or more intermediate points between the start and end points.

[0114] [Operation flow of the patrol system] Next, with reference to the flowcharts in Figures 10 to 12, we will explain how to obtain the location information of inspectors patrolling facilities in the public road facility inspection system 1, create a patrol judgment area based on the inspector location information, and determine whether the facility's equipment point is located within the patrol judgment area.

[0115] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the creation of a patrol judgment area from the position of the inspector 82 and the operation of the patrol judgment processing for the equipment. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing related to the creation of the patrol judgment area. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the patrol judgment processing. First, with reference to Fig. 10, the processing operations for sequentially acquiring the position of the inspector, creating the patrol judgment area, and determining whether the equipment is located within the patrol judgment area will be described.

[0116] The work list shown in the flowcharts of Figures 10 and 12 is a list that records equipment points that are determined to exist within the inspection judgment area. A new work list is created each time a patrol judgment area is created. Equipment points that have been processed in the inspection judgment process are deleted from the work list. The standby list is a list that records equipment points that existed within the patrol judgment area and for which either the start point or end point of a pair of equipment does not exist in the work list, and is recorded when a piece of equipment that is in question appears. Equipment points that have been processed in the patrol judgment process are deleted from the standby list.

[0117] 10, first, the route of the facility to be inspected is confirmed (step S1). For example, map image data stored in the mobile terminal 20 is displayed on the display unit 33 to show the road on which the facility is located, and the route of the inspection is confirmed.

[0118] Next, the patrol type, patrol method, location data acquisition interval, etc. are set on the mobile terminal 20 (step S2). Note that instead of using the mobile terminal 20, the patrol type, patrol method, location data acquisition interval, etc. can also be set from the manager terminal 70 via the patrol management server 40. After completing the settings, the user moves to the patrol start position and starts patrolling the equipment (step S3).

[0119] The mobile terminal 20 receives positioning data from the GNSS receiver 10 at predetermined time intervals and acquires it as position data consisting of the latitude and longitude of the patrol person 82 (step S4). At this time, the position data and the acquisition time of the position data are stored as position information in the memory unit 30. The mobile terminal 20 also outputs the position data and the position information, which is the acquisition time of the position data, to the patrol management server 40 via the Internet 17 (step S5).

[0120] During the inspection, the mobile terminal 20 sequentially transmits the acquired location information to the inspection management server 40 via the Internet 17. Instead of sequentially transmitting the location information to the inspection management server 40, it is also possible to output all the location information from the mobile terminal 20 to the inspection management server 40 at once after the inspection is completed.

[0121] Next, the patrol management server 40 sequentially stores the position information from the mobile terminal 20 in the memory unit 48, and uses the position information stored in the memory unit 48 to create a patrol determination area and perform patrol determination processing. The patrol management server 40 first reads equipment position information, which stores equipment points consisting of the start point, end point, and (intermediate points) of the equipment, from the equipment information data 61 and stores it in the memory unit 48 (step S6). Next, the patrol management server 40 defines the position information read from the memory unit 48 as current (present) position data (step S7). Thereafter, it checks whether previous position data that is consecutive in time series has been acquired (step S8). If previous position data has not been acquired, it redefines the current (present) position data as previous position data, and proceeds to step S4 (step S9). This is because if previous position data is not available, it is not possible to create a traveling direction vector consisting of the previous position data and the current position data. If previous position data has been acquired, it performs the process of creating a patrol determination area shown in FIG. 11 (step S10).

[0122] [Process flow for creating inspection judgment areas] As shown in Fig. 11, the process of creating a patrol determination area first acquires the previous position data and the current position data, and creates a traveling direction vector from the previous position data and the current position data (step S20). Next, the patrol movement method (means) is confirmed (step S21). If the patrol movement method is walking, the previously set predetermined distance in the traveling direction, predetermined distance to the right, and predetermined distance to the left for walking are selected (step S22). Then, the process proceeds to step S25.

[0123] If the patrol vehicle is traveling by car, the vehicle speed (travel speed) is calculated from the traveling direction vector (step S23). The speed range is determined from the calculated vehicle speed. The predetermined distance in the traveling direction, the predetermined distance to the left, and the predetermined distance to the right, which are set in advance, are determined from the determined speed range (step S24).

[0124] The position coordinates of the four vertices are calculated from the previous position data, the traveling direction vector, the predetermined distance in the traveling direction, the predetermined distance to the left, and the predetermined distance to the right, and an inspection determination area is created (step S25). This completes the process of creating the inspection determination area.

[0125] Next, after the process of creating the inspection judgment area, it is checked whether any equipment points consisting of the start point and end point of the equipment are located within the inspection judgment area, and the equipment points within the inspection judgment area are extracted and recorded in the work list (step S11). Next, it is checked whether any equipment points are recorded in the work list (step S12). If no equipment points are recorded in the work list, the process proceeds to step S16. If an equipment point is recorded in the work list, one equipment point is selected from the work list (step S13). After selecting one equipment point from the work list, the inspection judgment process shown in FIG. 12 is performed (step S14).

[0126] [Patrol determination process flow] 12, the inspection determination process reads out a selected equipment point (e.g., the starting point of the equipment) from the work list (step S30), and checks whether the equipment is a single piece of equipment (step S31). If the selected equipment point is a single piece of equipment such as a fire hydrant, the inspection is determined to have been completed (step S32). Then, the equipment point is deleted from the work list (step S33).

[0127] Furthermore, if the equipment point selected in step S31 is not a single piece of equipment, it is checked whether there is an opposite equipment point (opposite equipment point, for example, the end point of the equipment) paired with the equipment point in the work list (step S34). If there is an opposite equipment point (opposite equipment point) paired with the equipment point in the same work list, the inspection judgment requirements are met, and the inspection of the equipment consisting of the equipment point and the opposite equipment point is considered to have been completed, and the inspection completion judgment process is performed (step S35). Furthermore, the equipment point in question and the opposite equipment point are deleted from the work list (step S36). The above process is performed when the start point and end point of the equipment are located within the same inspection judgment area.

[0128] Furthermore, if there is no opposing equipment point (opposite equipment point) paired with the equipment point in the work list in step S34, it is checked whether there is an equipment point (opposite equipment point) in the standby list that is opposing the equipment point and meets the inspection judgment requirements (step S37). If there is no opposing equipment point (opposite equipment point) to the equipment point in the standby list, the equipment point is registered in the standby list (step S42). Furthermore, the equipment point is deleted from the work list (step S43).

[0129] On the other hand, if there is an equipment point (opposite equipment point) facing the equipment point in question and meeting the inspection criteria on the standby list in step S37, it is checked whether the acquisition date of the opposite equipment point is within the specified period (step S38). If the acquisition date of the opposite equipment point is outside the specified period, the opposite equipment point is deleted from the standby list (step S41). Then, the process proceeds to step S42.

[0130] Furthermore, if the acquisition date of the opposite equipment point is within the specified period, the inspection of the equipment consisting of the equipment point and the opposite equipment point is deemed to be completed and the inspection determination process is performed (step S39).The equipment point is also deleted from the work list and the opposite equipment point is deleted from the standby list (step S40).The above process is performed when the acquisition of the opposite equipment point for the equipment point is within the specified time and the start point and end point of the equipment are located in different inspection determination areas.This completes the inspection determination process.

[0131] As shown in FIG. 10, after the patrol determination process, the patrol management server 40 checks whether an equipment point is recorded in the work list (step S15). If an equipment point is recorded in the work list, the process proceeds to step S13. If an equipment point is not recorded in the work list, the process checks whether newly acquired location information is stored in the location information stored in the memory unit 48 (step S16). If newly acquired location information is not present, the process terminates. If newly acquired location information is present, the current (present) location data is redefined as the previous location data (step S17). Furthermore, the newly acquired location information is defined as the current (present) location data (step S18). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10. This completes the creation of the patrol determination area from the position of the patrol operator 82 and the operation of the equipment patrol determination process.

[0132] The facilities to be inspected in the public road facility inspection system of the present invention are not limited to underground water pipes arranged in a straight line along the public road or electric wires arranged between utility poles on the ground, but may also be other facilities such as underground gas pipes, etc. Furthermore, the electric wires are not limited to power lines but may also be communication lines (metal wires or optical fiber cables) or coaxial cables such as CATV.

[0133] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently inspect water pipes that are laid out over a wide area and long distances along public roads.

[0134] In other words, in the past, inspecting facilities such as water pipes and electric wires required a great deal of time and a large number of personnel, but because facilities such as water pipes and electric wires are arranged in a straight line along public roads, it is now possible to get a broad overview of the condition of the facilities by moving along the public roads, making it possible to inspect facilities such as water pipes and electric wires efficiently.

[0135] In addition, according to the present invention, the direction of travel is determined based on the position information of the patrolman, and a specified area around the patrolman's position is set as a patrol judgment area.The patrol judgment area can be varied depending on the means of transportation and travel speed, making it possible to patrol public road facilities in a manner suitable for patrol methods such as by car or on foot.

[0136] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the means of transportation is an automobile, it is possible to classify the speed of the patrolman into speed ranges and set a patrol judgment area according to each speed range, thereby making it possible to patrol public road facilities in a manner suited to the automobile's speed of travel.

[0137] Furthermore, according to the present invention, if one end of a piece of equipment is located within a patrol judgment area, and then the other end of the equipment is located within a patrol judgment area that is inspected within a specified time and partially overlaps with the previous patrol judgment area, the inspection of the equipment can be completed, eliminating the need to inspect the same equipment again from the beginning, thereby enabling efficient inspection of the equipment.

[0138] The present invention can be embodied in many different forms without departing from its essential characteristics, and it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0139] 1 to 3 show the functional configuration of the public road facility patrol system 1 of the present invention, and do not limit the specific implementation form. In other words, it is not necessary to implement hardware corresponding to the functional blocks in the diagram, and it is of course possible to configure the system so that a single processor executes a program to realize the functions of multiple functional units. Furthermore, some of the functions realized by software in the embodiments may be realized by hardware, and further, some of the functions realized by hardware may be realized by software. [Explanation of symbols]

[0140] 1 Public road facility inspection system 3. GNSS 5 RTK reference station 10 GNSS receivers 11 GNSS receiver 12 receiving antenna 13 RTK calculation section 14 Radio 15 Antenna 16 Communications Department 17 Internet and mobile networks 20 Mobile devices (tablet devices) 21 Radio 22 receiving antenna 24 Control processing section 25 Location information processing section 26 Positioning data processing section 27 Patrol Information Processing Department 28 Position display processing unit 29 Patrol condition setting section 30 Memory section 31 Map image data section 32 Operation section 33 Display section 34 Internet Communication Department 38 Facility Management Server 40 Patrol Management Server 41 Control processing section 42 Patrol judgment area setting unit 43 Patrol Judgment Department 44 Patrol condition setting section 46 Mobile terminal communication processing unit 47 Administrator terminal processing unit 48 Memory section 50 Map display management server 51 Equipment data processing section 52 Patrol trajectory mapping processing unit 53 Layer display processing section 54 Map display processing unit 60 Equipment Database (Equipment DB) 61 Facility Information Data 62 Patrol Track Data 63 Patrol Results Data 64 map data 66 Network 69 Patrol result information 70 Administrator terminal 71 Fixed Terminals 72 Mobile Terminals 80 Car (patrol car) 82 Patrols (motorized patrols, foot patrols) 84 Road S, T equipment K1, K2, K3, Ks water pipes s1, t1, j1 One end (starting point of equipment, equipment point) s2, t2, j2 other end (end point of equipment, equipment point) Lf Predetermined distance in the direction of travel Lm Specified distance to the right Lh Specified distance to the left v1 First speed range v2 2nd speed range v3 3rd speed range v4 4th speed range v5 5th speed range A, A1, A2, A3, A4 Patrol Judgment Area

Claims

1. A public road facility inspection system that patrols facilities that are arranged along a public road and that are arranged in a straight line when viewed from directly above, a position information calculation means for calculating the position of the patrol person as patrol person position information at predetermined time intervals; an equipment location information database that stores the positions of one end and the other end of the equipment as equipment location information consisting of a pair of one end side position and the other end side position; an inspection determination area setting unit that sets a predetermined area around the position of the inspector as an inspection determination area based on the inspector position information; an inspection determination unit that checks whether the one end side position and / or the other end side position is present within the inspection determination area; When the one end side position and the other end side position exist within one of the patrol determination areas, the patrol determination unit When the one end side position is present within one of the patrol determination areas and the other end side position is present within another patrol determination area that partially overlaps with the one patrol determination area, The one end position is located within one of the inspection determination areas, and the other end position is located within another inspection determination area that partially overlaps with another inspection determination area that partially overlaps with the one inspection determination area, or When the one end position is located within one of the patrol determination areas, the other end position is located within another of the patrol determination areas, and a plurality of other patrol determination areas that partially overlap with adjacent patrol determination areas are interposed between the one patrol determination area and the other patrol determination area. A public road facility inspection system characterized in that it determines that inspection of the facility has been completed if the inspection judgment requirements are met.

2. the patrol determination area setting unit determines a horizontal movement direction from the previous patrol person position information, which is chronologically consecutive with respect to one of the patrol person position information, to the one of the patrol person position information as a traveling direction, a predetermined distance in the traveling direction as a predetermined distance from the position information of the other patrol person in the traveling direction of the patrol person; a predetermined distance in the right direction as a predetermined distance from the position information of the other patrol person 90 degrees to the right of the traveling direction of the patrol person; Regarding a predetermined distance in the left direction as a predetermined distance from the position information of the other patrol person 90 degrees to the left of the traveling direction of the patrol person, a line perpendicular to the traveling direction and spaced a predetermined distance from the other patrol person position information in the traveling direction as a first side; a second side being a line parallel to the traveling direction and spaced a predetermined distance to the right from the other patrol person position information; a third side being a line parallel to the traveling direction and spaced a predetermined distance to the left from the other patrol person position information; A line perpendicular to the traveling direction from the other patrol person position information is defined as a fourth side, An area surrounded by at least the first side, the second side, the third side, and the fourth side is set as the inspection determination area, The public road facility patrol system described in claim 1, characterized in that the specified distance in the direction of travel, the specified distance to the right, and the specified distance to the left are set according to the means of transportation and / or travel speed of the patrol officer.

3. When the means of transportation is an automobile, the patrolman sits in the passenger seat, and the predetermined distance to the right is set to be shorter than the predetermined distance to the left, regardless of the speed of the automobile. The public road facility patrol system according to claim 2.

4. If the means of transportation is a car, The speed of horizontal movement from the previous other patrol person position information that is consecutive in time series with respect to one of the patrol person position information to the one of the patrol person position information is set as the movement speed, The moving speed is a first speed band consisting of a stopped state and a speed near a stopped state, a second speed band having a higher speed and continuing from the first speed band; a third speed zone that is continuous with the second speed zone and has a higher speed; a fourth speed zone which is continuous with the third speed zone and has a higher speed; The fifth speed zone is a speed zone that is continuous with the fourth speed zone and has a higher speed, the predetermined distance in the left direction in the second speed range is longer than the predetermined distance in the left direction in the first speed range, the predetermined distance in the left direction in the third speed zone is shorter than the predetermined distance in the left direction in the second speed zone, the predetermined distance in the left direction in the fourth speed zone is shorter than the predetermined distance in the left direction in the third speed zone, and the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fourth speed zone is longer than the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the third speed zone, The predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fifth speed range is set to be longer than the predetermined distance in the traveling direction in the fourth speed range.

3. The public road facility patrol system according to claim 2.

5. the predetermined time interval and / or The predetermined distance in the traveling direction for each of the speed zones is When transitioning to adjacent speed zones, The public road facility patrol system described in claim 4, characterized in that one of the patrol personnel position information is set to belong to the patrol judgment area related to the previous other patrol personnel position information that is chronologically consecutive to the one of the patrol personnel position information.

6. The public road facility patrol system described in claim 2, characterized in that when the means of transportation is walking, the specified distance in the direction of travel, the specified distance to the right, and the specified distance to the left are set to a constant value regardless of the travel speed.

7. The public road facility patrol system described in claim 2, characterized in that when the means of transportation is walking, the specified distance in the direction of travel is set shorter, and the specified distance to the right and the specified distance to the left are set longer than when the means of transportation is an automobile.

8. When the one end side position is present within one of the patrol determination areas and the other end side position is present within the other patrol determination area that partially overlaps with the one patrol determination area, The one end position is located within one of the inspection determination areas, and the other end position is located within another of the inspection determination areas that partially overlaps with the one of the inspection determination areas, or When the one end position is located within one of the inspection determination areas, the other end position is located within the other of the inspection determination areas, and there are a plurality of other inspection determination areas between the one of the inspection determination areas and the other of the inspection determination areas that partially overlap with adjacent inspection determination areas, The public road facility inspection system described in claim 1, characterized in that the determination that the inspection is completed is based on the condition that the inspection judgment requirements are met in the inspection judgment area that constitutes the inspection judgment requirements within a predetermined time from the inspection time of the first inspected patrol judgment area.

9. 9. The public road facility patrol system according to claim 1, wherein the facility is a water pipe or an electric wire.

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