JP2004088481A - Camera system and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera system whereby a photographed moving picture before and after the detection of a fault of a supervisory object can quickly and easily be viewed even from a remote place and to provide a control method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The supervisory camera system uses a ring buffer to store newest images for a prescribed time among photographed images of the supervisory object (S503). The supervisory camera system detects a fault of the supervisory object as a trigger (S504) and transfers images for a prescribed time before and after the detection among the images stored in the ring buffer to a remote unit such as a PHS terminal depending on the detection (S511). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a camera device such as a monitoring camera having a communication function and a control method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a surveillance camera connected with a sensor for detecting a change in a monitoring target has been known. A surveillance camera to which such a sensor is connected is described in JP-A-10-191305. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-28234 discloses a surveillance camera system that transmits image data to a surveillance center via a communication line using a surveillance camera connected to a sensor.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional surveillance camera or surveillance camera system, the captured moving images before and after the change of the monitoring target is detected by the sensor cannot be quickly viewed as needed.
[0004]
Also, for example, when an individual user monitors a home using a surveillance camera, when there is a change in the monitoring target, there is a request that a user in a remote place wants to easily view the moving image at that time. there were.
[0005]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera device and a control method therefor that can quickly and easily view captured images before and after detecting a change in a monitoring target even in a remote place.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, for example, a camera device according to the present invention is a camera device provided with a communication unit that communicates with a predetermined remote device. Storing means for storing the image of the object to be monitored, and, in response to a detection signal when a change in the monitoring target is detected, of the images stored in the storing means, Transfer means for transferring the data to the device.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0008]
(Constitution)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a surveillance camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0009]
Here, as an example, a case will be described in which a PHS (Personal Handy Phone System) is used as a wireless medium of public wireless communication for a monitoring camera.
[0010]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a public network, and reference numerals 102, 103, 104, and 105 denote communication lines connected to the public network 101. Reference numerals 106 and 107 denote wireless base stations that accommodate the communication lines 102 and 105 and perform wireless communication with the wireless communication terminal 112 and the monitoring camera device 110, respectively. Reference numeral 108 denotes a mail server, 109 denotes a content server, 110 denotes a monitoring camera device having a wireless communication function, 111 denotes a sensor connected to the monitoring camera device 110, and 112 denotes a wireless communication terminal (PHS terminal). In the present embodiment, the content server 109 and the wireless communication terminal 112 function as remote devices for the monitoring camera device 110.
[0011]
The wireless communication terminal 112 has a mail communication function, a browser function for browsing a homepage and the like, and opens a moving image file sent as an attached file of an e-mail to view a moving image, and also sees moving image data incorporated in the homepage. Video playback function.
[0012]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the monitoring camera device 110.
[0013]
2, reference numeral 201 denotes a monitoring camera device main unit; 202, an RF unit for transmitting and receiving; 203, an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves; 204, a modem for modulating transmission data and demodulation of reception data; A transmission processing unit that performs transmission signal processing from layer 1 to layer 3, 206 is a reception processing unit that performs reception signal processing from layer 1 to layer 3 of PHS communication, and 207 is a data error when performing data communication in PHS communication. This is a PIAFS processing unit that performs detection and retransmission processing.
[0014]
Reference numeral 208 denotes a lens; 209, an image input processing unit that processes image pickup input to the lens 208 as an image input signal and converts it into digital image data; 210, a buffer memory that temporarily stores image data; I do. That is, the image data is repeatedly stored from the head address of the buffer to the end address. Also, the capacity can be appropriately increased or decreased with the maximum capacity as an upper limit. As a result, the surveillance camera device 110 always accumulates the latest image for a predetermined time.
[0015]
211 is an image signal compression processing unit for compressing image data, 212 is a memory for storing compressed image data and various file data, 213 is a data processing unit for performing various processing of image data, and 214 is an e-mail processing Is a data communication processing unit that performs a process of uploading a file to a server (for example, the content server 109).
[0016]
Reference numeral 216 denotes a sensor IF connector for connecting the external sensor 111; 217, an external sensor interface (IF) unit for detecting a trigger signal sent from the external sensor 111 and notifying each unit; and 218, an auxiliary storage medium. 219 is a memory card IF unit for performing various interface processing with the memory card, 220 is an operation unit for performing various settings and the like, 221 is a display unit for performing various displays, and 222 is a display unit for performing various displays. It is a control unit that controls each unit.
[0017]
(Various settings for the trigger signal from the sensor)
The monitoring camera device 110 according to the present embodiment transfers an image captured at a predetermined time before and after the detection to the wireless communication terminal 112 or the content server 109 as a remote device, triggered by the detection of the sensor 111. For such shooting and transfer operations, operation settings can be made in advance. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation setting process of the monitoring camera device 110 according to the embodiment.
[0018]
Various operation settings are usually made based on the input of the operation unit 220, and setting conditions and the like are displayed on the display unit 221. Note that a predetermined default value is set in advance for various settings.
[0019]
The control unit 222 analyzes the setting operation of the operation unit 220, sequentially controls the display unit 221 to perform necessary display, and stores the setting information in the memory 212. The setting information may be stored in a new memory such as an EEPROM, which is newly provided.
[0020]
First, in step S401, the operation unit 220 transmits the moving image data to the PHS terminal 112, for example, as an attached file of an e-mail according to SMTP using the mail server 108, or transfers (uploads) to the content server 109 by, for example, FTP. It is set whether or not to perform (step S401).
[0021]
Next, the transfer destination information of the transfer destination remote device, that is, the mail address of the remote device to which the image data is transferred (the address of the content server 109 in the case of the FTP file transfer, the designation of the storage destination directory, etc.) is specified ( Step S402). Next, it is determined whether or not the memory card is connected to the memory card IF connector 218 (step S403). If the memory card is connected, the process proceeds to step S404 to send the moving image data by mail (or to the content server 109). After uploading, a setting is made as to whether or not the data is to be stored in the memory card, and then the process proceeds to step S405. If it is determined in step S403 that no memory card is connected, the process proceeds directly to step S405.
[0022]
As described above, the monitoring camera device 110 according to the present embodiment uses the detection of the sensor 111 as a trigger to transfer images captured before and after the detection to the wireless communication terminal 112 or the content server 109 as a remote device. However, in step S405, the time length of an image to be transferred to the remote device can be set. Specifically, the time length before and after the detection of the sensor 111 in the image transferred to the remote device is set. Next, after the first trigger detection from the sensor 111 and the corresponding processing, the number of times the trigger signal is detected and processed is set, or the number of times (step S406).
[0023]
Next, in step S407, it is determined whether the number set in step S406 is, for example, two or more (step S407). Here, if the number is two or more, the process proceeds to step S408; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S409. In step S408, each time the trigger signal is detected, the time length before and after the detection of the sensor 111 in the image transferred to the remote device is set. As described above, the time length of the image to be transferred can be set for each detection of the trigger signal, so that the convenience is increased.
[0024]
When the above setting is completed, all the setting contents are sequentially checked on the display unit 221 (step S409). If the setting contents are correct, the setting is registered based on the input of the operation unit 220 (step S410). If the settings are not satisfied in step S409, the process returns to step S401 and the settings can be made again.
[0025]
(Monitoring operation)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the monitoring operation of the monitoring camera device 110 according to the embodiment.
[0026]
First, when the start of the monitoring operation is set by the operation unit 220 (step S501), the control unit 222 determines the time length before and after the first trigger signal detection in the image to be transferred according to the registered setting contents. The required capacity of the buffer memory (that is, the ring buffer length) is calculated and assigned to the buffer memory 210 (step S502). Then, shooting is started, and the image input processing unit 209 sequentially stores moving image data in the buffer memory 210 (step S503).
[0027]
When the external sensor IF unit 217 detects a trigger signal from the sensor (step S504), the control unit 222 is notified of the fact. The control unit 222 stops the processing of the image input processing unit 209 after the set photographing time has elapsed after the detection of the trigger signal (step S505). The image signal compression processing unit 211 performs compression encoding processing on image data in the buffer memory 210 for a predetermined time before and after the detection of the trigger signal set in FIG. 4 and temporarily stores the image data in the memory 212 (step S506).
[0028]
Next, the control unit 222 instructs the data processing unit 213 to perform a corresponding process by setting whether to transmit the moving image data by e-mail or upload it to a server (for example, the content server 109) (step S507). The data processing unit 213 converts the moving image data temporarily stored in the memory 212 into data of a moving image file in a required format, and stores the data in the memory 212 (step S508).
[0029]
Next, a call is made to a necessary connection destination in accordance with the setting of sending an e-mail or uploading to a server, and a wireless line is connected (step S509). When the wireless line is connected, it is determined based on the setting whether to transmit e-mail or upload to the server based on the setting (step S510). In the case of transmitting e-mail, the processing of the mail processing unit 214 is performed (step S511), and upload to the server In the case of, processing is performed by the data communication processing unit 215 (step S512). When the above processing is completed, the wireless line is disconnected. (Step S513).
[0030]
Next, the control unit 222 checks whether or not a memory card is connected (step S514). If the memory card is connected, the moving image data is transmitted to a mail or uploaded to a server, and then stored in the memory card. In accordance with the setting of whether or not (step S515), if it is set to save, the moving image data stored in the memory 212 is written to the memory card (step S516).
[0031]
Next, the control unit 222 checks whether or not the number of times the trigger signal is detected and processed is set to two or more times (step S517). The process proceeds to step S518, and if not, the process ends.
[0032]
In step S518, it is checked how many times the sensor has detected the trigger, and if it is necessary to restart the shooting, the shooting time before the trigger detection and the shooting time after the detection at the time of detection of the trigger signal for each number are determined. Similarly, the necessary capacity of the buffer memory is calculated according to the setting information, and is assigned to the buffer memory 210. Then, in step S519, shooting is restarted. Thereafter, the process returns to step S518 and repeats the process until the shooting end condition is satisfied in step S520.
[0033]
In step S520, it is checked how many times the sensor has detected the trigger, and if the number of times has reached the set number, the photographing is ended. That is, the transfer process to the remote device is limited to a preset number. According to such control, since the photographing operation is not repeated more than the set number of times, even if the sensor detects an abnormal state many times more than the set value, unnecessary photographing is prevented and unnecessary. Email transmission and upload to the server can be prohibited.
[0034]
As described above, the monitoring camera device 110 according to the embodiment responds to the detection signal from the sensor that detects the abnormality of the monitoring target (using the detection signal as a trigger), and selects the trigger of the image stored in the buffer memory 210. Images for a predetermined time before and after the time are transferred to the wireless communication terminal 112. Thus, the state before and after the time when the abnormality has occurred in the monitoring target can be quickly and easily confirmed by the wireless communication terminal 112 at the remote place.
[0035]
Further, the transfer destination of the moving image may be a server such as the content server 109 instead of the wireless communication terminal 112. In this case, the user can access the server using the wireless communication terminal 112 as needed and browse the moving image.
[0036]
In addition, the surveillance camera device 110 according to the embodiment can transfer the above-described moving image to the wireless communication terminal 112 or the content server 109, and further store the moving image in a memory card as an auxiliary storage medium. In this case, for example, even if a failure occurs in the transfer destination server, it is possible to prevent the moving image data from being lost. That is, the memory card can be used as a backup recording medium.
[0037]
(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the PHS is used as a medium for wireless communication, but the present invention can be applied to other wireless communication media in the same manner.
[0038]
Further, the above-described surveillance camera device has an external sensor connected thereto. However, the surveillance camera device may have a built-in human sensor inside the surveillance camera device.
[0039]
In the above-described surveillance camera device, a removable memory card is used as an auxiliary storage device. However, it is a matter of course that a configuration in which a flash memory or the like is built in the surveillance camera device may be used instead.
[0040]
Note that the surveillance camera device according to the above-described embodiment stores image data from the image input processing unit 209 in the buffer memory 210 in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, but as shown in FIG. The image signal compression processing unit 211 is arranged in front of the buffer memory 210, and the image data compression processing unit 211 performs image data compression processing in real time while shooting a moving image, and sequentially stores the image data in the buffer memory 210. There may be.
[0041]
Further, the configuration of the monitoring camera device described above may be a device including one device or a system configuration including a plurality of devices (for example, an imaging device and an image processing device).
[0042]
According to the present invention, a software program (a program corresponding to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer of the system or the apparatus is provided. Is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program.
[0043]
Therefore, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the claims of the present invention also include the computer program itself for implementing the functional processing of the present invention.
[0044]
In this case, any form of the program, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, and script data supplied to the OS, is applicable as long as the program has the function of the program.
[0045]
Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program include a flexible disk, an optical disk (CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, etc.), a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, a memory card, and the like.
[0046]
In addition, the method of supplying the program includes a mode in which the program of the present invention is obtained by file transfer via the Internet.
[0047]
Further, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed to users, and a user who clears predetermined conditions is caused to obtain key information for decrypting via the Internet, It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer to realize the program.
[0048]
The functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented when the computer executes the read program, and the OS or the like running on the computer executes a part or a part of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program. The entire process is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by the processing.
[0049]
Furthermore, after the program read from the storage medium is written into the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or the The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing also realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the photographic image before and behind when the change of the monitoring target is detected can be seen quickly and easily even in a remote place.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a surveillance camera system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a surveillance camera device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the monitoring camera device.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation setting process of the monitoring camera device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a monitoring operation of the monitoring camera device according to the embodiment.

Claims (10)

A camera device comprising communication means for communicating with a predetermined remote device,
A storage unit for storing the latest image for a predetermined time among the captured images of the monitoring target;
Transfer means for transferring, to the remote device, images taken before and after the detection, of the images stored in the storage means, in accordance with a detection signal when detecting a change in the monitoring target.
A camera device comprising: 2. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit compresses an information amount of an image captured during the predetermined time at the time of the detection and transfers the compressed information amount to the remote device. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores, using a ring buffer, a latest image of a captured monitoring target image for a predetermined time. 4. The camera device according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary storage unit that stores the image transferred by the transfer unit for backup. 5. The camera device according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit that sets a time length of an image transferred by the transfer unit. The camera device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a limiting unit that limits the number of transfer processes performed by the transfer unit. 7. The camera device according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit that sets respective time lengths before and after the detection in the image transferred by the transfer unit. A control method of a camera device including a communication unit that communicates with a predetermined remote device,
An accumulation step of accumulating, in a memory, a latest image for a predetermined period of time in the captured monitoring target image;
In response to the detection of the change of the monitoring target, of the images stored in the memory, the image captured before and after the detection, a transfer step of transferring to the remote device,
A method for controlling a camera device, comprising: A program for controlling a camera device having communication means for communicating with a predetermined remote device,
An accumulation step of accumulating, in a memory, a latest image for a predetermined period of time in the captured monitoring target image;
In response to the detection of the change in the monitoring target, of the images stored in the memory, a transfer step of transferring images captured before and after the detection to the remote device,
A program that executes A storage medium storing the program according to claim 9.

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