Method for operating a vehicle barrier

• US 9,666,002 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2015
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SKIDATA AG (Thales SA)
• Original Assignee: SKIDATA AG (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Harucksteiner, Guido, Schlechter, Thomas, Surkau, Reinhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Nwugo, Ojiako
• Application Number:
  US14/639,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20150254914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 340 553, 340 564, 340 57, 382105, 382115
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 13/06 by swinging into open position about a vertical or horizontal axis parallel to the road direction, i.e. swinging gates
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 1/002 controlled by automatically acting means for powered-operated mechanisms E05F15/70
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/00 Power-operated mechanisms for wings motor-operated accessories in locks for completing closing or initiating opening of a wing E05B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/76 responsive to devices carried by persons or objects, e.g. magnets or reflectors E05F15/77 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 2015/767 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/10 Electronic control
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/402 for cantilever gates
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 11/027 where the gate rotates around a horizontal axis parallel to the plane of the gate
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/894 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4816 of receivers alone
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0284 Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximeters
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/625 License plates
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/08 Detecting or categorising vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/04 comprising devices to free a barrier, turnstile, or the like turnstiles with registering means G07C9/10; coin-freed aspects G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/30 not involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 : Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 : for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

In a method for operating a vehicle barrier (1) having a barrier column (2), a barrier arm (4) and a drive mechanism for pivoting the barrier arm (4) between a blocking position and an open position, a camera (7) is used for vehicle recognition, for the license plate recognition, for recognizing a following vehicle and for monitoring for vandalism, and the images thereof are evaluated by an electronic evaluation logic that is coupled to control of the vehicle barrier (1).

Claims

1. A method for operating a vehicle barrier having a barrier column, a barrier arm and a drive mechanism for pivoting the barrier arm between a blocking position and an open position, said method comprising the steps of obtaining digital images using a first camera and evaluating the images using an electronic evaluation logic, that is coupled to the camera and to a control for the vehicle barrier, for vehicle recognition, license plate recognition, recognition of a following vehicle and an occurrence of vandalism.

2. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 1, wherein the vehicle barrier has a idle mode in which the barrier arm is in the blocking position and the control for vehicle barrier waits for an input from the evaluation logic;

wherein in the idle mode the camera monitors the entry or exit area and the barrier arm;

wherein, if based on the evaluation of the images provided by the camera, a barrier arm movement is detected and no barrier arm movement is expected at this time in the control of the vehicle barrier, the barrier arm movement is recognized as an “

undefined barrier movement” and

a vandalism alarm is issued, whereby the vehicle barrier thereafter transitions into the idle mode;

wherein, when in the idle mode of the vehicle barrier a vehicle in the entry or exit area is recognized by images provided by the camera, a license plate recognition of the vehicle is carried out based on the images provided by the camera;

wherein, in the event of a successful license plate recognition, the vehicle is identified and the data is stored in a database or compared with data in a database, the barrier arm of the vehicle barrier is moved to the open position for entry or exit, depending on the application, such that the vehicle can pass;

wherein in the case of exiting the barrier arm is opened when the parking fee has been paid;

wherein, if the vehicle barrier is moved to the open position for entry or exit depending on the application, a recognition of a following vehicle is activated based on the evaluation of images provided by the camera; and

wherein, if no vehicle following the identified vehicle is recognized, the barrier arm is moved to the blocking position and the vehicle barrier transitions to the idle mode.

3. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 2, wherein, in the event of exiting after successful license plate recognition, a payment process is initiated to enable the driver of the vehicle to pay the parking fee by means of a payment device in the barrier column.

4. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 2, wherein a ticket is issued prior to actuating the barrier arm to the open position.

5. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 2, wherein, if no vehicle is detected within a specified time after a vehicle recognition and before the license plate recognition is carried out, or the barrier arm is actuated to the open position, the vehicle barrier transitions into the idle mode.

6. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 2, wherein, in the event that a vehicle is recognized in the entry or exit area and a movement of the barrier arm is detected upon evaluation of the images provided by the camera without a respective signal of the vehicle barrier control, issuing a vandalism alarm for unauthorized entry or exit if an interaction between vehicle and barrier arm is registered using the camera, and wherein if no interaction between vehicle and barrier arm is registered, issuing an “

undefined barrier arm movement”

vandalism alarm.

7. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 2, wherein, if after recognition of a vehicle in the entry or exit area, a successful license plate recognition cannot be carried out, an intercom system at the barrier column can be activated from a control room and the images of the camera can be transferred to the control room.

8. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as in claim 1, wherein at least one additional second camera is provided at another suitable location, the images of which are evaluated independently of the images of the first camera, thereby to increase the reliability and reduce the error rates for vehicle recognition and license plate recognition.

9. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 1, wherein the first camera is one of a conventional digital camera, a camera for close-range photogrammetry and a camera that can be synchronized with an infrared source, the sensor thereof being responsive to visible light and infrared light.

10. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 9, wherein, using the camera that can be synchronized with an infrared source, selectively generating images in the visible or infrared range, images in the visible range and a 3D reconstruction of a detected object based on a runtime measurement in synchronization with the infrared source, or a 3D reconstruction of a detected object based on a runtime measurement in synchronization with the infrared source.

11. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 10, wherein, in the event of a camera that can be synchronized with an infrared source, the license plate recognition, recognition of a following vehicle and monitoring for vandalism are carried out based on the images generated in the visible range or based on the images generated in the infrared range, whereby, through the parallel evaluation of the images of both ranges, the robustness of the results is increased and wherein a 3D reconstruction is carried out for vehicle recognition.

12. The method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 11, wherein additionally a parallel evaluation of the images is carried out.

13. Method for operating a vehicle barrier as defined in claim 11, wherein, for license plate recognition, recognition of a following vehicle and monitoring for vandalism, switching is carried out automatically from the mode “

images in the visible light”

to the mode “

images in the infrared range”

or “

images in the visible and the infrared range”

when the ambient brightness drops below a prescribed threshold value.