JP2010008352A - Size measuring method and size measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a size measuring device measuring size of each side of a measurement object based on one image containing the measurement object and a reference meter indicating a reference length arranged on a plane of the measurement object. <P>SOLUTION: The size measuring device 100 includes an imaging means 20 imaging an image containing a measurement object 1 of rectangular parallelepiped shape and a reference meter 2 containing a reference length arranged preliminarily on a plane of the measurement object 1, an image processing means extracting a vertex and the reference meter 2 of the measurement object 1 from the image imaged by the imaging means 20, and a size calculating means deriving parameters of a position, an attitude and a size in a three-dimensional space of the measurement object 1 from a two-dimensional coordinates on the image plane of the vertex extracted, obtaining a spatial scale or a ratio of a distance in real space and the distance in the three-dimensional space using the reference meter 2, and calculating sizes of each side of the measurement object 1 based on scale of the space and the parameters. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dimension measuring method and a dimension measuring apparatus for measuring the dimension of each side of a measuring object from an image obtained by imaging the measuring object.

  When a package is sent by a courier, the delivery fee is often determined by the total length, width and height of the package along with the weight of the package. For this reason, in the business of accepting delivery of parcels such as ordinary courier services, in order to measure the length, width and height of the parcel, the length in three directions is measured using a tape measure or a ruler. Measuring. However, when using a tape measure, a ruler, or the like, there is a problem that it takes time for the measurement work because the length in three directions must be measured manually.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, in Patent Document 1, a surface on which a display medium provided with a square code whose side length is known in advance is printed on the surface on which the display medium is printed. A method for calculating a three-dimensional size of a package from a first image captured from a direction including the image and a second image captured from a direction including the other surface of the package is disclosed.

Further, in Patent Document 2, a marker having a three-dimensional shape with known lengths in the length direction, the width direction, and the height direction is previously attached to the corner of the cargo to be measured, and the marker is attached. An image including the corner of the cargo is taken, and the dimensions of each side of the cargo are obtained based on the length of the marker.
JP 2003-303222 A JP 2002-286420 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, in order to measure the size of a package, two images obtained by photographing the surface on which the display medium is printed and the other surface are required. For this reason, it is necessary to move the camera and perform shooting twice, or to install two cameras in advance. Further, in order to increase the measurement accuracy, it is necessary to photograph from the front of each surface. Furthermore, it is necessary to print a display medium with a square code on a package in advance.

  In patent document 2, in order to measure the dimension of each side of a cargo, the marker needs to be known in three directions of length, width, and height. Moreover, the marker needs to be attached according to the corner of the cargo. For this reason, the positions where the markers are arranged are limited, and there is a problem that when the positions of the markers are shifted, it is impossible to measure the exact dimensions of each side of the cargo.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the various problems as described above, and is arranged on a measurement object and the surface of the measurement object or an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object. Another object of the present invention is to provide a dimension measuring method and a dimension measuring apparatus capable of measuring the dimension of each side of the measurement object from one image including a reference scale indicating a reference length.

  In order to achieve the above object, a dimension measuring method according to the present invention is a dimension measuring method for measuring a dimension of each side of a rectangular parallelepiped measuring object on the surface of the measuring object or the surface of the measuring object. A reference scale indicating a reference length is placed on the extended plane of the image, and the measurement object and the whole of the reference scale are accommodated, and two or more surfaces of the measurement object are photographed. An image is generated, the vertex of the measurement object and the reference scale are extracted from the generated image, and the position / posture of the measurement object in a three-dimensional space from the two-dimensional coordinates of the extracted vertex on the image plane And a dimension parameter, and using the reference scale, a space scale that is a ratio of a distance in real space and a distance in the three-dimensional space is determined, and the measurement is performed based on the space scale and the parameter. It is characterized by calculating the size of each side of the object.

  In addition, as the reference scale, one having two or more markers whose distances between the markers are known or one having a pattern whose dimensions are known can be used.

  Further, the dimension measuring method according to the present invention is a dimension measuring method for measuring a dimension of each side of a rectangular parallelepiped measuring object, wherein the dimension is measured on the surface of the measuring object or an extended plane of the surface of the measuring object. Project a known reference pattern, shoot so that the whole of the measurement object and the reference pattern can be accommodated, and two or more surfaces of the measurement object can be captured, and generate one image. The vertex of the measurement object and the reference pattern are extracted from the obtained image, and the parameters of the position, orientation and dimensions of the measurement object in the three-dimensional space are obtained from the two-dimensional coordinates of the extracted vertex on the image plane. Then, using the reference scale, a space scale that is a ratio of the distance in the real space and the distance in the three-dimensional space is obtained, and the measurement is performed based on the space scale and the parameter. It is characterized by calculating the size of each side of the elephant thereof.

  The dimension measuring apparatus according to the present invention is a dimension measuring apparatus that measures the dimension of each side of a rectangular parallelepiped measuring object, and is an extension plane of the measuring object and the surface of the measuring object or the surface of the measuring object. An imaging unit that captures an image including a reference scale indicating a reference length arranged in advance thereon, an image processing unit that extracts a vertex of the measurement object and the reference scale from the image captured by the imaging unit; From the extracted two-dimensional coordinates of the vertex on the image plane, parameters of the position / posture and dimensions of the measurement object in the three-dimensional space are obtained, and the distance in the real space and the three-dimensional space are calculated using the reference scale. A size calculation means for obtaining a scale of a space that is a ratio to the distance in the space and calculating a size of each side of the measurement object based on the scale of the space and the parameter. It is characterized.

  In addition, as the reference scale, one having two or more markers whose distances between the markers are known or one having a pattern whose dimensions are known can be used.

  Further, the dimension measuring apparatus according to the present invention is a dimension measuring apparatus that measures the dimension of each side of a rectangular parallelepiped measuring object, a projection unit that projects a reference pattern with a known dimension, the measuring object, and the measurement object An imaging unit that captures an image including the reference pattern projected by the projection unit on the surface of the object or on an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object, and the measurement target from the image captured by the imaging unit Image processing means for extracting a vertex of the object and the reference pattern, and determining parameters of a position / attitude and a dimension of the measurement object in a three-dimensional space from a two-dimensional coordinate on the image plane of the extracted vertex, A reference scale is used to obtain a space scale that is a ratio of the distance in the real space and the distance in the three-dimensional space, and is based on the scale of the space and the parameter. Te, it is characterized by and a dimension calculation means for calculating the size of each side of the measurement object.

  Moreover, what irradiates a some laser beam in parallel as said projection means can be used.

  The dimension measuring apparatus may further include display means for displaying an image picked up by the image pickup means, and specifying means for specifying the measurement object from the image displayed on the display means. .

  Further, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera can be used as the imaging means. The CCD camera preferably has a function of reading a one-dimensional barcode and / or a two-dimensional barcode.

  In the dimension measuring method according to the present invention, when measuring the dimensions of each side of a package in order to determine the delivery fee of the package such as courier, if the package is a rectangular parallelepiped measurement object, the surface of the package From a single image taken so that the reference scale indicating the reference length is placed on the upper surface or an extended plane of the surface of the luggage, the entire luggage and the reference scale are accommodated, and two or more surfaces of the luggage are reflected The dimensions of each side of the luggage can be measured. Therefore, there is no need to measure each direction in the length direction, width direction, and height direction of the load, and the dimensions of each side of the load can be measured from one image, so the work efficiency is greatly improved. Can be made. In addition, since the reference scale may be arranged in any direction as long as it is on the surface of the luggage or an extended plane of the luggage surface, simple work can be done without worrying about the position of the reference scale. Thus, the dimensions of each side of the luggage can be measured, and the work efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, if the reference scale includes two or more markers whose distances between the markers are known, the dimensions of each side of the measurement object are measured by using the distances between the markers. Can do.

  In addition, the reference scale may be provided with a pattern whose dimensions are known. For example, the dimension of each side of the measurement object is obtained by using a pattern whose dimensions are determined in advance, such as an invoice for delivery. Therefore, working efficiency can be further improved.

  In addition, when projecting a reference pattern with a known dimension on the surface of the measurement object or on an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object, the measurement object and the reference pattern may be It is possible to measure the dimensions of each side of the measurement object from one image that is captured so that two or more surfaces of the measurement object are captured, so that the work efficiency of the dimension measurement is improved. Can be improved.

  According to the dimension measuring apparatus according to the present invention, if an image including a reference object preliminarily arranged on the surface of the measuring object and the surface of the measuring object or on the extended plane of the surface of the measuring object is captured by the image pickup means. Since the dimension of each side of the measurement object can be calculated, the dimension measurement work can be performed efficiently.

  The dimension measuring apparatus according to the present invention includes the reference pattern projected by the projecting unit on the measurement object and the surface of the measurement object or an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object by the imaging unit. If an image is taken, the dimension of each side of the measurement object can be calculated, so that the dimension measurement work can be performed efficiently.

  Further, in the dimension measuring apparatus, by further comprising display means for displaying an image picked up by the image pickup means, and specifying means for specifying the measurement object from the image displayed on the display means, Even when the measurement object cannot be extracted by the image processing means due to the influence of the environment where the image is captured, the background, or the like, the measurer can specify the measurement object from the image displayed on the display means. As a result, the dimensions of each side of the measurement object can be calculated even if the image processing means cannot extract the vertices of the measurement object as long as the image can be determined by the measurer. become.

  In addition, by using a CCD camera having a function of reading a one-dimensional barcode and / or a two-dimensional barcode as an imaging unit, for example, information on a measurement object is stored in advance in the one-dimensional barcode or the two-dimensional barcode. If it is attached to the measurement object, the type of the measurement object can be grasped by reading the information from the CCD camera. Also, by sharing the imaging function of the CCD camera, the hardware function can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, a dimension measuring method and a dimension measuring apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The dimension measuring apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is for measuring the dimension of each side of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped luggage 1 that is a measurement object. As shown in FIG. The image pickup means 20 for picking up images and a computer 30 connected to the image pickup means 20 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a computer 30 includes a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 31, an input / output interface 32, an image processing unit (image processing means) 33, an operation unit 34, a display unit 35, an image memory 36, and a RAM. (Random Access Memory) 37, ROM (Read Only Memory) 38, and the like, and each unit 31 to 38 is communicably connected via a bus 39.

  The imaging means 20 captures an image of the luggage 1 or the like that is a measurement target, and is configured by a CCD camera 20. Specifically, the image forming apparatus includes a digital camera or a digital video camera using a CCD sensor in which CCD (Charge Coupled Device) pixels are two-dimensionally arranged. An image captured by the CCD camera 20 is automatically taken into the computer 30 via the input / output interface 32 and output to the image processing unit 33. Note that the imaging unit 20 is not limited to the CCD camera 20, and a CMOS camera or other imaging device may be used.

  The control unit 31 preliminarily stores the image processing data obtained by controlling the operation of each unit constituting the dimension measuring apparatus 100 according to a control program stored in advance in the ROM 38 and predetermined image processing in the image processing unit 33 described later, and the RAM 38 in advance. Based on the stored data, processing for calculating the dimensions of each side of the package 1 (size calculation means 31a) and the like are performed.

  The input / output interface 32 is for exchanging various types of data, and the image captured by the CCD camera 20 is taken into the computer 30 via the input / output interface 32.

  The image processing unit 33 performs predetermined image processing on the image output from the CCD camera 20. The CCD camera 20 has certain inherent characteristics such as image distortion caused by various geometric distortions such as lens distortion, and internal parameters for calibrating these characteristics are stored in the RAM 37. . The image processing unit 33 generates image processing data or the like obtained by performing lens distortion correction processing on the image output from the CCD camera 20 based on the internal parameters of the CCD camera 20 in order to improve measurement accuracy. To do.

  The operation unit 34 is for performing various settings and the like. For example, the operation unit 34 can perform predetermined input such as an operation of writing data of the length of the reference scale 2 shown in FIG. . The display unit 35 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display. The display unit 35 calculates an image captured by the CCD camera 20 and the dimensions of each side of the package 1. The result is displayed.

  The image memory 36 stores an image captured by the CCD camera 20, image processing data processed by the image processing unit 33, and the like.

  The RAM 37 is a memory that stores various data such as setting data and operation data used for the processing operation of the dimension measuring apparatus 100 in a readable and writable state. For example, when calculating internal parameters and dimensions of the CCD camera 20. Data indicating the length of the reference scale 2 to be used is stored.

  The ROM 38 is a memory that stores various programs for controlling the operation of each unit constituting the dimension measuring apparatus 100 by the control unit 31, and stores a program for calculating the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1. .

  The dimension measuring method according to the present embodiment measures the dimensions of each side of the load 1 to be measured by such a dimension measuring apparatus 100. The luggage 1 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a cube as shown in FIG.

  First, when measuring the dimension of each side of the luggage 1, the measurer arranges the reference scale 2 provided with two markers 3 near the both ends on the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1, as shown in FIG. At this time, the measurer does not have to arrange the reference measure 2 so as to be parallel to the side of the upper surface 4, and can arrange the reference measure 2 at an arbitrary position on the upper surface 4 as shown in FIG. 1. . Hereinafter, the flow of the dimension measuring method executed using the dimension measuring apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The following processing operations performed by the dimension measuring apparatus 100 are performed according to instructions issued by the control unit 31 based on a program stored in the ROM 38.

  In S <b> 1, the measurer takes an image from the direction in which the whole of the scale 1 placed on the luggage 1 and the upper surface 4 is accommodated by the CCD camera 20 and at least two surfaces of the luggage 1 are captured. The captured image can be confirmed on the display unit 35. If the entire package 1 does not fit in the captured image or only one surface of the package 1 is shown, the CCD is again displayed. An image is picked up by the camera 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, if the image captured by the CCD camera 20 includes the entire package 1 and the reference scale 2 arranged on the upper surface 4 and includes two or more surfaces of the package 1. The image is output to the image processing unit 33 of the computer 30. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, an image including three surfaces of the upper surface 4, the front surface 5, and the side surface 6 of the luggage 1 will be described as an example.

  Next, in S2, the image processing unit 33 is provided on the boundary between the background portion and the luggage 1, the inner contour line of the luggage 1, and the reference scale 2 from the image captured by the CCD camera 20, as shown in FIG. Projection points Q1 and Q2 of the two markers 3 are extracted. Then, the image processing unit 33 extracts the vertices P1 to P7 of the luggage 1 by extracting the intersections of the extracted boundary line and internal contour line. Note that FIG. 5 shows an example in which all seven vertices P1 to P7 of the luggage 1 projected onto the image plane I are extracted, but it is not necessary to extract all the vertices, and as will be described later, If the principal point coordinates and the focal length of the CCD camera are known, only the four vertices, which are the three vertices belonging to one surface of the luggage 1 and the one vertex belonging to the other surface, are extracted. It ’s fine.

  In S3, based on the two-dimensional coordinates of the vertices P1 to P7 of the luggage 1 extracted in S2, the dimension calculating means 31a of the control unit 31 performs the three-dimensional position / posture in the three-dimensional space of the luggage 1 shown in FIG. And parameters such as dimensions are calculated.

  Specifically, in the dimension calculating means 31a, as shown in FIG. 3, the origin (0, 0, 0) of the world coordinate system is set at the center of the load 1, and the length direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the load 1 are set. Set the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis respectively. Then, if the length of the load 1 is set to 2L, the width is set to 2W, and the height is set to 2H, the eight vertices of the load 1 in the three-dimensional space are (L, W, H) as shown in FIG. (-L, W, H), (L, -W, H), (-L, -W, H), (L, W, -H), (L, -W, -H), (-L , W, -H) and (-L, -W, -H).

If the coordinate transformation between the CCD camera 20 and the package 1 can be performed with the rotation matrix R and the translation vector t, the image coordinates when the vertex of the package 1 is projected onto the image plane I, that is, P1 on the image plane I. The two-dimensional coordinates u _i and ν _i of .about.P7 are expressed by the projection equation shown in Expression (1). Where n is the number of vertices of the load 1 on the image plane I, f is the focal length of the CCD camera 20, u ₀ and ν ₀ are the principal point coordinates of the image, and X _i is L, W, H , T ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ are three components of translation vector t = [t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ ] ^T , and r ₁ , r ₂ , r ₃ are rotation matrices R = [r ₁ , r ₂ , r ₃ ] ^{T is} the three row vectors. The vertex coordinates X _i , the translation vector t, and the rotation matrix R are a parameter that represents the size of the luggage 1, a parameter that represents the three-dimensional position of the luggage 1, and a parameter that represents the posture of the luggage 1, respectively.

The unknown parameters in Equation (1) are the focal length f, the principal point coordinates u ₀ and ν _{0 of} the image, the three parameters L, W, and H included in the vertex coordinate vector X _i of the package 1, the CCD camera and the package. 6 parameters of translation vector t and rotation matrix R representing conversion between That is, the equation (1) includes a total of 12 unknown parameters. On the other hand, two projection equations are obtained for one vertex of the luggage 1 projected onto the image plane I by the formula (1). Therefore, if six vertices of the luggage 1 are used, a total of 12 projection equations can be obtained. By solving this projection equation, 12 unknown parameter solutions can be obtained.

  In the above description, the number of unknown parameters is 12. However, when the principal point coordinates u0 and ν0 of the image are known, the number of unknown parameters is 10. Further, when the focal length f is known, the number of unknown parameters is reduced to nine, but the scale of the space, which is the ratio of the distance in the real space to the distance in the three-dimensional space, can be made arbitrary. Will be eight. In that case, since eight projection equations can be obtained by using the coordinates of the four vertices of the luggage 1, it is possible to obtain eight unknown parameter solutions by solving this projection equation. However, since there are dimensions that cannot be obtained with only the four vertices belonging to one surface of the luggage 1, at least four vertices including the three vertices belonging to one surface of the luggage 1 and the one vertex belonging to the other surface are combined. It is necessary to use the coordinates.

Further, when Equation (1) is transformed, Equation (2) is obtained. Here, s _i is an unknown parameter indicating the depth of each vertex of the luggage 1. S _i can be solved directly by substituting L, W, and H obtained by solving the projection equation of Expression (1) for the vertex coordinates X _i of Expression (2). The unknown parameter can also be obtained by a method of minimizing the reverse projection error C in Expression (3).

In the formulas (1), (2), and (3), the scale of the space that is the ratio of the distance in the real space to the distance in the three-dimensional space cannot be determined. This is because even if both the numerator and the denominator of Expression (1) are enlarged or reduced, the image coordinates projected onto the image plane I do not change. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain a space scale separately. Therefore, in S4, the space scale is obtained. Specifically, in S4, the dimension calculation means 31a obtains equations for each surface of the luggage 1 from the three-dimensional coordinates of the vertex of the luggage 1 obtained in S3. For example, the plane equations of the top surface and the bottom surface in the coordinate system of the luggage 1 are each expressed as Equation (4). In addition, when the reference scale 2 having the thickness T is arranged, the plane equation is expressed as Equation (5). If the reference scale 2 is made of a very thin material such as paper, it can be handled as T = 0, but here, the thickness T of the reference scale 2 is assumed to be known.

When Formula (5) is changed to the camera coordinate system _Xc , it is expressed as Formula (6). Here, c represents a vector in the third column of the rotation matrix R.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, two straight lines l ₁ connecting the focal point F and the projection points Q1 (q _1u , q _1ν ) and Q2 (q _2u , q _2ν ) on the image plane I of the two markers 3. , L ₂ , and obtaining the intersections R1, R2 with the upper surface 4 of the load 1 in the three-dimensional space, the respective three-dimensional coordinates of the marker 3 are obtained. In this case, in the camera coordinate system _Xc , an equation of a straight line connecting the focal point and one point on the image plane I is expressed by Equation (7). Here, s is an unknown parameter. Therefore, the formulas of the _two straight lines l ₁ and l ₂ are expressed as the following formula (8). However, s _q1 and s _q2 are unknown parameters. Then, the respective three-dimensional coordinates of the marker 3 in the three-dimensional space are obtained from the equation c ^T (X _c -t) = H + T representing the plane of the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1 shown in the equations (8) and (6). . The distance d between the markers 3 is determined from the three-dimensional coordinates of the markers 3 thus determined. Then, the scale of the space is calculated by calculating the ratio (D / d) with the distance D between the markers 3 in the real space stored in the RAM 37 in advance.

  In S5, the scale (D / d) of the space obtained in S4 is multiplied by all three-dimensional coordinates, thereby calculating the three-dimensional coordinates of each vertex and the dimensions of each side in the dimensions in the real space. .

  In S6, the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 obtained in S5 are output to the display unit 35. In this way, the dimension measuring apparatus 100 can calculate the dimension of each side of the luggage 1 from one image captured by the CCD camera 20. Thus, when the dimension measuring apparatus 100 is used, when measuring the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 in order to determine the delivery charge for the courier service, etc., the length direction, the width direction, and the height direction of the luggage 1 Since it is not necessary to measure each direction one by one, the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 can be measured from one image, so that the work efficiency can be greatly improved. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the image including the three surfaces of the upper surface 4, the front surface 5, and the side surface 6 of the luggage 1 has been described as an example, but the image includes the upper surface 4 on which the reference scale 2 is disposed. In the case of an image showing one surface, six vertices of the luggage 1 can be extracted, so that the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 can be calculated.

  In the above description, the flow of automatically calculating the dimension of each side of the package 1 as the measurement object from the image captured by the CCD camera 20 has been described. However, the image processing unit 33 shown in FIG. In the processing, when the image processing unit 33 cannot extract the vertex of the luggage 1 from the captured image, the captured image is displayed on the display unit 35 and the vertex of the measurement object is displayed from the operation unit 34. You may make it take the structure to designate.

  In this case, if it is determined in the process of S2 that the vertex of the luggage 1 cannot be extracted by the image processing unit 33, the image captured by the CCD camera 20 is displayed on the display unit 35. Then, the measurer designates the apex of the load 1 as the measurement object from the image displayed on the display unit 35 by the operation unit 34. Specifically, for example, when it is determined that the vertex of the luggage 1 cannot be extracted by the image processing unit 33, the pointer is displayed on the image displayed on the display unit 35. Then, the measurer operates the pointer with a pointing device such as a mouse (registered trademark), and designates the pointer by aligning the pointer with the apex of the luggage 1. As a result, a designation signal indicating the apex of the luggage 1 is generated.

  When the measurer finishes designating the number of vertices necessary to calculate the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1, the operation unit 34 determines the end of the designation. The designation signal indicating the apex of the luggage 1 on the image obtained in this way is sent to the image processing unit 33. Then, the image processing unit 33 determines that the point on the image indicated by the sent designation signal is the apex of the luggage 1. Thereby, it is determined that the apex of the luggage 1 has been extracted, and thereafter, the processing after S3 shown in FIG. 4 is performed. If the image processing unit 33 cannot extract the projection points Q1 and Q2 of the marker 2 provided in the reference pattern 2 arranged on the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1, the operation unit 34 causes the projection points Q1 and Q2 of the marker 2 to be extracted. You may comprise so that Q2 can also be designated.

  With the above-described configuration, for example, even when the image processing unit 33 cannot extract the vertex of the luggage 1 from the captured image due to the influence of the imaging environment, the measurer is displayed on the display unit 35. By designating the apex of the luggage 1 from the captured image using the operation unit 34, the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 can be calculated. Note that when the image processing unit 33 can extract the apex of the luggage 1, the specification by the operation unit 34 may be omitted. In addition, when the image processing unit 33 cannot extract the apex of the luggage 1, it can be configured to display that fact on the display unit 35 or to notify an error by a speaker (not shown).

  In the present embodiment, a case is shown in which a reference scale 2 having two markers 3 with known distances d between the respective markers 3 is used. However, the reference scale 2 is a square or a triangle whose dimensions are known. It may be provided with a pattern. Further, as the pattern, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, it is also possible to use a rectangular invoice 7 having a prescribed size to be attached to a package such as a courier. In that case, since the operation | work which arrange | positions the reference | standard scale 2 can also be omitted, it can measure more efficiently.

  In this case, the image processing unit 33 extracts the invoice 7 in the process of S2. And in the process of S4, the scale of space is calculated | required using the magnitude | size of the invoice 7 known.

In the present embodiment, the example in which the reference scale 2 is arranged on the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1 has been described. However, the reference scale 2 is on the front surface 5, the side surface 6 of the luggage 1, or the plane on which the luggage 1 is placed. Even when it is arranged, the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 can be calculated similarly. For example, when the reference scale 2 is arranged on the plane on which the luggage 1 is placed, the bottom surface of the luggage 1 and the plane on which the reference scale 2 is arranged can be regarded as substantially the same plane. measuring standard 2 may be used _{^{c T (X c -t) =}} T-H shown in equation (6) as a plane equation of a plane that is disposed in the process.

  Further, the measurement object may be a stack of a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped shapes such as the luggage 1, or a plurality of objects arranged side by side. In this case as well, it is possible to measure the dimensions of each side of the measurement object configured by combining a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped packages 1 by the same method as described above.

  Next, the dimension measuring apparatus 100a according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the external appearance of the dimension measuring apparatus 100a is of a handy terminal type, and is formed to have a size that can be grasped by a human hand. The dimension measuring apparatus 100a is equipped with a CCD camera 20a (not shown) as an imaging means at the tip. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the measurer takes an image with the tip of the dimension measuring device 100a facing the direction of the load 1 that is the measurement object.

  An operation unit 34 and a display unit 35 are provided outside the dimension measuring apparatus 100a. The operation unit 34 is provided with an imaging start button of the CCD camera 20a and a plurality of operation buttons for performing predetermined settings. The display unit 35 is for displaying an image captured by the CCD camera 20a, a result of dimension measurement, and the like, and is configured by a liquid crystal display (LCD).

  Further, the CCD camera 20a has a function of reading the one-dimensional barcode 8 and the two-dimensional barcode 9 attached to the front surface 5 of the luggage 1 shown in FIG. Accordingly, apart from imaging for measuring the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1, the CCD camera 20a can read the one-dimensional barcode 8 or the two-dimensional barcode 9 by the CCD camera system. Thereby, the hardware function can be simplified by sharing the imaging function of the CCD camera 20.

  The one-dimensional barcode 8 and the two-dimensional barcode 9 can include various information regarding the luggage 1. Therefore, by reading the barcodes 8 and 9 from the CCD camera 20a, it is possible to easily grasp information relating to the luggage 1, so that the management of the luggage 1 and the like are facilitated. The data read from the barcodes 8 and 9 may be displayed on the display unit 35.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of the dimension measuring apparatus 100a. The dimension measuring apparatus 100a includes a CCD camera 20a, a control unit 31, an input / output interface 32, an image processing unit 33, an operation unit 34, a display unit 35, and an image. A memory 36, a RAM 37, a ROM 38, and the like are provided.

  Note that the functions of the above-described units have the same functions as those in the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here. The process for calculating the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the dimension measuring apparatus 100 b according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging unit (CCD camera) 20 for imaging the luggage 1 and a projection unit 40 for projecting the reference pattern 10. The composite apparatus 50 and the computer 30 connected to the composite apparatus 50 are configured. Since the computer 30 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 11, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The projecting means 40 includes a laser beam irradiation unit (not shown) for projecting the reference pattern 10 onto the surface of the package 1 as a measurement object and a light receiving unit (not shown) that receives reflected light from the surface of the package 1. ). The position where the reference pattern 10 is projected may be on an extended plane of the surface of the luggage 1. In this embodiment, an example in which the spot-like reference pattern 10 is projected is shown, but the shape of the reference pattern 10 is not limited to this.

  In the dimension measuring apparatus 100 b, a control signal for projecting the reference pattern 10 is sent from the control unit 31 to the projection unit 40 based on the operation input from the operation unit 34. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 10, the projection unit 40 projects the reference pattern 10 onto the surface of the luggage 1. Note that the projection unit 40 may project the reference pattern 10 in advance, and the reference pattern 10 may be projected onto the surface of the luggage 1 when the measurer moves the luggage 1.

Since the angle θ at which the projection unit 40 projects the reference pattern 10 can be set in advance by the operation unit 34, the angle θ shown in FIG. 10 is known. The distances A and B from the projection means 40 to the reference pattern 10 projected onto the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1 are received by the light receiving section from the reflected light from the luggage 1 of the reference pattern 10 projected from the laser light irradiation section. Can be measured from the time until. Therefore, the distance _{D 1} of the between the reference pattern 10 can be obtained from equation (9). Thus, the distance D ₁ obtained is stored in the RAM 37, it is used when calculating the size of each side of the luggage 1. 10 shows a case in which the reference pattern 10 is projected obliquely with respect to the upper surface 4, but when the projection means 40 is installed so as to be parallel to the upper surface 4, the distances A and B are as follows. Can be treated as equivalent.

  Hereinafter, a dimension measuring method for measuring the dimension of each side of the luggage 1 using the dimension measuring apparatus 100b will be described. However, detailed description of the processing overlapping with that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

  First, in order to calculate the dimensions of each side of the luggage 1, the measurer takes an image from the direction in which the entire luggage 1 and the reference pattern 10 are accommodated and at least two surfaces of the luggage 1 are reflected by the CCD camera 20. As a result, an image as shown in FIG. 12 is obtained. The obtained image is output to the image processing unit 33 via the input / output interface 32. Then, the image processing unit 33 extracts the apex of the luggage 1 and the reference pattern 10 from the image as in the first embodiment.

Based on the extracted two-dimensional coordinates of the top of the luggage 1, the dimension calculating means 31a calculates parameters such as the three-dimensional position / posture and dimensions of the luggage 1. Then, the dimension calculation means 31a obtains equations for each surface of the luggage 1 from the three-dimensional coordinates of the top of the luggage 1. When the reference pattern 10 of the projection means 40 is used, it is not necessary to consider the thickness of the reference pattern 10, so that c ^T (X _c −t) = H is used.

Then, two straight lines connecting the focal point F of the CCD camera 20 shown in FIG. 12 and the projection points on the image plane I of the two reference patterns 10 are drawn to obtain the intersection with the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1 in the three-dimensional space. As a result, the respective three-dimensional coordinates of the reference pattern 10 can be obtained. The distance d ₁ between the reference patterns 10 is obtained from the three-dimensional coordinates of the reference patterns 10 obtained in this way. Then, the scale of the space is calculated by calculating the ratio (D ₁ / d ₁ ) with the distance D ₁ between the actual reference patterns 10 stored in advance in the RAM 37.

Then, by multiplying all the three-dimensional coordinates by the scale (D ₁ / d ₁ ) of the obtained space, the three-dimensional coordinates of each vertex and the dimensions of each side in the dimensions in the real space are calculated, The result is output to the display unit 35.

The projection unit 40 is not limited to the above configuration, and as shown in FIG. 13, the projection unit 40 (40a) and the CCD camera 20 may be provided separately. It may be fixed to etc. As shown in FIG. 13, if the projection unit 40 a includes two laser pointers 41 that irradiate laser beams A and B in parallel, the projection unit 40 a is irradiated toward the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1. by, if known beforehand laser light a, the distance D ₂ of B, by utilizing the interval D _2, it is possible to calculate the size of each side of the luggage 1. Therefore, in this case, it is not necessary to provide a light receiving portion or the like. Further, FIG. 13 shows a case where two parallel laser beams A and B are irradiated, but the number of laser beams is not limited to this, and the distance between the respective laser beams. If it is known, three or more laser beams may be irradiated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the handy terminal type dimension measuring apparatus 100c as shown in the second embodiment is provided with a laser pointer (not shown) for irradiating parallel laser beams A and B. May be. In this case, it is preferable to provide a laser pointer or the like for irradiating laser beams A and B in parallel on both sides of a CCD camera (not shown) provided at the tip of the dimension measuring device 100c. Thereby, the laser beams A and B can be irradiated in the same direction as the direction imaged by the CCD camera. Again as in FIG 13, it is possible to calculate the size of each side of the package 1 by using the laser light A, the distance D ₂ between B. In this example, the upper surface 4 is irradiated with the laser beams A and B, but the laser beams A and B may be irradiated onto different surfaces.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, as the projection means 40b, regardless of the distance to be projected, it is also possible to use those projected as a reference pattern line 10b or the like having a predetermined length dimension D _3. In this case, as shown in FIG. 15, by setting the projection means 40b to be parallel to the upper surface 4 of the luggage 1 on which the line 10b is projected, the distance between the projection means 40 and the upper surface 4 is on the upper surface 4. regardless, the line 10b having a certain length D ₃ is to be projected on. Therefore, by capturing the package 1 including the upper surface 4 on which the line 10b is projected with the CCD camera 20, the dimensions of each side of the package 1 can be calculated by the same method as described above. Further, as a reference pattern, instead of the line 10b, a circle having a constant diameter or a cross line having a constant length dimension may be projected regardless of the projected distance.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of the dimension measuring apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the dimension measuring apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the projection to the image plane of a measuring object. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the processing operation of a dimension measuring apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the vertex and marker of a measuring object are extracted from an image plane. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating how to obtain | require a space scale. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the projection to the image plane of a measuring object. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of the dimension measuring apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the dimension measuring apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of the dimension measuring apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the dimension measuring apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the projection to the image plane of a measuring object. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of the dimension measuring apparatus provided with the projection means to irradiate the parallel laser beam. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows another example of the dimension measuring apparatus provided with the projection means to irradiate the parallel laser beam. It is a schematic explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of a reference | standard pattern.

Explanation of symbols

1 Luggage (object to be measured)
2 Reference scale 3 Marker 4 Upper surface 5 Front surface 6 Side surface 7 Invoice (pattern)
8 One-dimensional barcode 9 Two-dimensional barcode 10, 10a, 10b Reference pattern 20, 20a Imaging means (CCD camera)
30 Computer 33 Image processing unit (image processing means)
31a Dimension calculation means 40, 40a, 40b Projection means 41 Laser pointer 100, 100a, 100b, 100c Dimensional measuring apparatus I Image plane

Claims (12)

In the dimension measuring method for measuring the dimension of each side of the measurement object having a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
Placing a reference scale indicating a reference length on the surface of the measurement object or on an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object;
The entire measurement object and the reference scale are accommodated, and two or more surfaces of the measurement object are photographed to generate one image,
Extract the vertex of the measurement object and the reference scale from the generated image,
Obtaining parameters of position / posture and dimensions of the measurement object in a three-dimensional space from the two-dimensional coordinates of the extracted vertex on the image plane;
Using the reference scale, a space scale that is a ratio of the distance in the real space and the distance in the three-dimensional space is obtained,
A dimension measuring method, wherein a dimension of each side of the measurement object is calculated based on the scale of the space and the parameter.   The dimension measuring method according to claim 1, wherein the reference scale includes two or more markers whose distances between the markers are known.   The dimension measuring method according to claim 1, wherein the reference scale includes a pattern having a known dimension. In the dimension measuring method for measuring the dimension of each side of the measurement object having a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
Projecting a reference pattern of known dimensions on the surface of the measurement object or on an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object;
The entire measurement object and the reference pattern are accommodated and two or more surfaces of the measurement object are photographed to generate one image,
Extracting the vertex of the measurement object and the reference pattern from the generated image,
Obtaining parameters of position / posture and dimensions of the measurement object in a three-dimensional space from the two-dimensional coordinates of the extracted vertex on the image plane;
Using the reference scale, a space scale that is a ratio of the distance in the real space and the distance in the three-dimensional space is obtained,
A dimension measuring method, wherein a dimension of each side of the measurement object is calculated based on the scale of the space and the parameter. In a dimension measuring device that measures the dimensions of each side of a rectangular parallelepiped measurement object,
An imaging means for imaging an image including a reference scale indicating a reference length arranged in advance on the measurement object and the surface of the measurement object or on an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object;
Image processing means for extracting the vertex of the measurement object and the reference scale from the image picked up by the image pickup means;
From the extracted two-dimensional coordinates of the vertex on the image plane, parameters of the position / posture and dimensions of the measurement object in the three-dimensional space are obtained, and the distance in the real space and the three-dimensional space are calculated using the reference scale. Dimension measurement, comprising: a dimension calculation unit that obtains a scale of a space that is a ratio to a distance in the object and calculates a dimension of each side of the measurement object based on the scale of the space and the parameter apparatus.   The dimension measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the reference scale includes two or more markers whose distances between the markers are known.   The dimension measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the reference scale includes a pattern whose dimensions are known. In a dimension measuring device that measures the dimensions of each side of a rectangular parallelepiped measurement object,
Projecting means for projecting a reference pattern of known dimensions;
Imaging means for capturing an image including the reference pattern projected by the projection means on the measurement object and the surface of the measurement object or on an extended plane of the surface of the measurement object;
Image processing means for extracting the vertex of the measurement object and the reference pattern from the image picked up by the image pickup means;
From the extracted two-dimensional coordinates of the vertex on the image plane, parameters of the position / posture and dimensions of the measurement object in the three-dimensional space are obtained, and the distance in the real space and the three-dimensional space are calculated using the reference scale. Dimension measurement, comprising: a dimension calculation unit that obtains a scale of a space that is a ratio to a distance in the object and calculates a dimension of each side of the measurement object based on the scale of the space and the parameter apparatus.   The dimension measuring apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the projection unit irradiates a plurality of laser beams in parallel. In the dimension measuring device according to any one of claims 5 to 9,
A dimension measuring apparatus comprising: a display unit that displays an image captured by the imaging unit; and a specifying unit that specifies the measurement object from the image displayed on the display unit.   11. The dimension measuring apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image pickup means is a CCD camera or a CMOS camera.   11. The dimension measurement according to claim 5, wherein the imaging means is a CCD camera, and the CCD camera has a function of reading a one-dimensional barcode and / or a two-dimensional barcode. apparatus.

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