Method and system for detecting the presence of a disruptive object and activation module for this system

• US 7,460,949 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 12/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neavia Technologies
• Original Assignee: Neavia
• Inventors: Wilbrod, Jean-Hubert
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen; Shelley
• Application Number:
  US11/393,925
• Publication Number:
  US 20060235612A1
• Time in Patent Office: 977 Days
• Field of Search: 701/118
• US Class Current: 701/118
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/065 by counting the vehicles in a section of the road or in a parking area, i.e. comparing incoming count with outgoing count
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

This method of detecting the presence of a disruptive object on a stretch of road comprises:

• • a step (66) of enumerating the vehicles simultaneously present on the stretch of road on the basis of data gleaned by a first and a second vehicle detector placed respectively at an entrance and at an exit of this stretch, and
  • a step (74) of instructing the activation of an image processing step, triggered automatically as a function of the enumeration.

Claims

1. Method of detecting the presence of a disruptive object on a stretch of road, this method comprising:

a) a step of processing images to detect the presence of the disruptive object on the basis of images of the said stretch,

b) a step of enumerating the vehicles simultaneously present on the stretch of road on the basis of data gleaned by a first and a second vehicle detector placed respectively at an entrance and at an exit of this stretch, and

c) a step of instructing the activation of the image processing step, triggered automatically as a function of the enumeration of step b).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein it comprises:

a step of acquiring the images intended to be processed during the image processing step, and

a step of instructing the activation of the image acquisition step, triggered automatically as a function of the enumeration of step b).

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises:

a step of calculating a result representative of an increase in the number of vehicles enumerated, this result being dependent on the number of vehicles enumerated during step b), and

a step of comparing the result with a predetermined activation threshold so as to automatically trigger at least the instruction step if this threshold is crossed.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein it comprises a step of calculating the result and/or the predetermined activation threshold as a function of the mean number of motor vehicles simultaneously present on this stretch observed over previous time intervals.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein it comprises a step of instructing the activation of the image processing step if one of the vehicle detectors placed at the entrance or at the exit of the stretch becomes inoperative.

6. Method according to claim 5 for vehicle detectors each comprising at least one acoustic sensor for detecting the passage of a motor vehicle on the basis of the sound wave generated by this motor vehicle, this or each sensor being intended to work in a predetermined span of ambient noise powers, wherein the method comprises:

a step of measuring the ambient noise with the aid of these acoustic sensors, and

a step of comparing the ambient noise measured with the predetermined span of ambient noise powers to determine whether the detector is inoperative.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises a step of generating an alarm signal indicating the presence of a disruptive object on the stretch of road, and in that this generating step is triggered automatically as a function at one and the same time of results obtained during the image processing step and during the enumerating step.

8. System for detecting the presence of a disruptive object on a stretch of road, wherein the system comprises:

an image processing module able to detect the presence of the disruptive object on the basis of images of the said stretch,

at least one first and one second motor vehicle detector placed respectively at an entrance and at an exit of this stretch,

a module for enumerating motor vehicles simultaneously present on this stretch on the basis of data gleaned by the first and second detectors, and

a module for activating the processing module suitable for automatically triggering the activation of the processing module as a function of the enumeration established by the enumeration module.

9. System according to claim 8, wherein the system comprises a module for acquiring the images intended to be processed by the image processing module, and wherein the activation module is also able to automatically trigger the activation of the acquisition module as a function of the enumeration established by the enumeration module.

10. System according to claim 8, wherein:

the motor vehicle detectors each comprise at least one acoustic sensor for detecting the passage of a motor vehicle on the basis of the sound wave generated by this vehicle, this or each sensor being intended to work in a predetermined span of ambient noise powers,

the system comprises a module for establishing the power of the ambient noise, and

the activation module is able to automatically activate the image processing module if the ambient noise power established is incompatible with the predetermined span of ambient noise powers.

11. Activation module able to be implemented in a system in accordance with one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the activation module is able to automatically trigger the activation of the image processing module as a function of the enumeration established by the enumerating module.