Automated monitoring and control of safety in a production area

• US 20120146789A1
• Filed: 12/09/2010
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sealed Air Corporation US (Sealed Air)
• Original Assignee: Sealed Air Corporation US (Sealed Air)
• Inventors: De Luca, Nicholas, Sato, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,143,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/12 responsive to undesired emission of substances, e.g. pollution alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 3/38 with continuously moving film
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/03 Circuitry for demodulating colour component signals modulated spatially by colour striped filters by frequency separation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/47 using RFID associated with sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/845 where the measuring is synchronized between sensing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/02 Automatically-operated arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A machine vision process monitors and controls safe working practice in a production area by capturing and processing image data relative to personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by individuals, movement of various articles, and movement-related conformations of individuals and other objects in the production area. The data is analyzed to determine whether there is a violation of a predetermined minimum threshold image, movement, or conformation value for a predetermined threshold period of time. The determination of a safety violation triggers computer activation of a safety control device. The process is carried out using a system including an image data capturing device, a computer and computer-readable program code, and a safety control device.

Claims

1. An automated process for monitoring and controlling safe working practice in a production area, comprising:

(A) capturing image data from the production area over a time period;

(B) processing the image data;

(i) to find an image of a face of an individual in motion in the production area;

(ii) to determine whether the image of the face has associated therewith a required article of personal protective equipment, and whether the required article of personal protective equipment is properly positioned on the individual;

wherein the processing of the image data is carried out utilizing a stabilization algorithm to determine whether the image data satisfies a threshold image value for a threshold time period, with the threshold image value being a pre-determined minimum image value correlating an absence of the personal protective equipment properly positioned on the individual, and the threshold time period being a pre-determined minimum time period that the threshold image value is satisfied; and

(C) activating a safety control device if the threshold image value is satisfied for the threshold time period.

2. The automated process according to claim 1, wherein the personal protective equipment comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of glasses, goggles, ear plugs, ear muffs, face mask, respirator, hair net, hard hat, wrist band, glove, skirt, gown, apron, shoes, and boots.

3. The automated process according to claim 1, wherein the image data is captured by scanning at least a portion of the production area with a camera.

4. The automated process according to claim 1, wherein activating the safety control device comprises activating at least one member selected from group consisting of:

(i) a means for injury prevention;

(ii) an alarm to notify the individual that the at least one article of personal protective equipment is not present or is not properly positioned;

(iii) the generation of a report that the article of personal protective equipment was not present while the individual was present in the production area, or was not properly positioned while the individual was present in the production area.

5. The automated process according to claim 4, wherein the safety control device is a means for injury prevention which comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

(i) cutting off power to at least one machine in the production area, and (ii) interjecting a physical restraint or barrier between the individual and the machine in the production area.

6. The automated process according to claim 4, wherein activating the safety control device comprises setting off the alarm, and the alarm comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of an audible alarm, a visual alarm, and a vibratory alarm.

7. The automated process according to claim 4, wherein the report includes an image of the individual in the production area while the threshold image value is satisfied for the threshold time period, and a notation of a time at which the image was captured.

8. The automated process according to claim 7, further comprising the transmission of the report, with the transmission of the report comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of transmission of an electronic report and transmission of a hard copy report.

9. The automated process according to claim 1, wherein at least one member selected from the work zone, the individual, and the article of personal protective equipment has an RFID tag thereon.

10. An automated process for monitoring and controlling safe working practice in a production area, comprising:

(A) capturing image data of the production area over a time period;

(B) processing the image data to obtain position as a function of time of at least one member selected from the group consisting of an individual in the production area, a tool in the production area, a vehicle in the production area, an article-in-progress in the production area, and a machine in the production area, the processing of the image data utilizing a stabilization algorithm to determine whether the movement is outside of a safe movement range, wherein the stabilization algorithm processes the image data related to the movement to determine whether the movement is outside of the predetermined safe movement range for a time period exceeding a threshold time period; and

(C) activating a safety control device if the movement is outside of the safe movement range for a period exceeding the threshold time period.

11. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the image data is processed to determine whether at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress and the machine has moved into a position outside of the safe movement range.

12. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the image data is processed to determine whether at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress and the machine is moving at a speed outside of the safe movement range.

13. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the image data is processed to determine whether at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress and the machine is moving with an acceleration outside of the safe movement range.

14. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the image data is captured by scanning at least a portion of the production area with a camera.

15. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the vehicle is a fork lift.

16. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the safety control device comprises at least one member selected from group consisting of:

(i) a power deactivation device for turning off power to at least one member of the group consisting of the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress, and the machine;

(ii) means to control movement of at least one member selected from the group consisting of the machine, the tool, the vehicle, or the article-in-progress;

(iii) an alarm to notify the individual that the movement is in conflict with the predetermined standard for avoiding injury to the individual or other individuals in the production area, or avoiding damage to the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress, or the machine;

(iv) a report that the movement is outside of the safe movement range for a time period exceeding the threshold time period.

17. The automated process according to claim 16, wherein the safety control device comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of an audible alarm, a visual alarm, and a vibratory alarm.

18. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein the safety control device comprises a report including an image of at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress and the machine, while the at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, tool, vehicle, article-in-progress, or machine exhibits movement outside of the safe movement range for a period exceeding the threshold time period.

19. The automated process according to claim 18, wherein the report further comprises a notation of a time of capture of the image of the at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress and the machine.

20. The automated process according to claim 18, further comprising the transmission of the report, with the transmission of the report comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of transmission of an electronic report and transmission of a hard copy report.

21. The automated process according to claim 10, wherein at least one member selected from the individual, machine, tool, or article-in-progress has an RFID tag thereon.

22. An automated process for monitoring and controlling safe working practice in a production area, comprising:

(A) capturing image data of the production area over a time period;

(B) processing the image data to determine conformation, over the time period, of at least one member selected from the group consisting of an individual in the production area, a tool in the production area, a vehicle in the production area, an article-in-progress in the production area, and a machine in the production area, the processing of the image data utilizing a stabilization algorithm to determine whether the image data satisfy a threshold conformation value for a threshold time period, with the threshold conformation value being a pre-determined minimum conformation value correlating to an unsafe conformation of at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress, and the machine, the threshold time period being a pre-determined minimum time period that the threshold image value is satisfied; and

(C) activating a safety control device if the threshold conformation value is satisfied for the threshold time period.

23. The automated process according to claim 22, wherein the image data is captured by scanning at least a portion of the production area with a camera.

24. The automated process according to claim 22, wherein the vehicle is a fork lift, and the threshold conformation value comprises a lift height value.

25. The automated process according to claim 24, wherein the threshold conformation value comprises a combination of the lift height value and a load size value.

26. The automated process according to claim 22, wherein activating the safety control device comprises at least one member selected from group consisting of:

(i) activating a power deactivation device for turning off power to at least one member of the group consisting of the vehicle, the tool, the article-in-progress, and the machine;

(ii) activating a means to limit further conformational movement past the threshold conformation value;

(iii) an alarm to notify one or more individuals in the production area that the threshold conformation value has been exceeded for the threshold time period;

(iv) a report that the threshold conformation value has been met for the threshold time period.

27. The automated process according to claim 23, wherein the alarm comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of an audible alarm, a visual alarm, and a vibratory alarm.

28. The automated process according to claim 26, wherein the report comprises an image of at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the vehicle, the tool, the article-in-progress, and the machine, while the at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, tool, vehicle, article-in-progress, or machine satisfies the threshold conformation value for the threshold time period.

29. The automated process according to claim 26, further comprising transmitting the report to a recipient, with the report comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of an electronic report and a hard copy report.

30. The automated process according to claim 22, wherein at least one member selected from the individual, the vehicle, the tool, the article-in-progress, and the machine has an RFID tag thereon.

31. The automated process according to claim 22, comprising capturing image data of an individual lifting an object, with images of the conformation of the individual during lifting being processed to determine whether the conformation of the individual during lifting satisfies the threshold conformation value for the threshold time period.

32. An automated system for monitoring and controlling safe working practice in a production area, the system comprising:

(A) a computer;

(B) an imaging sensor in communication with the computer, the imaging sensor being configured and arranged to capture image data of at least a portion of the production area;

(C) computer-readable program code disposed on the computer, the computer-readable program code comprising;

(i) a first executable portion for processing image data and creating an image of the production area,

(ii) a second executable portion for processing image data to find an image of a face of an individual in motion in the production area,

(iii) a third executable portion for processing image data and determining whether an article of personal protective equipment is present in association with the image of the face of the individual,

(iv) a fourth executable portion for processing image data and determining if the article of personal protective equipment is properly positioned on individual while the individual is in the production area,

(v) a fifth executable portion comprising a stabilization algorithm to determine whether the image data satisfies a threshold image value for a threshold time period, with the threshold image value being a pre-determined minimum image value correlating an absence of the personal protective equipment properly positioned on the individual, and the threshold time period being a pre-determined minimum time period that the threshold image value is satisfied; and

(v) a sixth executable portion for activating a safety control device if the article of personal protective equipment is not present and properly positioned on the individual while the individual is present in the production area.

33. The automated system according to claim 32, wherein the imaging sensor is a first imaging sensor and the system further comprises a second imaging sensor in communication with the computer, with the computer-readable program code disposed on the computer being provided with executable first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth executable portions for capturing and processing image data of at least a portion of the production area from the second imaging sensor, with the capturing and processing of the image data from the second imaging sensor being carried out in a manner corresponding with the executable portions for capturing and processing image data from the first imaging sensor.

34. The automated system according to claim 32, wherein the imaging sensor is a scanning imaging sensor configured and arranged to scan a production area.

35. The automated system according to claim 32, further comprising a data entry device that is in communication with the computer.

36. The automated system according to claim 32, further comprising a printer that is in communication with the computer and is capable of printing a report of a determination of whether personal protective equipment is properly positioned on an individual in a production area.

37. An automated system for monitoring and controlling safe working practice in a production area, the system comprising:

(A) a computer;

(B) an imaging sensor in communication with the computer, the imaging sensor being configured and arranged to capture image data from the production area over a time period;

(C) a safety control device; and

(D) a computer-readable program code disposed on the computer, the computer-readable program code comprising;

(i) a first executable portion for processing image data to determine movement of at least one member selected from the group consisting of an individual in the production area, a tool in the production area, a vehicle in the production area, an article-in-progress in the production area, and a machine in the production area, the movement being determined from image data providing position as a function of time;

(ii) a second executable portion for processing the image data to determine whether the movement is outside a predetermined safe movement range for a time period in excess of a threshold time period; and

(iii) a third executable portion for activating the safety control device if the movement is outside of the safe movement range for a time exceeding the threshold time period.

38. The automated system according to claim 37, wherein image data includes an image of the individual driving the vehicle in the production area, with the movement including movement of both the individual and the movement of the vehicle.

39. The automated system according to claim 37, wherein the image data includes an image of the individual using the tool, with the movement including movement of both the individual and movement of the tool.

40. The automated system according to claim 37, wherein the image data includes an image of the individual using the machine, with the movement including movement of both the individual and at least a portion of the machine.

41. The automated system according to claim 37 wherein the imaging sensor is a scanning imaging sensor configured and arranged to scan a production area to capture image data over a period of time.

42. An automated system for monitoring and controlling safe working practice in a production area, the system comprising:

(A) a computer;

(B) an imaging sensor in communication with the computer, the imaging sensor being configured and arranged to capture image data from the production area over a time period;

(C) a safety control device; and

(D) a computer-readable program code disposed on the computer, the computer-readable program code comprising;

(i) a first executable portion for processing image data to determine conformation, over the time period, of at least one member selected from the group consisting of an individual in the production area, a tool in the production area, a vehicle in the production area, an article-in-progress in the production area, and a machine in the production area, the processing of the image data utilizing a stabilization algorithm to determine whether the image data satisfy a threshold conformation value, with the threshold conformation value being a predetermined minimum conformation value correlating to an unsafe conformation of at least one member selected from the group consisting of the individual, the tool, the vehicle, the article-in-progress, and the machine;

(ii) a second executable portion for processing the image data to determine whether the threshold conformation value is met for a threshold time period, the threshold time period being a pre-determined minimum time period that the threshold image value is satisfied; and

(iii) a third executable portion for activating the safety control device if the movement satisfies the threshold conformation value for the threshold time period.