Method and system for conclusively capturing a violation of the speed limit on a section of road

• US 8,639,435 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2009
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jenoptik Robot GmbH (Jenoptik AG)
• Original Assignee: Jenoptik Robot GmbH (Jenoptik AG)
• Inventors: Fliegen, Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMBY, RICHARD M
• Application Number:
  US13/146,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20120010804A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,534 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/117, 701/119, 701/300, 701/93, 340/933, 340/936, 340/905, 340/988, 340/989, 340/425.5
• US Class Current: 701/119
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/054 photographing overspeeding vehicles

Abstract

By means of the method according to the invention, a vehicle is detected when it drives into and out of a specified section of a roadway, the detection time is acquired, and an image recording in which the vehicle registration plate of the vehicle is detected is produced so as to be associated with each detection time. The image recordings in which the same vehicle registration plate was determined are correlated, and an average speed is determined from the difference of the associated detection times and the known length of the section of road and is compared with a specified maximum speed. If a speeding violation is determined, a high-resolution image recording of the driver of the vehicle is generated.

Claims

1. Method for conclusively capturing a violation of a permissible maximum speed on a section of a roadway having at least one traffic lane, wherein a vehicle is detected at a detection time and an image is recorded when the vehicle passes, respectively, an entry point and an exit point of a section of road, and the respective detection time is acquired, and the respective image recording is correlated, the vehicle registration plates of the passing vehicles are detected from the image recordings, and the image recordings of vehicles having the same vehicle registration plate are correlated with one another, an average speed of a vehicle is determined from the detection times for a same vehicle and knowledge of the length of the section of road according to the path-time law by calculating the quotient from the length of the section of road and the difference of the detection times, and the average speed is compared with a permissible maximum speed, wherein a high-resolution image recording of the driver of the vehicle is triggered with simultaneous flash illumination when the average speed exceeds the permissible maximum speed by a predetermined value, and the passenger space of the vehicle is illuminated in such a way that the driver can be identified in the image recording, and information needed for prosecuting the traffic violation such as the determined average speed, the permissible maximum speed, the vehicle registration plate recorded at the entry point and at the exit point, and place data and time data are superimposed in the image recording, characterized in that the two detection times are acquired, respectively, by two timer units which are independent from one another, and two differences are calculated, the greater of the two being used for determining the average speed.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the two detection times are acquired, respectively, by two timer units which are independent from one another and a radio-controlled third timer unit, and the different timer units are synchronized with the radio-controlled third timer unit when the deviation between the indicated times exceeds a predetermined value.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the instantaneous velocity of a vehicle when passing the exit point is acquired in addition, and the high-resolution image recording is triggered at a photography time, wherein the photography time is calculated beforehand according to the path-time law from the detected instantaneous velocity at the exit point and the distance between the exit point and a predetermined photograph point.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the instantaneous velocity of the vehicle when passing the entry point is acquired in addition.

5. Arrangement for conclusively capturing a violation of a permissible maximum speed on a section of a roadway having at least one traffic lane, having a first detection unit connected to a first timer unit and a second detection unit connected to a second timer unit, wherein the first detection unit is arranged at an entry point of the section of road so as to be aligned with the road and the second detection unit is arranged at an exit point of the section of road so as to be aligned with the road, a first camera whose object field includes the entry point and which is connected to the first detection unit and to a first vehicle registration plate recognition unit, and a second camera whose object field includes the exit point and which is connected to the second detection unit and to a second vehicle registration plate recognition unit, and a computing and storage unit which is constructed in such a way that it compares the detected vehicle registration plates for a match and, as the case may be, determines the average speed of the vehicle from the acquired corresponding detection times and the known length of the section of road and compares this average speed with a specified maximum speed in order to transmit a signal when this maximum speed is exceeded, wherein at least one additional camera, which communicates with the computing and storage unit and is directed to the roadway, and a flash connected to the additional camera are provided so that a high-resolution image recording of the driver can be triggered with simultaneous illumination in case a signal is sent, characterized in that a speed sensor is provided which is connected to the additional camera and to the computing and storage unit and which acquires the instantaneous velocity of the vehicle at the exit point, and the computing and storage unit is constructed in such a way that it can determine, from the instantaneous velocity at the exit point and from the known distance of a predetermined photograph point from the exit point, the time required for the vehicle to have arrived at the photograph point so as to trigger the additional camera after this time.

6. Arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that the speed sensor is the second detection unit.

7. Arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the second detection unit is a radar sensor which, first, detects the vehicle, second, acquires the instantaneous velocity of the vehicle, and, third, acquires the detection location so that the vehicle can be associated with a traffic lane of the roadway and the additional camera associated with the relevant traffic lane is triggered.

8. Arrangement according to claim 7 for stationary application, characterized in that the first detection unit and second detection unit are mounted above the roadway and are formed, respectively, by a laser scanner which is directed perpendicular to the roadway and a laser scanner which is directed oblique to the roadway.

9. Arrangement according to claim 6 for mobile application, characterized in that the first detection unit and second detection unit are laser scanners which are positioned next to the roadway in such a way that the scanning plane of the first laser scanner is oriented vertically and the scanning plane of the second laser scanner is oriented horizontally so that the first laser scanner can detect the vehicle a first time and, for purposes of classification, can capture the side profile of the vehicle, and the second laser scanner can detect the vehicle a second time and can acquire the instantaneous velocity thereof.