DETERMINATION OF AT LEAST ONE FEATURE OF A VEHICLE

• US 20170148315A1
• Filed: 06/23/2015
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vitronic Dr Ing Stein Bildverarbeitungssysteme Gmbh
• Original Assignee: Vitronic Dr Ing Stein Bildverarbeitungssysteme Gmbh
• Inventors: Jung, Andreas, Bartiromo, Marco
• Granted Patent: US 10,515,544 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors

Abstract

An arrangement for determining at least one feature of a vehicle moving along a traffic lane, having a light sensitive sensor for recording an image of the vehicle and having an evaluation device for determining the at least one feature on the image, as well as a method for determining at least one feature of a vehicle moving along a traffic lane, especially by means of such an arrangement, wherein an image of the vehicle is recorded with a line scan camera and the image is evaluated for determining at least one feature of the vehicle.

Claims

1. An assembly arrangement for determining at least one feature for identifying a vehicle moving along a traffic lane, comprising;

at least one light sensitive sensor for recording an image of the vehicle,

an evaluation device for determining the at least one feature on the image,

wherein the light sensitive sensor is a line scan camera, which adapts a number of lines per unit of time of the image to a velocity of the vehicle, and wherein the line scan camera is arranged laterally beside the traffic lane, and either aligned aslant at an acute angle to the traffic lane against a driving direction of the vehicle, or aslant at an obtuse angle to the traffic lane in driving direction of the vehicle.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein

the number of lines per unit of time of the image is adapted to the velocity of the vehicle such, that a sampling rate of the line scan camera is adapted to the velocity of the vehicle.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein

the number of lines per unit of time of the image is adapted to the velocity of the vehicle such, that a post-correction of the image is executed in dependency of the velocity of the vehicle.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein

the line scan camera is aligned at an angle of approximately 30°

to the traffic lane against the driving direction of the vehicle.

5. The assembly of claim 1, comprising:

a lighting device, wherein the lighting device is aligned at an angular distance of at least 7°

from the alignment of the line scan camera.

6. The assembly of claim 1, comprising:

a velocity measuring device for measuring the velocity of the vehicle at the time of the recording of the image.

7. The assembly of claim 2, comprising;

a controller for of the line scan camera, wherein the sampling rate of the recorded lines is adjustable by the controller.

8. The assembly of claim 7, wherein

the sampling rate is adapted by means of the controller to the measured velocity of the vehicle.

9. The assembly of claim 1 comprising;

two line scan cameras adapted to act as light sensitive sensors.

10. A method for determining at least one feature for identification of a vehicle moving along a traffic lane, including the steps of:

recording an image of the vehicle with at least one line scan camera and analyzes the image to determine the at least one feature of the vehicle, wherein a number of lines per unit of time of the image is adapted to a velocity of the vehicle, determining round objects detected during the analysis of the image.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein

the number of lines per unit of time of the image is adapted to the velocity of the vehicle such, that a sampling rate of the line scan camera is adapted to the velocity of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein

the number of lines per unit of time of the image is adapted to the velocity of the vehicle such, that the image is post-corrected in dependency of the velocity of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the recorded lines are attached one after the other along a horizontal image, wherein linear marks appearing along the horizontal of the image, are used for detecting the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein

further comprising the step of enclosing the image of the vehicle in an envelope.

15. The method of claim 14, comprising the step of and calculating at least one of the dimensions height, length and width of the vehicle from the envelope using of a sampling rate of the line scan camera and of the velocity of the vehicle from the envelope.

16. The method of claim 10, comprising the step of;

determining a number and/or position of wheels and/or axles of the vehicle by detecting round objects during the analysis of the image.

17. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of;

correcting image by means of stretching or compressing along the image horizontal axis of the image.

18. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of;

calculating the velocity of the vehicle using the ellipticity and of the sampling rate of the line scan camera.

19. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of;

measuring the velocity of the vehicle at the time of the recording of the image and correcting the image by means of stretching or compressing the image horizontally in dependency of the measured velocity.

20. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of;

classifying the vehicle by analyzing the image by means of at least one of the following features, dimensions, number of axles, vehicle registration, dangerous goods label, shape of a front screen and/or of a side screen and characteristic shapes of the vehicle.

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)