SYSTEM, IN PARTICULAR AN INSTALLATION, INCLUDING A MOBILE PART THAT IS MOVABLE ALONG A CODING REGION, AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SUCH A SYSTEM

Abstract

A system, e.g., an installation, includes a mobile part that is movable along a coding region. A camera is arranged on the mobile part and is connected to an evaluation unit of the mobile part. The coding region has coded regions arranged successively. A one-part or multi-part cover covers coded regions, and has an opening through which an image of the first coded region can be taken by the camera. The evaluation unit is adapted to temporally recurrently determined the deviation of the first coded region with respect to the viewing direction of the camera and/or to the straight line, which is aligned in parallel with the viewing direction of the camera and passes through the central point of the image sensor of the camera, and/or to a reference point in the coding region and immobile relative to the mobile part.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A system, comprising: a mobile part movable along a coding region and including a camera connected to an evaluation unit of the mobile part, the coding region including successively arranged coded regions; and a one-part or multi-part cover covers at least one of the coded regions; wherein the evaluation unit is adapted to temporally recurrently determine a deviation of a first coded region with respect to a viewing direction of the camera and/or with to a straight line aligned in parallel with the viewing direction of the camera and passing through a central point of an image sensor of the camera and/or to a reference point arranged in the coding region and movable relative to the mobile part.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the evaluation unit is arranged as an image evaluation unit, the coded regions are arranged successively in a direction of travel of the mobile part, the cover covers coded regions adjacent to the first coded region and covers toward the camera, the evaluation unit is adapted to temporally recurrently determine the deviation by evaluating an image taken of the first coded region, and the deviation includes a distance.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein the cover includes at least one part of a cover element and borders the first coded region, each coded region including a respective position in the system as information, each coded region having a first code encoded in a first color and a second code encoded in a second color, the first and second coded regions each encoding same information, the mobile part including a control device adapted to control a color of emitted light of a lighting device of the mobile part, the control device adapted to recognize and decode the first code and the second code by illumination by the lighting device, the system including a comparison device adapted to compare respectively decoded bits of information with each other and to trigger an error signal if the bits of information do not match.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the cover element includes a sheet metal part and/or an adhesive tape.

19. The system according to claim 15, wherein the evaluation unit is adapted to monitor the temporally recurrently determined deviations for impermissibly large outliers.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the evaluation unit is adapted to, based on a regression line determined from the temporally recurrently determined deviations, monitor a coefficient of determination, a residual sum of squares, or a total sum of squares for an exceeding of a threshold value.

21. The system according to claim 15, wherein the evaluation unit is adapted to monitor the temporally recurrently determined deviations for impermissibly large outliers, at a constant speed of the mobile part.

22. The system according to claim 15, wherein the cover is adapted to cover a closest adjacent coded region and the subsequent coded regions.

23. The system according to claim 15, wherein the cover is adapted to cover a closest adjacent coded region and subsequent coded regions without interruption.

24. The system according to claim 15, the cover borders the first coded region.

25. The system according to claim 15, wherein the mobile part is arranged as a rail vehicle and/or as an overhead monorail vehicle, the coding region extends parallel to rails, and the coded regions are arranged successively in a direction of the rails.

26. The system according to claim 15, wherein each of the coded regions includes a two-dimensional code.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the two-dimensional code includes a QR code.

28. A method for operating a system as recited in claim 15, comprising: temporally recurrently recording, by the camera, an image of the first coded region through an opening of the cover; determining, by evaluating images taken of the first coded region, respective deviations of the first coded region with respect to the viewing direction of the camera and/or to the straight line aligned in parallel with the viewing direction of the camera and passes through the central point of the image sensor of the camera and/or to the reference point that is in the coding region and is immobile relative to the mobile part; and monitoring the determined deviations for an impermissibly large outlier.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the temporally recurrently recording is performed during movement of the mobile part at a constant speed, the deviations include distances.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the monitoring includes monitoring a coefficient of determination, a residual sum of squares, or a total sum of squares for an exceeding of a threshold value.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein the monitoring includes monitoring a coefficient of determination, a residual sum of squares, or a total sum of squares for an exceeding of a threshold value based on a regression line determined from temporally recurrently determined deviations.

32. The method according to claim 28, wherein the cover includes at least one part of a cover element, and the cover borders the first coded region.

33. The method according to claim 28, wherein the cover element includes a sheet metal part and/or an adhesive tape.

34. The method according to claim 28, further comprising determining whether the deviations are within a permissible value range.

35. The method according to claim 28, wherein each coded region includes a respective position in the system as information, each coded region has a first code encoded in a first color and a second code encoded in a second color, and the first and the second code each encode same information.

36. The method according to claim 28, further comprising using a lighting device of the mobile part with a controllable color of emitted light of the lighting device to recognize and decode the first code and the second code by illumination by the lighting device.

37. The method according to claim 36, further comprising: comparing respectively decoded bits of information with each other; and triggering an error signal if the compared bits do not match.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0022] A system according to an example embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a mobile part which has a camera, e.g., with an image sensor, moves along a trajectory parallel to an elongated coding surface.

[0024] The mobile part is, for example, rail-guided, and the coding surface 3 is arranged parallel to the rails. The trajectory thus extends parallel to the rails.

[0025] The coding surface 3 is formed from uniformly and/or equally spaced apart coded regions arranged successively in the direction of the rails. Each of the coded regions has the same size, e.g., as a QR code.

[0026] A first of the coded regions is designated with X in FIG. 1. Each additional coded region shown is designated with its distance away from X, for example as “X−80,” which indicates a distance of 80 millimeters between the centers of gravity of the two coded regions.

[0027] Three coded regions before and three coded regions after coded region X are covered by a cover element 2, such as a sheet metal part or adhesive tape.

[0028] The camera 1 is attached to the mobile part and has an image evaluation unit for evaluating the images recorded by the camera 1. In this case, for recognized coded region X, the deviation s, measured in the direction of the rail, of the position of X corresponds to the particular position which is the center of the image recorded by the camera.

[0029] When the mobile part passes by at a constant rail speed, s increases proportionally to the time until coded region X leaves the sensitive region and then another coded region, “X+80”, is recognized, such that s falls back to a negative value, from which it then increases again.

[0030] The coded regions of the coding region 3 encode their respective position in the installation itself. The position of the mobile part can therefore be determined from the decoding of the respective coded region and the determination of the deviation s.

[0031] A position determination method is thus performed in this manner. This is because only at least one coded region in the sensitive region of the camera has to be detected and decoded and the associated deviation s in the rail direction has to be determined in order to detect the position of the mobile part along the rail route.

[0032] It is important that the camera 1 is always kept a constant distance away from the coding region 3.

[0033] In order to increase the reliability of the overall system and the position determination system present in the manner described herein, a test is performed at intervals. Performed such tests repeatedly at time intervals provides for a higher level of reliability to be achieved.

[0034] For this purpose, the mobile part is moved past the cover element 2 at a constant speed, so that the repeatedly determined values of the deviation s are determined which belong to coded region X at the respective point in time t. The tuples (s, t) determined in this manner are used to determine a regression line and to determine the mean square deviation of the value tuples from the regression line.

[0035] In each test, the mean square deviation obtained from the regression line is monitored for an impermissibly high degree of deviation from zero.

[0036] In this manner, if outliers occur, the mobile part can be switched off or stopped in a manner specific for reliability.

[0037] Further measures to improve reliability can also be performed such as monitoring the specific values of the deviation s for a permissible value range.

[0038] Specific reliability measures can also be implemented when the respective coded region is recognized. For example, the coding region is first illuminated and recognized and decoded with a lighting device of a first color and then with a lighting device of a second color. The control commands for the illumination can be used for specific reliability monitoring of the decoded information.

[0039] In further exemplary embodiments, a mean value is used instead of the mean square deviation, such as the mean value of the squares of the distances to the regression line or the square root of this mean value or mathematically similar mean values.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0040] 1 Camera, e.g., with an image sensor, of a mobile part [0041] 2 Cover element, e.g., a sheet metal part or adhesive tape [0042] 3 Coding region