Safety management system for industrial devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a safety management system for industrial devices, and more specifically, to a safety management system and method for industrial devices that enable safety management by displaying a safety zone for a set area or outputting a warning sound through object recognition and object analysis within a workplace containing multiple devices. To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the safety management system for an industrial device according to the present invention comprises: an image acquisition unit (100) that captures an image of a workplace containing a plurality of devices (D) and detects an object within the captured image to generate object data; an image setting unit (200) that sets a monitoring area for the workplace image acquired by the image acquisition unit (100); an image judgment unit (300) that analyzes the object data generated by the image acquisition unit (100) to determine an object and generates a safety signal according to the determination; a display device (400) that receives a safety signal transmitted from the image judgment unit (300) and displays a safety area or outputs a warning sound according to the safety signal; a monitoring unit (500) that monitors the workplace interior detected through the image acquisition unit (100); and a control unit (600) that receives a safety signal transmitted from the image judgment unit (300) and controls the device.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety management system for industrial devices, and more specifically, to a safety management system for industrial devices that enables safety management by displaying a safety zone for a set area or outputting a warning sound through object recognition and object analysis within a workplace containing multiple devices. Background Technology

[0002] Recently, due to the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, various types of industrial devices such as robots and conveyors are being used in manufacturing sites for various reasons including factory automation, unmanned operations, and labor shortages; however, industrial accidents involving workers are occurring due to these industrial devices.

[0003] In this regard, the largest proportion of fatal accidents in the manufacturing industry are entrapment accidents, with an average of 49 workers dying each year due to entrapment accidents, and particularly, deaths caused by robots account for the majority.

[0004] According to Section 13 of the Rules on Industrial Safety and Health Standards, industrial robot standards, a protective fence of 18 meters without openings must be installed as a basic requirement, and additionally, light curtains, safety mats, door lock devices, etc. must be added.

[0005] However, despite the installation of such protective fences, industrial accidents among workers occur frequently; therefore, there is a need to develop a workplace safety system capable of providing real-time worker safety through a real-time monitoring system for environmental safety. Prior art literature

[0006] Korean Intellectual Property Office of Korea Registered Patent Publication No. 10-2147065 (Published August 24, 2020) Korean Intellectual Property Office of Korea Registered Patent Publication No. 10-2101584 (Published April 16, 2020) The problem to be solved

[0007] The objective of the present invention is to provide a safety management system for industrial devices that provides real-time safety to workers by displaying a safety zone for a set area or outputting a warning sound through object recognition and object analysis within a workplace containing multiple devices.

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

[0009] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the safety management system for an industrial device according to the present invention comprises: an image acquisition unit (100) that captures an image of a workplace containing a plurality of devices (D) and detects an object within the captured image to generate object data; an image setting unit (200) that sets a monitoring area for the workplace image acquired by the image acquisition unit (100); an image judgment unit (300) that analyzes the object data generated by the image acquisition unit (100) to determine an object and generates a safety signal according to the determination; a display device (400) that receives a safety signal transmitted from the image judgment unit (300) and displays a safety area or outputs a warning sound according to the safety signal; a monitoring unit (500) that monitors the workplace interior detected through the image acquisition unit (100); and a control unit (600) that receives a safety signal transmitted from the image judgment unit (300) and controls the device.

[0010] In addition, the image acquisition unit (100) is characterized by including: a plurality of cameras for photographing the interior of a workplace including a device; a motion sensor for recognizing the movement of an object existing inside the workplace including a device; and an object data generation unit for generating object data.

[0011] Additionally, the image judgment unit (300) is characterized by comprising: an object judgment unit (310) that analyzes object data generated through the image acquisition unit (100) using an object detection algorithm; a behavior judgment unit (320) that recognizes object movement and generates skeleton data using a joint detection algorithm; a positive error judgment unit (320) that collects information generated by the object judgment unit (310) and the behavior judgment unit (320) to determine whether the worker is static, whether the object is within the safe area distance, and whether the object's movement is legitimate, thereby determining a positive error; and a safety signal generation unit (340) that generates a safety signal according to the judgment of the image judgment unit (300).

[0012] In addition, the safety signal generation unit (340) is characterized by generating safety signals that indicate, in stages, caution, warning, and emergency levels corresponding to each monitoring area when the image judgment unit (300) detects that an object in the monitoring area is a worker, and outputting the safety signals through the display device (400) or monitoring unit (500).

[0013] In addition, the joint detection algorithm is characterized by utilizing the Kinetics dataset or the NTU-RGB-D dataset.

[0014] In addition, the object detection algorithm is characterized as being one of SIFT, LBP, or YOLO algorithms.

[0015] delete

[0016] delete Effects of the invention

[0017] According to the safety management system for industrial devices of the present invention, it is possible to have the effect of providing real-time safety to workers by displaying a safety zone for a set area or outputting a warning sound through object recognition and object analysis within a workplace containing multiple devices.

[0018] The effects obtainable from the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the safety management system of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing showing an embodiment of the safety management system of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the image judgment unit of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the YOLO algorithm of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an embodiment of the positive error determination of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a drawing showing an embodiment of the monitoring unit of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the sequence of the safety management method of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0020] In describing the embodiments of the present invention, specific descriptions of known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that such detailed descriptions could unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention. Furthermore, the terms described below are defined considering their functions in the embodiments of the present invention, and these definitions may vary depending on the intentions or practices of the user or operator. Therefore, such definitions should be based on the content throughout this specification.

[0021] The advantages and features of the present invention and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but can be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided merely to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components.

[0022] At this point, it will be understood that each block of the process flow diagrams and combinations of the flow diagrams can be executed by computer program instructions. Since these computer program instructions can be loaded into the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, the instructions executed through the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create means to perform the functions described in the flow diagram block(s). Since these computer program instructions can also be stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory that can be directed toward the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the function in a specific way, the instructions stored in computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item containing instruction means to perform the function described in the flow diagram block(s). Since computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, instructions that perform a series of operation steps on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a process executed by the computer can also provide steps for executing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0023] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or part of code containing one or more executable instructions for executing a specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative execution examples, the functions mentioned in the blocks may occur out of order. For instance, two blocks described in succession may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may be executed in reverse order according to their corresponding functions.

[0024] In this embodiment, the term "part" refers to a software or hardware component such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the "part" performs certain roles. However, the meaning of "part" is not limited to software or hardware. The "part" may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium or configured to run one or more processors. Accordingly, as an example, the "part" includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, as well as processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided within the components and "parts" may be combined into a smaller number of components and "parts" or further separated into additional components and "parts." In addition, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to play one or more CPUs within the device or secure multimedia card.

[0025] In describing the embodiments of the present invention in detail, the primary focus will be on examples of specific systems, but the main point claimed in this specification is applicable to other communication systems and services having a similar technical background without significantly departing from the scope disclosed in this specification, and this will be possible at the judgment of a person with skilled technical knowledge in the relevant technical field.

[0026] Hereinafter, a safety management system for an industrial device according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the "safety management system") will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the safety management system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the safety management system of the present invention.

[0028] First, in one embodiment of the present invention, the industrial device (D) may include a conveyor, but is not limited thereto, and may include automatic or semi-automatic devices such as a robot, hydraulic machine, arm, press, tool, drill, etc.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, a safety management system (10) according to one embodiment of the present invention may include an image acquisition unit (100), an image setting unit (200), an image judgment unit (300), a display device (400), a monitoring unit (500), and a control unit (600), and each of the components may be connected to each other through a network.

[0030] An image acquisition unit (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention can capture an image of an interior of a workplace including a plurality of devices (D), and detect an object within the captured image to generate object data. To this end, the image acquisition unit (100) may include a plurality of cameras, motion sensors, and an object data generation unit.

[0031] The camera films the interior of the workplace and can be composed of USB cameras, IP cameras, Gig-E cameras, CCTVs, etc. Such cameras can perform various functions such as object recognition, tracking and monitoring, and anomaly detection, and may include functions such as direction and angle switching and zoom.

[0032] The motion sensor can recognize the movement of objects present inside the workplace.

[0033] The object data generation unit can generate object data by detecting dynamic objects, including objects, within the workplace using images acquired from each camera, and transmit the generated object data to the image setting unit, etc., using a network.

[0034] An image setting unit (200) according to one embodiment of the present invention can set a surveillance area for a workplace image acquired by an image acquisition unit. To this end, the image setting unit (200) may include a surveillance area setting tool (not shown) for setting a surveillance area.

[0035] The monitoring area may include a working radius located at a certain distance or more from multiple devices (D), and may be set by an area setting tool into an alarm area corresponding to a caution level, a boundary area corresponding to a warning level within the alarm area, and a danger area corresponding to an emergency level within the boundary area, and each area may be displayed in a different color. For example, the alarm area may be displayed in yellow, the boundary area in orange, and the danger area in red, but is not limited thereto and may be expressed in various colors or levels.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the image judgment unit of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the YOLO algorithm of the present invention.

[0037] An image judgment unit (300) according to one embodiment of the present invention can determine an object by analyzing object data generated from an image acquisition unit (100). To this end, the image judgment unit (300) may include an object judgment unit (310), an action judgment unit (320), a positive error judgment unit (330), and a safety signal generation unit (340).

[0038] The object determination unit (310) can determine whether the object is a person or a device by analyzing the object data generated through the image acquisition unit (100) using an object detection algorithm.

[0039] Object detection algorithms may include SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform), HOG (Histogram of Gradient), LBP (Local Binary Pattern), etc., and preferably, the YOLO (You Only Look Once) algorithm may be used.

[0040] The YOLO algorithm is an algorithm that allows computationally intensive problems to be processed within a single network by utilizing a pipeline structure for redundant processing of classification information for object candidates and training each individual element separately. Referring to Figure 4, the YOLO algorithm can be trained through a CNN network by dividing input images into NxN grid cells. The YOLO algorithm can pre-divide multiple grid cells using a bounding box prediction method. When a person is detected in an input image, it can be matched with a grid cell, and if the confidence value is high, it can be indicated that a person has been detected. Each grid cell predicts multiple bounding boxes and a confidence value for each bounding box. The grid cell predicts a class probability that considers the overlap between its own bounding box and other bounding boxes, and selects the final bounding box through Non-Max Suppression (NMS).

[0041] The object determination unit (310) acquires data including images from the image acquisition unit and can determine objects through the YOLO algorithm. That is, among the objects detected by the YOLO algorithm, only detections of workers are listed, and detections of devices are not listed. In addition, through the object determination unit (310), objects that are not determined can be converted into data and transmitted to the action determination unit.

[0042] The action determination unit (320) can recognize the movement of an object and generate skeleton data using a joint detection algorithm. To this end, the action determination unit may include a skeleton data generation unit that generates skeleton data and may be linked with a motion sensor that recognizes the movement of an object.

[0043] Joint detection algorithms such as the Kinetics dataset or the NTU-RGB-D (Nanyang Technological University's Red Blue Green and Depth information) dataset can be utilized for skeleton data.

[0044] The Kinetics dataset can represent human joints with 17 key points, and NTU-RGB-D can represent human joints with 25 key points.

[0045] Skeleton data generated using the above data set can be represented as XY coordinate values ​​as coordinates on the image of the part where the object's joints are located.

[0046] Through such an action judgment unit (320), an analysis can be performed on objects that are not judged by the object judgment unit (310), thereby allowing for more precise object judgment.

[0047] The positive error determination unit (330) can determine a positive error by collecting information generated from the object determination unit (310) and the action determination unit (320) to determine whether the worker is static, whether the object is within the safe area distance, and whether the object's movement is legitimate. To this end, the positive error determination unit may be linked with a motion sensor and a processor.

[0048] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the positive error determination of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the positive error determination unit (330) can collect data from a motion sensor, an object determination unit (310), and an action determination unit (320), and perform a step (S10) of checking whether a worker is present. When checking whether a worker is present, if it is determined that the worker is not present, the positive error determination unit may proceed to a step of ignoring or receiving instructions to move the object, and if it is determined that the worker is present, it may notify the safety management system (10) and perform a step (S20) of determining whether the object is static.

[0049] In the step (S20) of determining whether the object is static, if the object is determined to be static, the positive error determination unit may proceed to a step of ignoring or receiving instructions to move the object, and if the object is determined not to be static, the safety management system (10) may be notified to perform a step (S30) of determining whether the object is within a safe area.

[0050] In the step (S30) of determining whether an object is within a safe area, if it is determined that the object is within a safe area, the positive error determination unit (330) may proceed to a step of ignoring or receiving instructions to move the object, and if it is determined that the object is not within a safe area, it may perform a step (S40) of determining whether the movement of the object is legitimate by notifying the safety management system (10).

[0051] In the step (S40) of determining whether the movement of an object is legitimate, if the movement of the object is determined to be legitimate, the safety management system (10) is notified, and if the movement of the object is not determined to be legitimate, the step (S50) of determining this as a positive error and transmitting a notification signal can be performed.

[0052] In this way, by making a positive error determined by the positive error determination unit (330), the accuracy of object determination and object behavior determination can be increased, and the device can be stopped and the efficiency of the work reduced due to the object determination being judged as an error can be prevented.

[0053] The safety signal generation unit (340) can generate a safety signal based on the judgment of the image judgment unit (300). That is, when the image judgment unit (300) detects that an object in the monitoring area is a worker, it can generate a safety signal that indicates the level of caution, warning, and emergency corresponding to each monitoring area in stages. Such safety signals can be output through the display device (400) or monitoring unit (500) described later.

[0054] When a safety signal is output through the display device (400), an actual safety area within the workplace may be displayed or a warning sound may be output. Additionally, when a safety signal is output through the monitoring unit (500), it may be displayed on the monitor in stages according to the pre-set monitoring area.

[0055] The display device (400) receives a safety signal transmitted from the safety signal generation unit and can display a safety area or output a warning sound according to the safety signal.

[0056] The display device (400) may be displayed or expressed in various forms, including generating a warning sound, generating a warning light signal, and setting a safety area. To this end, the display device may include a voice output device including a speaker for generating a warning sound, a warning light signal generating device (not shown) including a warning light lamp for generating a warning light signal, and a safety area display device (not shown) for displaying a safety area.

[0057] The safety area indicator can display the actual safety area using distinct colors so that workers can visually identify the safety area within the workplace.

[0058] The actual safe zone can consist of multiple stages according to a pre-set level and can be configured as an alarm zone, a boundary zone, and a danger zone, and each zone can be displayed in a unique color.

[0059] For example, alarm zones may be marked in yellow, speed limit zones in orange, and work stop zones in red, while unmarked areas may be safety zones.

[0060] The monitoring unit (500) can monitor the inside of the workplace detected through the image acquisition unit (100) and receive a safety signal generated by the safety signal generation unit so that a virtual safety area is displayed on the monitor.

[0061] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the monitoring unit of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, the virtual safety area can be composed of multiple stages according to a preset level identical to the actual safety area, and can be set as an alarm area (Y), a boundary area (O), and a danger area (R), and each area can be displayed with a unique color.

[0062] For example, the alarm area (Y) may be displayed in yellow, the warning area (O) in orange, and the danger area (R) in red, but is not limited to these and may be displayed in various colors.

[0063] The control unit (600) can control the device by receiving a safety signal generated by the safety signal generation unit. For example, when a worker is detected in a danger area (R) corresponding to an emergency level, the control unit (600) can forcibly reduce the operating speed of the device or stop it. In this case, before stopping the device, the control unit (600) receives data from the positive error determination unit (330) to check for a positive error. If it is not a positive error, the device is stopped, and if it is a positive error, the device is not stopped.

[0064] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the safety management method of the present invention.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 7, the safety management method of the present invention may include an image acquisition step (S100), a surveillance area setting step (S200), an object determination step (S300), and a device control step (S400).

[0066] The image acquisition step (S100) is a step in which the image processing unit acquires an image of the workplace including the device.

[0067] In the image acquisition step (S100), the image acquisition unit can capture an image of the inside of a workplace including a plurality of devices, detect an object in the captured image, and generate object data.

[0068] The surveillance area setting step (S200) is a step in which, after the image acquisition step, the image setting unit sets a surveillance area using a setting tool on the acquired workplace image.

[0069] The monitoring area may include a working radius located at a certain distance or more from multiple devices, and can be set by an area setting tool into an alarm area corresponding to a caution level, a boundary area corresponding to a warning level within the alarm area, and a danger area corresponding to an emergency level within the boundary area.

[0070] The object determination step (S300) is a step in which, after the surveillance area setting step, the object determination unit analyzes object data generated through the image acquisition unit using an object detection algorithm to determine whether the object is a person or a device.

[0071] The object judgment step (S300) is a step of determining an object by analyzing data recognized through the object recognition unit in the judgment unit using an object detection algorithm. It is preferable to apply the YOLO algorithm as the object detection algorithm, but it is not limited to this and SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform), HOG (Histogram of Gradient), LBP (Local Binary Pattern), etc. may be applied.

[0072] In an object judgment step (S300) according to an embodiment of the present invention, the method may include: a skeleton data generation step in which an action judgment unit recognizes the movement of an object and generates skeleton data; and a positive error judgment step in which a positive error judgment unit collects information generated by the object judgment unit and the action judgment unit to determine whether the worker is static, whether the object is within a safe area distance, and whether the movement of the object is justified, and determines a positive error.

[0073] In this way, by further including a skeleton data generation step and a positive error judgment step in the object judgment step, the accuracy of object judgment can be improved.

[0074] The device control step (S400) is a step in which, when a worker is detected in a danger area (R) corresponding to an emergency level by the control unit, the operating speed of the device is forcibly reduced or stopped. In the device control step (S400), before stopping the device, data from the positive error determination unit (330) is received to check whether there is a positive error; if it is not a positive error, the device is stopped, and if it is a positive error, the device is not stopped.

[0075] According to the safety management system and safety management method for industrial devices of the present invention, it is possible to have the effect of providing real-time safety to workers by displaying a safety zone for a set area or outputting a warning sound through object recognition and object analysis inside a workplace containing a plurality of devices.

[0076] The embodiments of the invention disclosed in this specification and drawings are provided merely as specific examples to facilitate the explanation of the technical content of the invention and to aid in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments according to the invention described above are merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true technical scope of protection of the invention should be determined by the following claims. Explanation of the symbols

[0077] 10 : Safety Management System 100 : Image Acquisition Unit 200: Image setting unit 300: Image judgment unit 400 : Display device 500 : Monitoring unit 600 : Control unit

Claims

Claim 1 An image acquisition unit (100) that captures an image of the inside of a workplace including a plurality of devices (D) and detects objects within the captured image to generate object data; an image setting unit (200) that sets a monitoring area for the workplace image acquired by the image acquisition unit (100); an image judgment unit (300) that analyzes the object data generated by the image acquisition unit (100) to determine objects and generates a safety signal according to the determination; a display device (400) that receives a safety signal transmitted from the image judgment unit (300) and displays a safety area or outputs a warning sound according to the safety signal; and a monitoring unit (500) that monitors the inside of the workplace detected through the image acquisition unit (100). The control unit (600) receives a safety signal transmitted from the image judgment unit (300) and controls the device; wherein the image judgment unit (300) includes: an object judgment unit (310) that lists only the detections of a worker among the objects detected by an object detection algorithm, which is the YOLO algorithm, using object data generated through the image acquisition unit (100), and does not list the detections of the device; and a behavior judgment unit (320) that generates skeleton data represented as XY coordinate values ​​as coordinates on the image of the part where the object's joint is located using a joint detection algorithm that utilizes a Kinetics dataset representing human joints with 17 key points or an NTU-RGB-D dataset representing human joints with 25 key points, and is linked with a motion sensor that recognizes the movement of the object and enables analysis of objects that are not judged by the object judgment unit (310).The positive error judgment unit (330) collects information generated by the object judgment unit (310) and the action judgment unit (320) to determine whether the worker is static, whether the object is within the safety zone distance, and whether the object's movement is legitimate, and determines a positive error by determining whether the worker is static, and when checking the worker's presence, if it is determined that the worker is not present, it ignores it, and if it is determined that the worker is present, it is linked with the motion sensor and processor to determine whether the object is static, and if it is determined that the object is not within the safety zone, it notifies the safety management system to determine whether the object's movement is legitimate; and the safety signal generation unit (340) generates a safety signal according to the judgment of the image judgment unit (300); wherein the control unit (600) receives data from the positive error judgment unit (330) before stopping the device to check for a positive error, and if it is not a positive error, the device is stopped, and if it is a positive error, the device is not stopped; and the image acquisition unit (100) includes a plurality of cameras that photograph the inside of the workplace including the device; and a motion sensor that recognizes the movement of an object existing inside the workplace including the device. A safety management system for an industrial device comprising: an object data generation unit that generates object data; wherein the safety signal generation unit (340) generates safety signals that indicate, in stages, caution, warning, and emergency levels corresponding to each monitoring area when an object in a monitoring area is detected as a worker by an image judgment unit (300), and such safety signals are output through a display device (400) or a monitoring unit (500); Claim 2 delete Claim 3 delete Claim 4 delete Claim 5 delete Claim 6 delete Claim 7 delete Claim 8 delete

Images