Video detection apparatus for monitoring a railroad crossing
First Claim
1. An apparatus for monitoring a railroad crossing site for the presence of an object at the crossing, and for providing an indication thereof to a train approaching the crossing so to prevent harm to both the object in the crossing and the approaching train, comprising:
- viewing means for viewing the crossing site and for obtaining an electro-optical image of the crossing site and any object at the crossing site;
comparator means for processing said electro-optical image obtained by the viewing means for establishing the presence of an object at the crossing site;
evaluator means for establishing the size of said object present at the crossing site;
alarm means for providing an alarm signal to a railroad train approaching the crossing site of the presence of an object exceeding a predetermined size at the site, the alarm means providing said alarm signal sufficiently in advance of the train reaching the crossing site that, if appropriate, the train can be brought to a halt prior to reaching the crossing site and striking the object exceeding the predetermined size;
control means for controlling operation of the apparatus for enabling the viewing means from the time the approaching train approaches to within a predetermined distance of the crossing site to a time when the train reaches the crossing site;
and, means for relaying said alarm signal from said crossing site to said train, operation of said relay means being controlled by said control means.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus (10) monitors a railroad crossing (X) for the presence of an object (H, V, A) in the crossing. The apparatus determines if an object is of sufficient size to damage to a train (1) approaching the crossing, and provides an alarm (Sa) to an approaching train so it can be timely halted. This prevents injury to people or other objects in the crossing, or to the train and its occupants. A camera (14) continuously views the crossing to obtain images of the crossing. An image processor (28) processes images, establishes the presence of objects in the crossing, and determines the size of the object. If appropriate, an alarm (26) is activated and an alarm signal is sent to the train through a relay (36) transmitter (44), and on board receiver (46). An audio alarm (48) on the train is sounded in response to receipt of the signal. The apparatus is unmanned and performs its monitoring function in a non-invasive manner by which its operation does not interfere with that of vehicles, pedestrians, or barriers (G) which may also be in place at the crossing.
87 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus for monitoring a railroad crossing site for the presence of an object at the crossing, and for providing an indication thereof to a train approaching the crossing so to prevent harm to both the object in the crossing and the approaching train, comprising:
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viewing means for viewing the crossing site and for obtaining an electro-optical image of the crossing site and any object at the crossing site; comparator means for processing said electro-optical image obtained by the viewing means for establishing the presence of an object at the crossing site; evaluator means for establishing the size of said object present at the crossing site; alarm means for providing an alarm signal to a railroad train approaching the crossing site of the presence of an object exceeding a predetermined size at the site, the alarm means providing said alarm signal sufficiently in advance of the train reaching the crossing site that, if appropriate, the train can be brought to a halt prior to reaching the crossing site and striking the object exceeding the predetermined size; control means for controlling operation of the apparatus for enabling the viewing means from the time the approaching train approaches to within a predetermined distance of the crossing site to a time when the train reaches the crossing site; and, means for relaying said alarm signal from said crossing site to said train, operation of said relay means being controlled by said control means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a system for protecting vehicles and pedestrians moving through a railroad crossing from being struck from an oncoming train, said system including a barrier positioned to block vehicle and pedestrian movement when the train approaches to within a predetermined distance of the crossing, the improvement comprising apparatus for viewing the crossing, detecting the presence of vehicles, pedestrians, or objects in the crossing when the barrier is in place, and for providing an indication thereof to the approaching train to allow train personnel to take preventative action to prevent harm to the vehicle, object, or train and injury to pedestrians or persons on the train, the apparatus comprising:
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means for viewing the crossing when an approaching train is within a predetermined distance of the crossing to obtain an electro-optical image of the crossing including the presence of any vehicle, pedestrian, or object within the crossing, the viewing means obtaining said image regardless of the time of day and the existing atmospheric conditions; comparator means for continuously processing said electro-optical image obtained by the viewing means once the train has approached within a predetermined distance of the crossing, the comparator means comparing a processed image with a representation of the crossing to establish whether or not a vehicle, pedestrian, or object is present in the crossing; evaluator means for determining if the size of a detected object is greater than a predetermined size; alarm means activated by said evaluator means to provide an alarm signal to the train of the presence of a vehicle, pedestrian, or object exceeding said predetermined size, the alarm means providing said alarm signal sufficiently in advance of the train reaching the crossing for the train, if appropriate, to be brought to a halt prior to reaching the crossing thereby to prevent injury to pedestrians, people on the train, or damage to the vehicle or the train; relay means for relaying said alarm signal to the train; and
,means on board the train responsive to said alarm signal to sound an audible warning to train personnel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of warning a railroad train traveling over a railroad track intersected by a crossing at which automotive vehicles and pedestrians cross from one side of the track to the other of the presence of a vehicle, pedestrian, or object in the crossing as the train approaches the crossing, timely warning the train of the presence of the vehicle, pedestrian, or object in the crossing enabling train personnel to take preventive action to prevent harm to the vehicle, object, or train and injury to pedestrians or persons on the train, the method comprising:
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electro-optically obtaining an image of the crossing including the presence of a vehicle, pedestrian, or object within the crossing, the image being obtained regardless of the time of day and existing atmospheric conditions; processing the image, said processing being continuous from a point where the train approaches to within a predetermined distance of the crossing until it reaches the crossing; determining from the processed visual image the presence of a vehicle, pedestrian, or object in the crossing; responsive to the determination of the presence of an object, determining from the processed visual image, the size of the object; responsive to the determination of the presence of a vehicle, pedestrian, or object exceeding a predetermined size, providing an alarm signal to the train, said alarm signal being provided sufficiently in advance of the train reaching the crossing that the train can be halted prior to reaching the crossing and striking the vehicle or pedestrian; and, wherein providing said alarm signal to said train includes routing said signal through a relay means which, when energized, routes said signal to a transmitter for transmission of said signal to a receiver on board the train. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification