JP2008154100A - Imaging apparatus, server, control program therefor, computer readable recording medium which records the control program, event management system and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To promptly and intelligibly notify a proper browsing terminal of occurrence of an event without causing traffic load of a network. <P>SOLUTION: This imaging apparatus is provided with: an event related information processing part 13 which generates event summary information and an event video image from a photographed video image; a camera side event information transmitting part 21 which transmits the event summary information with an event ID imparted thereto by an event identifier imparting part 18 to one or more event browsing terminals 4; a camera side request receiving part 23 which receives a request signal including the event ID to the event selected by one or more event browsing terminals 4; an event video image extraction part 24 which extracts data about event video images according to individual event IDs from a camera side event related information storage part 17 and a camera side event video image transmitting part 25 which transmits the extracted data about the event video images to the corresponding event browsing terminals 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, a server, a control program therefor, and a control program for detecting a change in the movement of an object or a person from a video photographed by a camera and notifying a browsing terminal such as a server or a mobile phone via a network. The present invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded, an event management system, and a control method.

  Conventionally, monitoring systems for the purpose of monitoring crimes and accidents have been widely used. For example, as the above monitoring system, an event in which a plurality of cameras are connected via a network, abnormalities and suspicious states are detected by video information or infrared sensors, etc., and an abnormality is reported to a central monitoring center or a viewing terminal such as a mobile phone There is a management system.

  However, in such an event management system used for crime prevention, information related to the movement or change (hereinafter referred to as an event) of monitored objects such as people and cars obtained from (detected) images taken by a camera is viewed. When notifying the terminal, the following points are important.

  That is, when the event management system is used for crime prevention purposes, it is necessary to promptly notify the viewing terminal of an event that is determined to be an abnormality detected from video captured by the camera. If you can quickly notify the viewing terminal of the abnormality, you can respond quickly to the abnormality, so it is important to notify the viewing terminal of the abnormality promptly, that is, to promptly notify the event. Become.

  In this regard, for example, in Patent Document 1, an index image, which is a low-frequency image created by wavelet change, is created from video information recorded corresponding to the detection of a sensor in a bank ATM or the like, and only the index image is viewed Disclosed is a remote image monitoring apparatus that realizes quick and efficient monitoring image transfer processing by transmitting information for transferring a wide area image in response to a request from the display apparatus. Yes.

  In addition, when an event is detected by multiple cameras at the same time in an event management system, information representing the event (video, etc.) is sent to the network, so traffic can be efficiently used for prompt notification of events. It is important to use it.

In this regard, for example, in Patent Document 2, a surveillance camera is provided with a feature detection unit that detects features such as the size and movement of a monitoring target, and a monitoring video is displayed on a display device on the viewing terminal side according to the priority of the content of the feature. There has been disclosed a surveillance camera system capable of performing appropriate monitoring without changing traffic of a plurality of networks by switching the priority of transmission.
JP 2000-125283 A (published April 28, 2000) JP 2000-333159 A (published on November 30, 2000)

  In recent years, crimes in public spaces such as parks, parking lots, and children's school roads are increasing. For this reason, the need for crime prevention in these public spaces is increasing, and efforts are being made to install cameras in public spaces and to monitor these public spaces in cooperation with local residents. In the usage scene as described above, when monitoring is performed by the event management system, there are a plurality of browsing terminals.

  In other words, in a system with a plurality of viewing terminals, the information to be notified may be different for each viewing terminal, and the necessary information out of the event information and event video generated by each camera is loaded on traffic. It is necessary to notify a suitable browsing terminal quickly and clearly without making a call.

  However, the event management system disclosed in either of Patent Documents 1 and 2 does not assume a plurality of viewing terminals and cannot easily report event information to an appropriate viewing terminal. Have.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to load a network traffic in an event management system that detects an event from a video captured by a camera and notifies a viewing terminal. Imaging apparatus, server, control program thereof, computer-readable recording medium recording the control program, event management system, and control method The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, an imaging device of the present invention is an imaging device connected to a plurality of browsing terminals on a network, and detects an event that is a motion or change of an object from a captured video. Event-related information processing means for generating event summary information that is information obtained by extracting feature points of the event based on the event, and event video that is a video portion corresponding to the event in the captured video, and the event Event identifier assigning means for assigning an event identifier which is an identifier for identifying the event to the summary information, an event video storage unit for storing the event video data, and one or more event summary information to which the event identifier is assigned First event related information transmitting means for transmitting to the viewing terminal, and 1 based on the event summary information First request receiving means for receiving from the viewing terminal a request signal for an event video including an event identifier for the selected event created by selecting an event at the viewing terminal, and transmitting from the viewing terminal Event video extraction means for extracting event video data corresponding to the individual event identifiers from the event video storage unit, and event video data extracted by the event video extraction means to the corresponding viewing terminal And a first event video transmission means for transmitting.

  The control method of the present invention is a method for controlling an imaging device connected to a plurality of browsing terminals on a network in order to solve the above-described problem, from an image captured by an event-related information processing unit, Event video that corresponds to the event summary information, which is information obtained by detecting an event that is a motion or change of the object and extracts the feature points of the event based on the event, and the video portion corresponding to the event in the captured video An event-related information processing step for generating the event identifier, an event identifier assigning means for assigning an event identifier that is an identifier for identifying the event to the event summary information, and an event video storage unit for storing the event video data The event video storage process stored in the first event related information transmitting means One or more viewing terminals based on the event summary information by a first event-related information transmitting step for transmitting event summary information to which an event identifier is assigned to one or more viewing terminals and a first request receiving unit. The first request receiving step of receiving from the viewing terminal a request signal for an event video that includes the event identifier for the selected event created by selecting an event from the viewing terminal, and the event video extracting means from the viewing terminal. Event video extraction process for extracting event video data corresponding to each transmitted event identifier from the event video storage unit, and event video extracted by the event video extraction process by the first event video transmission means A first event video transmission step of transmitting data to the corresponding browsing terminal; It is characterized in Mukoto.

  According to the above invention, the event summary information obtained by extracting the feature points of the event in the photographed video and the event video that is the video portion corresponding to the event are obtained by the event related information processing means, and the event summary information is transmitted to the viewing terminal. When the event video request signal is received from the viewing terminal, the event video is transmitted from the imaging device to the viewing terminal, so that it is not necessary to transmit an event video that does not need to be viewed on the viewing terminal. Therefore, it is not necessary to put a load on the network traffic. Further, since the event summary information is obtained by extracting the feature points of the event, it is possible to notify the occurrence of the event quickly and easily.

  Furthermore, since the event identifier assigned by the event identifier assigning means is included in the event video information transmitted from the viewing terminal to the event summary information transmitted from the imaging device to the viewing terminal, the plurality of viewing terminals Even when there is a request for a different event video, event video data corresponding to the request from each viewing terminal is extracted from the event video storage unit by the event video extraction unit according to the event identifier, and the first It can be transmitted by the event video transmission means. That is, it becomes possible to notify the occurrence of an event to an appropriate browsing terminal. As a result, it is possible to quickly and easily notify the occurrence of an event to an appropriate browsing terminal without imposing a load on the network traffic.

  Furthermore, in the imaging apparatus of the present invention, the event summary information is further connected to the plurality of browsing terminals via a server on the network, and the first event related information transmitting means is provided with the event identifier. To the one or more browsing terminals via the server, the first request receiving means receives the request signal from the one or more browsing terminals directly or via the server, and Preferably, the one-event video transmission means transmits the event video data directly or via the server to the corresponding browsing terminal.

  As a result, data is exchanged between the imaging device and the viewing terminal via the server, so that the server can manage data exchange between the imaging device and the viewing terminal. Become. Therefore, for example, when a request signal for an event video is transmitted to the imaging device from a viewing terminal that is inappropriate as a transmission destination of the event video from the imaging device, the server does not transmit the request signal to the imaging device. It is also possible to do. That is, it is possible to enhance the security of event video data transmitted from the imaging apparatus.

  In the imaging device of the present invention, the imaging device has an imaging device identifier that is an identifier for uniquely identifying the device on the network, and the first event related information transmission unit includes In addition to the event summary information to which the event identifier is assigned, it is preferable that the imaging device identifier is transmitted to one or more viewing terminals.

  As a result, even when another imaging device is connected to the network, it is possible to specify which imaging device was the imaging device that transmitted the event summary information by the imaging device identifier on the viewing terminal side. Therefore, the request signal for the event video from the viewing terminal side can be appropriately received by the imaging device.

  Further, in the imaging device of the present invention, the event summary information includes at least the occurrence time of the event, the type of the detected object, the moving direction of the object in the event, the start time of the event, and the event It is preferable to include information on either the end time or the type of movement of the object in the event.

  Thereby, before transmitting the event video from the imaging device to the viewing terminal, at least the occurrence time of the event, the type of the detected object, the moving direction of the object in the event, the start time of the event, the event It is possible to notify either of the end time or the type of movement of the object in the event.

  The imaging apparatus of the present invention further includes a transmission list storage unit that acquires and stores in advance transmission permission / prohibition information, which is information regarding whether or not event video can be transmitted to the plurality of viewing terminals, from the server. Preferably, the one-event video transmission means transmits event video data to the viewing terminal based on the transmission permission / inhibition information stored in the transmission list storage unit.

  Thus, when the first event video transmission means transmits the event video to the viewing terminal, the transmission is performed based on the information on whether or not the event video can be transmitted to the plurality of viewing terminals stored in the transmission list storage unit. It is possible to transmit an event video only when permission is granted. Accordingly, since event video data is not transmitted to an unknown viewing terminal, it is possible to improve the security of event video data transmitted from the imaging apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the server of the present invention is a server connected to the imaging device and the plurality of browsing terminals on the network, and stores the correspondence relationship between the imaging device and the plurality of browsing terminals. The event feature that is given an event identifier that is an identifier for identifying an event that is a motion or change of an object in an image captured by the imaging device from the notification destination storage unit and the imaging device. The event summary information is transmitted to one or more viewing terminals based on the correspondence relationship stored in the notification destination storage unit and the event related information receiving means for receiving the event summary information that is information extracted from The above selection made by selecting each event on the second event related information transmitting means and one or more of the viewing terminals based on the event summary information A second request receiving means for receiving an event video request signal including an event identifier for the received event from the viewing terminal, and the request signal based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit, Request signal transmitting means for transmitting to the imaging device, event video data corresponding to an event identifier included in the request signal, event video receiving means for receiving from the imaging device, and event video data, And a second event video transmission unit configured to transmit to a corresponding viewing terminal based on the correspondence relationship stored in the notification destination storage unit.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the control method of the present invention is a method for controlling a server connected to an imaging device and a plurality of viewing terminals on a network, the imaging device, the plurality of viewing terminals, The event that is the motion or change of the object in the video imaged by the imaging device from the imaging device by the notification destination storage step of storing the correspondence relationship in the notification destination storage unit and the event related information receiving means The event destination information is received by the event related information receiving step for receiving the event summary information, which is the information obtained by extracting the feature points of the event, and the second event related information transmitting means is provided. A second event-related information transmitter that transmits the event summary information to one or more viewing terminals based on the correspondence relationship stored in the section And an event video request signal including an event identifier for the selected event, which is generated by the second request receiving means by selecting an event at each of the one or more viewing terminals based on the event summary information. A request signal for transmitting the request signal to the imaging device based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit by a second request receiving step received from the browsing terminal and a request signal transmitting unit The event video data corresponding to the event identifier included in the request signal is transmitted from the imaging device by the transmission step, the event video reception unit, and the second event video transmission unit receives the event video data. Based on the correspondence relationship stored in the notification destination storage unit, the event video data is stored in the corresponding browsing terminal. It is characterized in that it comprises a second event image transmission step of transmitting to.

  According to the above-described invention, event summary information obtained by extracting feature points of an event in a captured video is received from the imaging device by the event related information receiving unit, and the imaging device stored in the notification destination storage unit and a plurality of browsing Based on the correspondence relationship with the terminal, the second event related information transmitting means transmits the event summary information to one or more of the viewing terminals. After the event summary information is transmitted to the imaging device, the event video request signal is transmitted from the request signal transmission unit to the imaging device only when the second request receiving unit receives the event video request signal from the viewing terminal. Then, the event video is received by the event video receiving means from the imaging device, and the event video is transmitted to the viewing terminal by the second event video sending means based on the correspondence, so that the event video that does not need to be browsed by the viewing terminal is transmitted. You do not have to send Therefore, it is not necessary to put a load on the network traffic. Further, since the event summary information is obtained by extracting the feature points of the event, it is possible to notify the occurrence of the event quickly and easily.

  Further, since the server of the present invention mediates and transmits event information and event video from the imaging device to the viewing terminal based on the correspondence relationship between the imaging device stored in the notification destination storage unit and the plurality of viewing terminals, Event information transmitted from a specific imaging device can be transmitted to an appropriate viewing terminal corresponding to the event information, and an event video can be transmitted to an appropriate viewing terminal requested from the imaging device. That is, it becomes possible to notify the occurrence of an event to an appropriate browsing terminal. As a result, it is possible to quickly and easily notify the occurrence of an event to an appropriate browsing terminal without imposing a load on the network traffic.

  Furthermore, in the server of the present invention, each of the event summary information storage unit that stores the event summary information that is received by the event related information receiving unit and that is assigned the event identifier, and the event summary information storage unit A non-sent event summary information determining unit that periodically determines whether the event summary information has not been transmitted to the viewing terminal; and the second event related information transmitting unit includes the unsent Based on the determination by the event summary information determination means, the event summary information not yet transmitted to the viewing terminal is read out of the information stored in the event summary information storage unit, and the correspondence relationship stored in the notification destination storage unit is read. It is preferable to transmit the untransmitted event summary information to the corresponding browsing terminal.

  As a result, instead of notifying the viewing terminal every time the event summary information is received, among the event summary information periodically stored in the event summary information storage unit, the event summary that has not been sent to the viewing terminal The information is determined by the unsent event summary information determining unit, and the second event related information transmitting unit reads the unsent event summary information from the event summary information storage unit and notifies the browsing terminal. This is effective for monitoring and crime prevention that do not require a relatively urgent need.

  By the way, the imaging device and the server may be realized by hardware or may be realized by causing a computer to execute a program. Specifically, the control program according to the present invention is a program that causes a computer to operate as the imaging device or the server, and the program is recorded in the recording medium according to the present invention.

  When these control programs are executed by a computer, the computer operates as the imaging device or the server. Therefore, similarly to the imaging device or the server, it is possible to quickly and easily notify an appropriate browsing terminal of the occurrence of an event without imposing a load on the network traffic.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an event management system according to the present invention includes any one of the imaging devices described above and a plurality of browsing terminals connected on a network.

  According to the above invention, in an event management system for detecting an event from video captured by a camera and notifying the browsing terminal, the occurrence of the event can be quickly and easily understood by an appropriate browsing terminal without imposing a load on the network traffic. Allows notification.

  In the event management system of the present invention, it is preferable that any one of the above servers is connected on a network in addition to the imaging device and the plurality of browsing terminals.

  As a result, data is exchanged between the imaging device and the viewing terminal via the server, so that the server can manage data exchange between the imaging device and the viewing terminal. Become. Therefore, for example, when a request signal for an event video is transmitted to the imaging device from a viewing terminal that is inappropriate as a transmission destination of the event video from the imaging device, the server does not transmit the request signal to the imaging device. It is also possible to do. That is, it is possible to increase the security of the event video transmitted from the imaging device.

  In the event management system of the present invention, the imaging device inquires of the server whether the event video can be transmitted to the viewing terminal after receiving the request signal by the first request signal receiving means. Event video transmission availability confirmation means is further provided, and the server is stored in the notification destination storage unit in response to an inquiry about whether or not event video transmission to the viewing terminal is transmitted from the imaging device. An event video transmission availability determination unit that determines whether or not event video data can be transmitted to the viewing terminal with reference to the correspondence relationship, and the imaging apparatus according to the determination result received from the server The event video data is transmitted to the viewing terminal directly or via the server by the first event video transmission means. It is preferred.

  As a result, when the event video request signal from the viewing terminal is received by the first request signal receiving means of the imaging apparatus, the event video transmission availability confirmation means of the imaging apparatus makes an inquiry about whether or not the event video transmission is possible. In response to the determination result obtained by referring to the notification destination storage unit in which the correspondence relationship between the imaging device and the plurality of viewing terminals is stored by the event video transmission availability determination unit. Since the event video data is transmitted from the event video transmission means to the viewing terminal, the event video data is transmitted from the imaging device to the viewing terminal not corresponding to the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit. It is possible to prevent this from happening. Accordingly, since event video data is not transmitted to an unknown viewing terminal, it is possible to improve the security of event video data to be communicated.

  In the event management system of the present invention, it is preferable that the network includes an ad hoc network that autonomously constructs a communication network among a plurality of constituent terminals.

  As a result, even in an environment where the ad hoc network is not robust, data that is lighter than event video such as event summary information is exchanged first, and larger data such as event video is exchanged as needed. It is possible to notify quickly without imposing a load on the network traffic.

  According to the present invention, the event summary information and the event video are obtained by the event-related information processing means, the event summary information is transmitted to the viewing terminal before the event video, and the event video request signal is received from the viewing terminal. Only when the event video is transmitted from the imaging device to the browsing terminal, it is not necessary to transmit the event video that does not need to be browsed on the browsing terminal. Furthermore, even when there are different event video requests from a plurality of viewing terminals, according to the event identifier included in the event summary information notified to the viewing terminals, the requests from the individual viewing terminals are met. Event video can be extracted and transmitted to the viewing terminal. Therefore, it is possible to quickly and easily notify an appropriate browsing terminal of the occurrence of an event without imposing a load on the network traffic.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 29 as follows. In the drawings used for the following description, the same members or the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[1. System configuration and device configuration)
[1-1. About event management system)
First, the outline of the configuration of the event management system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the event management system 1 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the event management system 1 in the present embodiment includes an event management camera (imaging device) 2 that is a network camera, an event management server (server) 3, and an event browsing terminal (viewing terminal) 4. ing.

  First, one or more event management cameras 2 are provided in the event management system 1, and are for monitoring a monitoring target and detecting an event. A more detailed function of the event management camera 2 and the event will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the event management system 1 includes four event management cameras 2 (event management camera 2a, event management camera 2b, event management camera 2c, and event management camera 2d) as an example. I do.

  The event management server 3 is for collecting and accumulating events detected by the event management camera 2 and for notifying event information to an event browsing terminal 4 described later. The event browsing terminal 4 is for the user to browse event information notified from the event management camera 2 via the event management server 3, and a plurality of event browsing terminals 4 are provided in the event management system 1. The event browsing terminal 4 is for the user to browse event videos, which will be described later, transmitted from the event management camera 2 via the event management server 3. The “event” and “event information” referred to here will be described in detail later. Further, in the present embodiment, the following description will be given by taking as an example a case where the event management system 1 includes two viewing terminals 4 (viewing terminal 4a and viewing terminal 4b).

  In the event management system 1 of the present embodiment, the event management cameras 2a to 2d, the event management server 3, and the event browsing terminals 4a and 4b are connected via an ad hoc network. An ad hoc network is a network that is directly and autonomously connected to a terminal capable of wireless communication in the vicinity without using a specific network infrastructure such as a mobile phone communication network and an optical communication line. It is a wireless communication network that constructs and communicates. As one function of the ad hoc network, a mechanism called multi-hop is prepared. This is because when data is transmitted from a transmission source terminal to a transmission destination (destination) terminal, data transmission is relayed by some terminals, and data is finally transmitted to the transmission destination terminal. Is. Referring to FIG. 2, when a data transmission source terminal (for example, the event management camera 2b) wants to transmit data to a data transmission destination terminal (for example, the event management server 3), the event management camera 2b that is the transmission source terminal. If communication with the event management server 3 is not possible due to physical wireless communication capability (communication distance, etc.), the event management camera 2b itself can communicate directly with peripheral terminals (for example, the event management cameras 2a, 2c, and 2d). The terminal can be relayed and finally data communication can be performed with the event management server 3. In this way, the number of terminals capable of communication can be increased by multihop. Note that an area 5 indicated by a dotted frame in FIG. 2 indicates a range of terminals that can perform wireless communication using a mechanism such as multi-hop in the event management system 1 in the present embodiment. . Since the details of the ad hoc network are different from the gist of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted here.

  Next, the terms “object” and “event” used in the present embodiment are defined. Here, “object” and “event” will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing objects and events in the present embodiment.

  First, the “object (target object)” refers to a target object detected by image processing from continuous images to be monitored (videos captured by the event management camera 2). Specific examples are people and cars. Subsequently, “event” refers to a series of changes / motions of an object, and one event includes information such as the movement direction, movement amount, and change amount of a certain object. Information corresponding to these events is information obtained by extracting feature points of the events, and is called event information (event summary information) in the present embodiment. The event information includes, for example, the event occurrence time, the detected object type, the moving direction of the object in the event, the event start time, the event end time, or the object movement type in the event. The object in the case of FIG. 3 is an object detected by image processing in each video from time n to time n + 3, and is indicated by a dot-filled circle in FIG. Corresponds to the part. Further, the event for the object in this case refers to a series of movement processes until the object occurs in the video at time n and disappears from the video at time n + 3. The event information for the object in this case is, for example, “occurrence time = 4 seconds, object type = circular, object locus =“ left to right ””.

[1-2. About event management camera)
Next, an outline of the configuration of the event management camera 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an event management camera 2 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the event management camera 2 includes a video acquisition unit 11, a video storage unit 12, an event related information processing unit (event related information processing means) 13, and a camera side event related information storage unit (event video storage unit). 17, event identifier giving unit (event identifier giving means) 18, notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit (transmission list storage unit) 19, camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20, camera-side wireless communication unit 22, and event video extraction Section (event video extraction means) 24. The event-related information processing unit 13 includes a background image creation unit 14, an event extraction unit 15, and an event analysis unit 16. Further, the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 includes a camera-side event information transmission unit (first event-related information transmission unit) 21 and a camera-side event video transmission unit (first event video transmission unit) 25. The camera-side wireless communication unit 22 includes a camera-side request receiving unit (first request receiving unit) 23.

  First, the video acquisition unit 11 captures a video to be monitored and acquires the captured video. The video storage unit 12 records (stores) all the data of the video (acquired video) acquired by the video acquisition unit 11 in a memory, a disk, or the like.

  Subsequently, the event-related information processing unit 13 detects an object and an event from the acquired video read from the video storage unit 12 (event detection processing process), and represents an overview of the event (information obtained by extracting feature points of the event) Event information) and an event video that is a video portion corresponding to the event in the acquired video. The background image creation unit 14 creates a background image used in the event detection process. The event extraction unit 15 uses the background image created by the background image creation unit 14 to check whether there is an event to be detected and to detect an event when there is an event to be detected. is there. Then, the event analysis unit 16 creates event information and event video relating to the movement (movement) or change of the event for the detected event. Further, when creating an event video, the event analysis unit 16 appropriately reads and uses the acquired video from the video storage unit 12 as necessary. The event analysis unit 16 sends the created event information to the event identifier assigning unit 18 and also sends the created event video to the camera-side event related information storage unit 17.

  The event identifier assigning unit 18 includes, in the event information sent from the event analysis unit 16, an event identifier (event ID) that is an identifier for identifying an event corresponding to the event information, that is, an event based on which the event information is generated. ). The event identifier giving unit 18 sends event information (event information with an identifier) to which the event ID is given to the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 after giving the event ID to the event information. The camera-side event related information storage unit 17 stores event video data sent from the event analysis unit 16 and event information with identifier sent from the event identifier assigning unit 18.

  The notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19 is a notification destination browsing terminal ID that is an identifier for identifying the event browsing terminal 4 that may receive the event video received from the event management server 3 by the camera-side wireless communication unit 22. Is stored. The notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 that may transmit the event video will be described in detail later.

  Subsequently, the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 includes event information with an identifier stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 and event video data stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17. The transmission data to be transmitted to the event management server 3 or the event browsing terminal 4 is generated. The camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 also performs processing such as notification destination confirmation when transmitting the event information with an identifier and the transmission data of the event video toward the event browsing terminal 4. The camera-side event information transmission unit 21 generates transmission data based on the event information with an identifier stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 and sends the transmission data to the camera-side wireless communication unit 22. The camera-side event video transmission unit 25 generates transmission data based on the event video extracted by the event video extraction unit 24 described later from the camera-side event related information storage unit 17, and sends it to the camera-side wireless communication unit 22. To send.

  The camera-side wireless communication unit 22 performs overall communication processing in the event management camera 2. When the event management system 1 adopts an ad hoc network, the ad hoc network construction / management processing, and ad hoc It manages the network routing table. More specifically, the camera-side wireless communication unit 22 is transmitted from the camera-side event information transmission unit 21 (transmission data of event information with an identifier) and from the camera-side event video transmission unit 25. Transmission data (event video transmission data) is transmitted to the event management server 3 or the event browsing terminal 4. The camera-side request receiver 23 receives an event video request signal including an event identifier from the event management server 3 or the event browsing terminal 4. The camera-side request receiving unit 23 sends the request signal to the event video extracting unit 24.

  Then, based on the event identifier included in the request signal sent from the camera-side request receiving unit 23, the event video extraction unit 24 sends a request for the event video corresponding to the event identifier to the camera-side event related information. This is performed in the storage unit 17. The event video extraction unit 24 sends event video data corresponding to the event identifier extracted from the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 to the camera-side event video transmission unit 25 based on the event identifier. .

  In the present embodiment, the event management system 1 includes four event management cameras 2a to 2d. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number may be more or less than four. In the present embodiment, the event management system 1 is configured to include two event browsing terminals. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more event browsing terminals may be included.

[1-3. About event management server)
Next, the outline of the configuration of the event management server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the event management server 3 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the event management server 3 includes a server-side wireless communication unit 31, a server-side event information storage unit 32, a server-side event related information communication processing unit 33, and a notification destination storage unit 34. The server-side wireless communication unit 31 includes a server-side event information receiving unit 35, a server-side request receiving unit (second request receiving means) 37, and a server-side event video receiving unit 39. Further, the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 includes a server-side event information transmission unit (second event-related information transmission unit) 36, a server-side request transmission unit 38, and a server-side event video transmission unit (second event video transmission). Means) 40.

  First, the server-side wireless communication unit 31 performs overall communication processing in the event management server 3, and when the event management system 1 adopts an ad hoc network, the server side wireless communication unit 31 communicates with other terminals included in the ad hoc network. Communication and ad hoc network construction / management processing. The server-side wireless communication unit 31 will be described in more detail with reference to a server-side event information reception unit 35, a server-side request reception unit 37, and a server-side event video reception unit 39 included in the server-side wireless communication unit 31 described later. Do. The server-side event information storage unit 32 stores event information with an identifier received by the server-side event information receiving unit 35 of the server-side wireless communication unit 31.

  In addition, the notification destination storage unit 34 determines which event browsing occurs when an event occurs for each event management camera 2 included in the event management system 1, that is, the correspondence relationship between the event management camera 2 and the plurality of event browsing terminals 4. The correspondence information on whether to notify the terminal 4 is stored (managed) in a table. The list of event management cameras 2 included in the table is added when the event management camera 2 newly joins the ad hoc network, and is deleted when the event management camera 2 is removed from the ad hoc network. .

  The notification destination management table managed by the notification destination storage unit 34 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the notification destination management table of the event management server 3 in the present embodiment. In the notification destination management table in the present embodiment, for example, a camera ID (imaging device identifier), a notification destination browsing terminal ID, and camera information are stored in association with each other. Here, the camera ID and the notification destination browsing terminal ID are IDs that can uniquely identify the event management camera 2 and the event browsing terminal 4 in the ad hoc network, and this ID is a communication destination. The camera information is information for presenting the information of the event management camera 2 to the user in an easy-to-understand manner, such as the installation location of the event management camera 2, and the event browsing terminal 4 when notification (transmission) of the event information is required. Is a reference. The camera information is registered in the notification destination storage unit 34, for example, by being input at the event management server 3 every time the event management camera 2 is newly installed. The specific correspondence in the notification destination management table will be described by taking the first row of the notification destination management table in FIG. 5 as an example. The event management camera 2 with the camera ID = 0001 installed in the “parking lot rear” The event information of the event is associated with the event browsing terminal 4 with the notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01.

  Subsequently, the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 transmits the information received from the event management camera 2 or the event browsing terminal 4 through the server-side wireless communication unit 31 to the event browsing terminal 4 or the event management camera 2. Processing is performed. A more detailed description of the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 includes a server-side event information transmission unit 36, a server-side request transmission unit 38, and a server-side event video included in the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 described later. This will be described with reference to the transmission unit 40.

  The server-side event information reception unit 35 receives transmission data of event information with identifier transmitted from the event management camera 2 and stores the event information with identifier in the server-side event information storage unit 32. Then, the server-side event information transmission unit 36 reads the event information with an identifier stored in the server-side event information storage unit 32, and displays the correspondence (notification destination management table) stored in the notification destination storage unit 34. The transmission data for transmission to the event browsing terminal 4 corresponding to the correspondence relationship is generated and sent to the server-side wireless communication unit 31.

  The server-side request receiving unit 37 receives a request signal including an event identifier sent from the event browsing terminal 4, and sends the received request signal to the server-side request transmitting unit 38. is there. Then, the server-side request transmission unit 38 receives the request signal transmitted from the server-side request reception unit 37 and refers to the correspondence (notification destination management table) stored in the notification destination storage unit 34, A request signal including an event identifier to be transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 corresponding to the correspondence relationship is generated and sent to the server-side wireless communication unit 31.

  Further, the server-side event video receiving unit 39 receives event video transmission data transmitted from the event management camera 2, and sends the received event video data to the server-side event video transmitting unit 40. It is. Then, the server-side event video transmission unit 40 receives the event video data transmitted from the server-side event video reception unit 39 and stores the correspondence (notification destination management table) stored in the notification destination storage unit 34. The transmission data for transmission to the event browsing terminal 4 corresponding to the correspondence relationship is generated and sent to the server-side wireless communication unit 31.

  When the event video request signal is transmitted from the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management camera 2 without going through the event management server 3, the event management server 3 includes the server-side request reception unit 37 and the server-side request transmission unit. A configuration without 38 may be used. When the event video is transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event browsing terminal 4 without going through the event management server 3, the event management server 3 includes the server-side event video receiver 39 and the server-side event video transmitter 40. The structure which is not provided may be sufficient. In the present embodiment, the event management server 3 includes a server-side request receiver 37, a server-side request transmitter 38, a server-side event video receiver 39, and a server-side event video transmitter 40. The configuration without the server-side request receiver 37, the server-side request transmitter 38, the server-side event video receiver 39, and the server-side event video transmitter 40 will be mainly described. The configuration including the server-side request receiving unit 37, the server-side request transmitting unit 38, the server-side event video receiving unit 39, and the server-side event video transmitting unit 40 will be described in detail later as another embodiment.

[1-4. About event browsing terminal)
Next, the outline of the configuration of the event browsing terminal 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the event browsing terminal 4 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the event browsing terminal 4 includes a browsing terminal side wireless communication unit 41, a browsing terminal side event related information storage unit 43, a display unit 44, an operation unit 45, a browsing terminal side request transmission unit 46, and a notification destination. A registration unit 48 is provided. The browsing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 includes a browsing terminal side event information receiving unit 42 and a browsing terminal side event video receiving unit 47.

  First, the viewing terminal-side wireless communication unit 41 performs overall communication processing in the event viewing terminal 4, and when the event management system 1 adopts an ad hoc network, other terminals included in the ad hoc network Communication and ad hoc network construction / management processing. Also, the viewing terminal side event information receiving unit 42 included in the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 receives the transmission data of the event information with identifier transmitted from the event management server 3, and transmits the event information with identifier to the viewing terminal. This is stored in the side event related information storage unit 43. Further, the viewing terminal side event video reception unit 47 included in the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 receives the transmission data of the event video transmitted from the event management server 3 and transmits the event video data to the viewing terminal side event. It is stored in the related information storage unit 43. Then, the browsing terminal side event related information storage unit 43 receives the event information with identifier sent from the browsing terminal side event information receiving unit 42 and the event video data sent from the browsing terminal side event video receiving unit 47. To store.

  The display unit 44 is for displaying the event information received by the viewing terminal-side wireless communication unit 41, the event video, and a camera list for selecting a camera to be notified of the event information. In addition, the operation unit 45 registers a notification destination (event management camera 2) to receive notification of event information, and selects a user operation such as selecting an event video for requesting an event video that includes more detailed information than the event information. Is to accept. The operation unit 45 may be a physical button, or may be integrated with the display unit 44 by a touch panel or the like.

  Subsequently, when the operation terminal 45 receives an input from the user to confirm the details with the event video, the viewing terminal side request transmission unit 46 receives an event video request signal including the event identifier of the selected event. This is sent to the event management camera 2 or the event management server 3. The request signal is transmitted to the event management camera 2 or the event management server 3 by the browsing terminal side wireless communication unit 41.

  In addition, the notification destination registration unit 48 registers, in the event management server 3, a correspondence relationship regarding which event management camera 2 receives notification of event information of an event that has occurred when the event browsing terminal 4 joins the ad hoc network. For this purpose. That is, based on the camera list displayed on the display unit 44, when the user selects the event management camera 2 for which notification of event information is to be received, the selection result is received by the operation unit 45, and the selection result is displayed. The notification destination browsing terminal ID that is the browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 received by the operation unit 45 and the camera ID of the selected event management camera 2 are sent to the event management server 3. The notification destination browsing terminal ID and the camera ID are transmitted to the event management server 3 by the browsing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 and registered (stored) in the notification destination storage unit 34 of the event management server 3.

[2. About processing flow)
Hereinafter, the flow of processing in the event management system will be described.

[2-1. (Data flow in event management system)
First, the flow of data in the event management system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data flow among the event management camera 2, the event management server 3, and the event browsing terminal 4. Note that the time axis in FIG. 7 is from top to bottom.

  First, the event browsing terminal 4 transmits to the event management server 3 the camera ID and notification destination browsing terminal ID (notification destination information) of the event management camera 2 selected by the user as a target for which notification of event information is desired. Subsequently, the event management server 3 registers the received notification destination information (correspondence).

  Next, the event management server 3 uses a notification destination browsing terminal ID as information of the event browsing terminal 4 that may transmit an event video to each event management camera 2 based on the registered notification destination information. Send. Then, the event management camera 2 registers the received notification destination browsing terminal ID in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19. When the event management camera 2 receives the event video request signal from the event browsing terminal 4, it determines whether or not the notification destination browsing terminal ID is stored in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19. The event video is transmitted only when the notification destination browsing terminal ID is stored in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19.

  Subsequently, the event management camera 2 performs a series of processes such as video shooting, event extraction, event information creation, and event video creation, and sends event information including an event ID (event identifier) to the event management server 3. A camera ID that is a camera identifier for identifying each event management camera 2 is transmitted. The event management server 3 accumulates (stores) the event information including the received event ID and the camera ID in the server-side event information storage unit 32 as a set. Further, the event management server 3 stores the event information including the event ID and the camera ID in the server-side event information storage unit 32, and then notifies (transmits) the event information including the event ID and the camera ID to the event browsing terminal 4. ) At this time, which event browsing terminal 4 is notified is determined based on the notification destination management table of the notification destination storage unit 34 shown in FIG. For example, if the event information is camera ID = 0001, the event browsing terminal 4 with the notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01 is notified.

  Next, the event browsing terminal 4 receives (receives) notification of the event information and displays the received event information. Subsequently, the event browsing terminal 4 transmits to the event management camera 2 a request signal that is a signal requesting transmission of the event video and an event ID corresponding to the event video that requests transmission. The transmission data transmitted from the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management camera 2 includes, in addition to the above-described request signal and event ID, a request destination camera ID and a request destination notification destination browsing terminal ID. Is included. Note that the event browsing terminal 4 includes a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a home terminal such as a TV / PC that can be connected to a network.

  When the event management camera 2 receives the request signal, the event management camera 2 checks whether or not the event video may be transmitted to the request source event browsing terminal 4 and may transmit the event video. Transmits the event video to the event browsing terminal 4. The transmission data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event browsing terminal 4 includes the destination notification destination browsing terminal ID, the transmission source camera ID, and the requested event ID in addition to the event video described above. Are further included.

[2-2. (Processing flow of event management camera)
Subsequently, a processing flow in the event management camera 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the event management camera 2. Here, the description will be made assuming that the notification destination browsing terminal ID as information of the event browsing terminal 4 that may transmit the event video in advance is received and registered in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19. .

  First, in step S1, the video acquisition unit 11 starts capturing the video to be monitored, accumulates (stores) the captured video in the video storage unit 12, and proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the event-related information processing unit 13 performs image processing to detect an object from the video stored in the video storage unit 12, and the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the event related information processing unit 13 detects an event based on the detected object, and the process proceeds to step S4. The processing for detecting objects and events will be described in detail later. Subsequently, in step S4, the event-related information processing unit 13 detects the event information obtained by the process of performing the process of detecting the event and the result, generates the event information, and proceeds to step S5. The generated event information is stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 by the event identifier adding unit 18 with an event ID. In step S5, the event-related information processing unit 13 generates an event video that is a video corresponding to the detected event from the video stored in the video storage unit 12, and the camera-side event-related information storage unit 17 To store.

  Subsequently, in step S6, if there is generated event information, that is, event information to be notified (Yes in step S6), the process proceeds to step S7. If there is no event information to be notified (No in step S6), the process proceeds to step S9. In step S7, the camera side wireless communication unit 22 updates the route table of the ad hoc network, and proceeds to step S8. The routing table update process will be described in detail later. In step S8, the camera-side event information transmission unit 21 generates event information transmission data including an event ID, transmits the transmission data from the camera-side wireless communication unit 22 to the event management server 3, and proceeds to step S9.

  Here, a data format of data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event management server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a data format of data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event management server 3.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the data format of data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event management server 3 includes a camera ID, a server ID, an event ID, and event information. The camera ID and the server ID are respectively identifiers (ID) for uniquely identifying the event management camera 2 or the event management server 3 in the ad hoc network, and this ID is used as a communication address. The event ID is an ID that allows the event management camera 2 to uniquely identify event information.

  The event information is a result of analyzing the event (information obtained by extracting event feature points), and specifically includes information of “start time”, “end time”, “type”, and “action”. . The “start time” and “end time” are information on the time when the event started and the time when the event ended, respectively. “Type” is information indicating whether the type of object included in the event is a person or a car, and is indicated by a number such as “1” for a person and “2” for a car. Also good. “Action” is information on the movement (type of movement of the object in the event) that can be determined from the movement trajectory of the object in the event. For example, in the case of a trajectory that crosses the shooting area of the video, “movement” In the case of a trajectory that moves randomly, “Uroro” is entered, and in the case of a trajectory that returns to the same point from the point where the object appeared at the start of the event, data such as “return” is entered. In this case, “2” may be indicated by “2” if “Action” is “Uro”, and “1” if “Action” is indicated. The format of the event information transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the server has been described above.

  In step S9, when the request signal from the event browsing terminal 4 is received by the camera side request receiving unit 23 (Yes in step S9), the process proceeds to step S10. If the camera-side request receiving unit 23 has not received the request signal (No in step S9), the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S10, the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 refers to the notification destination browsing terminal ID registered in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19, more specifically, the event video notification permission table, and the event video request source It is determined whether or not an event video may be transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4. Then, when the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal requesting the event video is registered in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19 and the event video may be transmitted (Yes in step S9), Control goes to step S11. If the event video should not be transmitted, the process proceeds to step S12.

  Here, an event video notification permission table recorded in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19 in the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the event video notification permission table.

  The event video notification permission table is a list of IDs (notification destination browsing terminal IDs) of event browsing terminals 4 that may transmit event video. As shown in FIG. 10, the event video notification permission table stores the notification destination browsing terminal ID transmitted as information of the event browsing terminal 4 that may transmit the event video from the event management server 3. It is. For example, if the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 that requested the event video is “U01”, referring to the table of FIG. 10, it is included in the list of notification destination browsing terminal IDs that may be transmitted. If so, the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 determines.

  Subsequently, in step S11, the event video extraction unit 24 extracts the event video corresponding to the event ID included in the request signal from the event browsing terminal 4 from the camera side event related information storage unit 17, and transmits the camera side event information. The unit 21 generates transmission data of the event video. And the said transmission data are transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 from the camera side radio | wireless communication part 22, and it moves to step S12.

  Here, the event-related information table stored in the camera-side event-related information storage unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event related information table stored in the camera side event related information storage unit 17. As shown in FIG. 11, the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 accumulates a storage file name of a video corresponding to each event, and an event video showing only the event part with this file name is stored in the video acquisition unit. 11 and extracted from the video taken at 11. For example, when the event ID received from the event browsing terminal 4 is “A0005”, the corresponding event video storage file name is “A0005.mpg”. The event related information table stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 also includes event information. The event information in the event related information table will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 12 shows the data format of data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event browsing terminal 4. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a data format of data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event browsing terminal 4.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the data format of the data transmitted from the event management camera 2 to the event browsing terminal 4 includes the destination notification destination browsing terminal ID, the transmission source camera ID, and the requested event ID. , And event video is included. The notification destination browsing terminal ID and the camera ID are used as communication addresses. The event video includes a data length and a video data body, and the data length indicates the data length of the video data body.

  Finally, in step S12, when the event management camera 2 monitoring process of detecting an event from the video taken by the event management camera 2 and notifying the event browsing terminal 4 of event information is completed (in step S12). In Yes), the flow ends. If the monitoring process by the event management camera 2 has not ended (No in step S12), the process returns to step S2 and the flow is repeated.

[2-3. About the object detection process flow)
Next, a detailed flow of object detection (step S2) in the event-related information processing unit 13 of the event management camera 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of object detection in the event related information processing unit 13 of the event management camera 2. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an image created at each step of the background image creation process described later. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an image created in each step of an object presence / absence detection process described later. Note that object detection is performed using the current video (time t).

  Here, a method for detecting a change by general image processing will be described. Basically, a change area is specified by comparing a current image with a comparison source image and extracting a difference in change in pixel value. There are various methods depending on how to set the comparison source image, and here, two difference detection methods, a background difference method and an inter-frame difference method, will be described.

First, the background subtraction method prepares one basic image in advance, compares the pixel value of that image with the current video (input video shot by the event management camera 2), and identifies the change point It is a method to do. The advantage of the background subtraction method is that the target object itself can be extracted, but there is also the disadvantage that other than the target object is detected. Next, the inter-frame difference method is a method of identifying a change point by comparing pixel values of an image at the current time and an image at the immediately preceding time. In the inter-frame difference, it is easy to track the movement of the target object, but there is a disadvantage that the target object that does not move for a certain time cannot be extracted. In the object detection in the present embodiment, the object detection is performed using the difference method as described above, and specifically, the following processing which is roughly divided into two is performed.
(1) Background image creation processing for creating a background image as a detection source from video up to time t−1 (2) Inter-frame difference between the background image created in the background image creation processing and the image at time t First, in step S21, the change location management table up to time t-2 is read out, and the process proceeds to step S22. The change location management table is a table for managing locations where some change is detected from the video in unit time n. For example, the captured image is subdivided into 15 pixel square blocks, and each block is managed in a table as “1” when a change is detected in unit time n, and “0” when no change is detected. Keep it. A processed image 105b shown in FIG. 14 schematically shows a place where the unit time n has changed, and an area 110b is an area showing the changed place. Also, the change location is detected by the inter-frame difference between each time and the previous time. At the time t-2, the change point is detected by taking the inter-frame difference from the time t-3, and hereinafter, the change is detected at the time t-3 by the inter-frame difference from the time t-4. The processed image 105b is a result of accumulating the change locations at these times in a time that is back by unit time n from t-2, that is, in a period from t-2-n time to t-2 time. The value of the unit time n is set according to the frame rate of the camera or the environmental conditions of the monitoring target, and is 30 frames, for example.

  Subsequently, in step S22, an interframe difference is obtained from the video 100c at time t-1 and the video 100b at time t-2. Then, using the inter-frame difference data, the change location management table up to time t-2 read in step S21 is updated with the video 100c at time t-1, and is stored in the memory. A processed image 105c illustrated in FIG. 14 is a result of updating with the video 100c at time t-1, and an area 110c is an area indicating a change point up to time t-1. In the processed image 100a of FIG. 14, as a result of taking the inter-frame difference between the video 100c at the time t-1 and the video 100b at the time t-2, the region 110a of the changed portion is detected. By adding this area 110a to the area 110b, which is a cumulative change place up to time t-2, in this embodiment, the change place management table up to time t-1 is updated.

  Next, in step S23, identification is performed by dividing into two areas, a region in which a change is detected in unit time n and a region in which no change is detected. In step S22, the change location up to time t-1 is specified. Therefore, using this information, specification is performed by dividing into regions that have changed during unit time n and regions that have not changed. In the processed image 105d of FIG. 14, the region 110d is a region where a change is detected in the time until time t-1, and the region 115d is a region where no change is detected in the time until time t-1.

  Further, in step S24, the following data replacement is performed on the area that has been specified by dividing the area into the area where the change is detected in unit time n and the area where the change is not detected. Create In other words, a portion corresponding to the same position as that of the region 110d is inserted into the region 110d where the change is detected using the background image similarly created at the previous time (time t-2). A region corresponding to the same position as the region 115d is inserted into the region 115d where no change is detected, using the image at time t-1. The image created in this way is stored in the memory as a “background image at time t−1”. The processing so far is the background image creation processing described above, and the subsequent processing from step S25 is the above-described object presence / absence detection processing.

  In step S25, the background image 120 at time t-1 is compared with the video image 101c at time t, and the changed portion is specified. The result of comparing the background image at time t-1 with the video image 101c at time t and specifying the changing location is regions 111a and 112a shown in FIG. Next, in step S26, consecutive change points in the relationship between the distance and / or size of each change point are determined as the same change point and are labeled as one object. As described above, the reason for combining continuous change points is that a part of what should be recognized as one object cannot be recognized as a change area by image processing and is recognized as a plurality of objects. For. For example, when the object is a person, since the neck portion is thin, the neck portion may be detected as a portion that has not changed due to the difference between frames. As a result, if the object is recognized only from the changed part, it is recognized as two objects of the head part and the body part. For this reason, the objects that can be determined to be the same object based on the distance and / or size relationship set in advance are collected as one object, and the difference with the information of the object that is actually generated is reduced. The accuracy of later event information extraction is improved.

Specifically, using FIG. 15, in the video 101c at time t, the object exists as one object whose middle portion is narrowed. An image obtained as a result of taking the difference between the background image at time t-1 and the video at time t in step S25 is indicated by a processed image 106a. At this time, two areas of the processed image 106a, that is, the area 111a and the area 112a are detected as change areas. Thereafter, it is determined from the relationship between the distance between the region 111a and the region 112a whether or not they can be recognized as the same object, and if they can be recognized as the same object, they are labeled as one object in the processed image 106b. It is a condition for judging that they are the same as described above, but when two change points are compared and the distance between them is smaller than the height of the larger change point, or the distance between the center of gravity values at the two change points However, there are conditions such as when it is smaller than the width of the larger object. This condition does not depend solely on whether or not the divergence distance or centroid value interval of the object is greater than a predetermined value (for example, 50 pixels), but also reflects the size information of each change location. Since the conditions are changed, the fact that the distance between the two small changes (for example, 1 pixel in diameter) is not more than a predetermined (50 pixels) value is not recognized as being continuous. Based on these conditions, the degree of proximity of the detected changes is determined, and the objects are combined into one.
The above is the flow of object detection. As a result of the object detection flow, if there is even one object, the movement of the object is tracked and an event described later is detected.

[2-4. Event detection process flow)
Next, a detailed flow of event detection (step S3) in the event-related information processing unit 13 of the event management camera 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of event detection in the event-related information processing unit 13 of the event management camera 2. Note that it is assumed that object detection is performed in advance using the current video (time t).

  First, event information included in the event-related information table stored in the camera-side event-related information storage unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. The event ID is as described above with respect to the start time, end time, event type, and action. The end flag is a flag indicating whether or not the event has ended. In the example of FIG. 11, “1” indicates that the event is ended, and “0” indicates that the event is still continued. The end time column records the latest event detection time when the event is continuing. Specifically, this is the time when the latest coordinates of position information to be described later are recorded. While the event continues, the end time is updated every time the latest coordinates are recorded. When the event ends, the end time of the event is recorded. The event video records the event video corresponding to the event, and is recorded only when the event end flag is “1”. The position information is coordinate data on the trajectory of each object, and specifically indicates the center of gravity of the object area at each time. Further, a plurality of pieces of position information exist for each event according to the time length during which the event occurs. In FIG. 11, the coordinates are recorded in the order in which the positions are generated.

  First, in step S31, the event extraction unit 15 starts tracking an object, and proceeds to step S32. In step S32, the position information of each object detected by the object detection described above is compared with the position information of each event newly generated or continued at the previous time (time t-1). Judge as the same event. Referring to the event information table in FIG. 11, there are two events 150 and 151 as unfinished events. The distance between the latest position information of these two events and the position information of the object detected at the current time t is compared, and if they are minimum and within a predetermined range, they are recognized as the same event. For example, the latest coordinates of the event 150 are (50,900), and the latest coordinates of the event 151 are (800,100). In addition, the maximum value of the distances that are determined to be the same is assumed to be 100 pixels here as an example. When the coordinates of the object detected at time t are (100, 800), the distance between the latest coordinates of the event 150 and the latest coordinates of the event 151 and the coordinates of the detected object is calculated, and the closest distance is calculated. , It is determined that the detected object is included. In this case, when the coordinates (50,900) of the event 150 are compared with the coordinates (100,800) of the detected object, the distance between the two points is “87 pixels”. Further, when the coordinates (800, 100) of the event 151 are compared with the coordinates (100, 800) of the detected object, the distance between the two points is “990 pixels”. As a result, it can be determined that the event 150 is in the vicinity. Furthermore, the distance between the event 150 and the detected object is “87 pixels”, which is equal to or less than “100”, which is the maximum distance determined to be the same. Therefore, the detected object is an object included in the event 150, and it can be determined that the event is the same.

  Subsequently, in step S33, if there is something that can be determined to be the same event (Yes in step S33), the process proceeds to step S34. If there is nothing that can be determined to be the same event (No in step S33), the process proceeds to step S35. In step S34, the latest position information is added to the position information in the event information table to update the event information. That is, (100, 800) is added as the position information of the event 150 to the event information table stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17, and the time when the latest position information is detected is updated at the end time. Keep it. Then, the tracking of the object is finished, and the process proceeds to step S36. In step S35, it is added to the event information table as an event that has newly occurred, the object tracking is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S36.

  In step S36, it is determined whether or not the event has ended depending on whether or not the position information has been updated for a predetermined time after the event information has been updated to the latest by object tracking. If it is determined that the event has ended (Yes in step S36), the process proceeds to step S37. If it cannot be determined that the event has ended (No in step S36), the flow ends. The event end determination is described using the event information table in FIG. 11 as an example. In the event information where the event has not ended, that is, the end flag = 0, the end time is the latest position. It represents the time when the information was updated. The elapsed time from the end time to the current time is calculated, and if a certain time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed, it is determined that the event has ended. If there is an ended event, the end flag is set to “1” in the event information table of FIG. Subsequently, in step S37, the event is analyzed and the flow is terminated. In the event analysis, for example, the type of an object such as a person or a car is determined based on the area of the object region. In addition, the direction of the traveling direction and the pattern of the moving trajectory (crossing the video, turning back in the direction of appearance, or straying from the scale) are determined from the trajectory information of the object. The column of type and action in the event information table of FIG. 11 is an example of event information extracted from such analysis. The information extracted from the above analysis is added to the event information table in the event information generation process after the event detection process, and is generated as event information.

[2-5. About the routing table update process flow)
Next, update of the route table of the ad hoc network in the camera side wireless communication unit 22 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an operation flow for updating the route table of the ad hoc network in the camera-side wireless communication unit 22. The route table is a table that represents a communication route for communicating with a configuration terminal (hereinafter referred to as “node”) in the ad hoc network. There are various methods for configuring an ad hoc network. In this embodiment, a method of periodically updating a routing table is used. In this method, the routing table is periodically updated regardless of the presence or absence of data to be communicated. When data communication to a certain node becomes necessary, data can be transmitted at any time by referring to the latest routing table. Keep it like that.

  First, in step S71, it is confirmed whether or not the event management camera 2 is currently in an ad hoc network, and the process proceeds to step S72. In step S72, when the event management camera 2 is in the ad hoc network (Yes in step S72), it is confirmed whether it is the update timing of the route table, and the process proceeds to step S73. If the event management camera 2 is not in the ad hoc network (No in step S72), since it does not have a routing table, a packet is transmitted to the surrounding nodes, and a routing table is newly created. End the flow.

  In step S73, when it is the update timing of the routing table (Yes in step S73), the process proceeds to step S74. If it is not the update timing of the route table (No in step S73), the flow ends. Subsequently, in step S74, the packet is updated to the latest route by transmitting the packet to the surrounding nodes and correcting the route table or deleting the node that is removed from the ad hoc network, and the flow is ended. In addition, although it is the update interval of the routing table, if the routing table is updated frequently, communication traffic of the ad hoc network increases, and therefore communication delay may occur when event information is communicated. On the other hand, if the update interval of the routing table is lengthened, there is a possibility that the communication becomes an old route when data communication is performed, and there is a possibility that the data communication cannot be performed such that the target node cannot be reached. . Therefore, an appropriate interval is set according to the use of the event management system 1 and the frequency of node movement in the event management system 1. For example, if the movement of the node is small (such as a monitoring camera), the update interval may be long because it is not necessary to update the route table first after it is first created.

[2-6. About the processing flow on the event management server)
Subsequently, a processing flow in the event management server 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the event management server 3.

  First, in step S101, when the server-side wireless communication unit 31 receives event information from the event management camera 2 (“event information” in step S101), the server-side event information receiving unit 35 of the server-side wireless communication unit 31. Receives the event information and proceeds to step S102. When the server-side wireless communication unit 31 receives notification destination information from the event browsing terminal 4 (“notification destination information” in step S101), the process proceeds to step S105. The notification destination information includes the camera ID and notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event management camera 2 that has been selected by the operation unit 45 of the event browsing terminal 4 as a target to receive notification of event information.

  In step S <b> 102, the received event information and the camera ID of the event management camera 2 as the reception destination are set and stored (stored) in the server-side event information storage unit 32. FIG. 19 shows an example of an event information table stored in the server-side event information storage unit 32 of the event management server 3. As shown in FIG. 19, in the event information table stored in the server-side event information storage unit 32, the received camera ID, event ID, and event information are stored in association with each other. Further, the contents of event information received from the event management camera 2 are stored in “start time”, “end time”, “type”, and the like. Further, each event information is stored in the order in which the event information is received from the plurality of event management cameras 2. The “notified” column indicates whether the event browsing terminal 4 has been notified of each event information. In the example of FIG. 19, “1” indicates that notification has been completed, and “0” indicates that notification has not yet been completed.

  Subsequently, in step S103, the route table is updated in the same flow as in the event management camera 2, and the process proceeds to step S104. In step S104, event information that has not been notified yet is notified to the event browsing terminal 4 in order from the oldest, and the process proceeds to step S107. The event browsing terminal 4 is notified of the event ID and the camera ID together with the event information. At this time, which event browsing terminal 4 is notified is notified based on, for example, the notification destination management table of the notification destination storage unit 34 shown in FIG. For example, if the event information is camera ID = 0001, the event browsing terminal 4 having the notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01 is notified. Note that when the event browsing terminal 4 is notified, the “notified” column of the event information table shown in FIG. 19 is set to “1”.

  Here, the data format of the data transmitted from the event management server 3 to the event browsing terminal 4 is shown using FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a data format of data transmitted from the event management server 3 to the event browsing terminal 4.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the data format of data transmitted from the event management server 3 to the event browsing terminal 4 includes a notification destination browsing terminal ID of a transmission destination, a server ID of a transmission source, and a camera of a transmission source of event information. ID, event ID, and event information are included. The event information includes at least a camera ID and an event ID in which the event has occurred.

  In step S105, the notification destination information from the event browsing terminal 4 is registered (stored) in the notification destination storage unit 34, and the process proceeds to step S106. The event management server 3 stores (stores) the notification destination information received from the event browsing terminal 4 in a notification destination management table as shown in FIG. In step S106, based on the notification destination information stored in step S105, information on the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 that may transmit an event video is transmitted to each event management camera 2 (event video). Transmission of the transmission destination), and proceeds to step S107. The notification destination information in FIG. 5 will be described as an example. The information of the event browsing terminal 4 transmitted to “camera ID = 0001” is “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01”. That is, the event management camera 2 with the camera ID = 0001 is notified that the event video may be transmitted to the notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01. Similarly, for each camera ID stored in the notification destination management table in FIG. 5, a notification destination browsing terminal ID that may transmit an event video is transmitted.

  Finally, in step S107, when the monitoring process in the event management server 3 for notifying the event browsing terminal of the event information transmitted from the event management camera 2 is finished (Yes in step S107), the flow is finished. To do. If the monitoring process in the event management server 3 has not ended (No in step S107), the process returns to step S101 and the flow is repeated.

[2-7. (Processing flow at event browsing terminal)
Subsequently, a processing flow in the event browsing terminal 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the event browsing terminal 4.

  First, in step S201, when the event management camera 2 to be notified of event information is selected by the user based on the camera list displayed on the display unit 44, the selection result is received by the operation unit 45. The browsing terminal-side wireless communication unit 41 transmits the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 and the camera ID of the selected event management camera 2 that received the selection result by the operation unit 45 to the event management server 3. The process proceeds to step S202.

  Here, FIG. 22 shows a display example of a selection screen for selecting the event management camera 2 to receive notification of event information. In FIG. 22, a camera list including the camera ID and camera information of the event management camera 2 existing in the ad hoc network is displayed. In the event browsing terminal 4, the selection of the event management camera 2 for which the user wants to receive notification is received by a check box or the like. As an example, event management that the user wants to receive notification by pressing the “OK” button after the user selects each check box of the pair of camera ID and camera information shown in FIG. The selection of the camera 2 is accepted. Then, the viewing terminal-side wireless communication unit 41 transmits the selected information to the event management server 3. At this time, there are two types of information to be transmitted to the event management server 3 side: the selected camera ID and the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the transmission source.

  Subsequently, in step S202, when the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 receives event information from the event management server 3 ("event information" in step S202), the viewing terminal side event of the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 is displayed. The information receiving unit 42 receives the event information and proceeds to step S203. When the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 receives an event video from the event management camera 2 (“event video” in step S202), the viewing terminal side event video receiving unit 47 of the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 The event video is received, and the process proceeds to step S105. In step S203, after the received information is stored in the viewing terminal side event related information storage unit 43, the event information is displayed on the display unit 44, and the process proceeds to step S204.

  Here, FIG. 23 shows an example of an event information table stored in the viewing terminal side event related information storage unit 43. The viewing terminal-side event related information storage unit 43 stores a camera ID, an event ID, and event information received from the event management server 3, and includes a column for accumulating event video to be received later. When only event information is received and no event video is received, the event video column is blank (“-”) as in the event information 161. Later, when an event video is received as necessary, a file name representing the event video is entered in the event video column as in the event information 160. This file name is uniquely assigned so that the event browsing terminal 4 does not overlap with other event videos, and the main body of the event video is also stored in the browsing terminal side event related information storage unit 43 with this file name. become.

  Also, an example of displaying event information on the display unit 44 of the event browsing terminal 4 will be shown using FIG. In FIG. 24, event information from a plurality of event management cameras 2 (the event management camera 2 with camera ID = 0001 and the event management camera 2 with camera ID = 0002) are displayed together, and the latest event information is also displayed. Not only one but also three past event information are displayed. For each event, event information such as event thumbnails, “occurrence time”, “type”, “action”, and operation buttons are displayed. The event thumbnail displays the first part of the event video when the event video is received. If no event video has been received, “no video” is displayed as in event information 170. Event information received from the event management server 3 is displayed as event information. For example, “occurrence time” is an elapsed time of an event calculated from “start time” and “end time” received from the event management server 3. There are two types of operation buttons: a playback operation button related to event video playback and a request operation button for requesting the event management camera 2 for an event video. Like the operation button 180, the playback operation button is a button that is displayed for an event that has already received an event video, and can perform operations such as “play” and “stop”. The request operation button is a button that is displayed for an event that has not received an event video, such as the operation button 181.

  Subsequently, in step S204, if there is an operation from the user on the operation unit 45 (Yes in step S204), the coordinates of the button on which the operation unit 45 is pressed are specified, and the process proceeds to step S205. When there is no operation from the user on the operation unit 45 (No in step S204), the process proceeds to step S208.

  Here, FIG. 25 shows an operation correspondence table of coordinates and parameters when each coordinate on the display unit 44 is pressed and selected. The operation unit 45 rewrites the operation correspondence table every time the display content is updated. The operation correspondence table represents parameter values output when each operation button is pressed. When the operation button 181 in FIG. 24 is pressed, one of the areas “X coordinate = 2 to 3, Y coordinate = B to C” in FIG. 25 is selected. When the coordinates 190 (X = 2, Y = B) are selected, “camera ID = 0001, event ID = A0005” is sent from the operation unit 45 to the viewing terminal side request transmission unit 46 as parameters. .

  Subsequently, in step S205, the operation unit 45 sends the selected parameter to the browsing terminal side request transmission unit 46, and the browsing terminal side request transmission unit 46 transmits data to be transmitted to the corresponding event management camera 2 based on the parameter. create. Further, the route table is updated in the same flow as in the case of the event management camera 2, and the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, an event video request signal is transmitted from the viewing terminal-side wireless communication unit 41 to the event management camera 2, and the process proceeds to step S208.

  Here, a data format of data transmitted from the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management camera 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 26, the data format of data transmitted from the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management camera 2 includes a camera ID as a request destination, a notification destination browsing terminal ID as a request source, and a requested event video. The event ID corresponding to is included. The notification destination browsing terminal ID is a reply destination of the event video in the event management camera 2 that has received the request from the event browsing terminal 4.

  In step S207, the received information is stored in the viewing terminal side event related information storage unit 43, and then the event video is displayed on the display unit 44, and the process proceeds to step S208. In the viewing terminal side event related information storage unit 43, based on the event ID and camera ID received from the event management camera 2, the event video for which the event video is stored is determined based on the event ID and the camera ID, and the event information table Register the file name in the corresponding event video column. Then, the event video is stored with the registered file name. If the event is being displayed on the display unit 44, the received event video is displayed at a corresponding location on the display screen of the display unit 44.

  Hereinafter, the display of the event video on the display unit 44 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 27 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of display area separation on the display unit 44. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a current display content correspondence table indicating which event information is displayed in each display area of the display unit 44. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a display example on the display unit 44 when an event video of an event being displayed on the display unit 44 is received.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the display unit 44 displays each information by dividing each event display location into a display area indicated by a dotted line. In this embodiment, six events are displayed, and the event information of each camera is displayed together for each of the upper and lower stages.

  Also, the display unit 44 manages the current display content correspondence table shown in FIG. 28, and the display content of the display unit 44 is updated by pressing the “next event” button 185 in the display example shown in FIG. Every time an operation is accepted, the contents of the current display content correspondence table are also updated. “Display area position” is a display area number and corresponds to the display area of FIG. “Display content” indicates a parameter of information displayed in each display area. For example, the display area position = A, that is, the upper row displays information of camera ID = 0001. If the display area position = A1, the event information of camera ID = 0001 and event ID = A0005 is displayed. . When the event video corresponding to “camera ID = 0001, event ID = A0008” is received from the event browsing terminal 4 in step S202, the browsing terminal side request transmission unit 46 stores an event in the browsing terminal side event related information storage unit 43. Stores video and file names. Further, the display unit 44 searches the current display content correspondence table using the event ID and camera ID as keys to determine whether or not the received event video is currently being displayed. In the current display content correspondence table of FIG. 28, since the event 200 with “camera ID = 0001, event ID = A0008” is being displayed, the event video is displayed in “A1” which is the display area corresponding to the received event video. Play and display.

  Further, FIG. 29 shows a display example after receiving the event video. With respect to FIG. 24 before the reception of the event video, the received event video is displayed and reproduced in the corresponding event thumbnail 171. The operation button 183 displays a “stop” button during event video reproduction.

  Finally, in step S208, the monitoring process at the event browsing terminal 4 for displaying (notifying) the event information transmitted from the event management server 3 and displaying the event video transmitted from the event management camera 2 is completed. If so (Yes in step S208), the flow ends. If the monitoring process at the event browsing terminal 4 has not ended (No in step S208), the process returns to step S201 and the flow is repeated.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. Configurations other than those described in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the drawings of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and explanation thereof is omitted.

  The event management system 1a according to the present embodiment is different from the event management system 1 according to the first embodiment in that the event management camera 2a is replaced by the event management camera 2 and the event management server 3a is replaced by the event management server 3a. Is different. Specifically, in the first embodiment, the event management camera 2 acquires a list of notification destination browsing terminal IDs of the event browsing terminal 4 that may transmit an event video from the event management server 3 in advance, and notifies the destination. When the event video request signal is received from the event browsing terminal 4 and stored in the browsing terminal ID storage unit 19, it is requested by referring to the stored list of notification destination browsing terminal IDs. The event browsing terminal 4 is configured to confirm whether or not the event video may be transmitted. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the event browsing terminal 4 that has requested the event management server 3a every time the event management camera 2a receives an event video request signal without acquiring a list of notification destination browsing terminal IDs in advance. On the other hand, it is configured to confirm whether or not the event video can be transmitted.

  First, an outline of the configuration of the event management camera 2a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 30 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the event management camera 2a in the present embodiment. The event management camera 2a includes a video acquisition unit 11, a video storage unit 12, an event related information processing unit (event related information processing means) 13, a camera side event related information storage unit (event video storage unit) 17, an event identifier adding unit ( (Event identifier assigning means) 18, notification destination browsing terminal ID storage section (transmission list storage section) 19, camera-side event related information communication processing section 20, camera-side wireless communication section 22, event video extraction section (event video extraction means) 24 , And a camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit (event video transmission availability confirmation means) 51. The event-related information processing unit 13 includes a background image creation unit 14, an event extraction unit 15, and an event analysis unit 16. Further, the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 includes a camera-side event information transmission unit (first event-related information transmission unit) 21 and a camera-side event video transmission unit (first event video transmission unit) 25. The camera-side wireless communication unit 22 includes a camera-side request receiving unit (first request receiving unit) 23. In FIG. 30, for simplification of description, the camera-side event-related information storage unit 17, the camera-side event-related information communication processing unit 20, the camera-side wireless communication unit 22, the camera-side request reception unit 23, and the event video extraction unit 24 and only the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 are illustrated.

  First, when the camera-side request reception unit 23 receives an event video request signal, the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 confirms whether the event video transmission is possible with respect to the event management server 3a. . Specifically, the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 sends transmission inquiry data to the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 to create transmission data, and the created transmission data is transmitted to the camera-side wireless communication unit. 22 to the event management server 3a. Further, when the camera-side wireless communication unit 22 receives the result of the above-described transmission permission / inquiry from the event management server 3a (the transmission-side permission information), the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 An instruction is given to the event video extraction unit 24 or the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 in accordance with the transmitted permission information. Instructions from the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 will be described in detail later.

  Next, the outline of the configuration of the event management server 3a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 31 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the event management server 3a in the present embodiment. The event management server 3a includes a server-side wireless communication unit 31, a server-side event information storage unit 32, a server-side event related information communication processing unit 33, a notification destination storage unit 34, and a server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit (event video transmission (Availability determination means) 52 is provided. The server-side wireless communication unit 31 includes a server-side event information receiving unit 35, a server-side request receiving unit (second request receiving unit) 37, and a server-side event video receiving unit 39. Further, the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 includes a server-side event information transmission unit (second event-related information transmission unit) 36, a server-side request transmission unit 38, and a server-side event video transmission unit (second event video transmission). Means) 40. In FIG. 31, for simplification of description, only the server-side wireless communication unit 31, the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33, the notification destination storage unit 34, and the server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 52 are illustrated. ing.

  First, the server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 52 determines whether or not event video transmission is possible when the server-side wireless communication unit 31 receives inquiry data about event video transmission availability. Specifically, the server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 52 refers to the notification destination storage unit 34 and determines whether or not the event management camera 2a can transmit an event video to the event browsing terminal 4 (confirmation) ) Is sent to the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 as transmission permission / inhibition information to create transmission data, and the created transmission data is transmitted from the server-side wireless communication unit 31 to the event management camera 2a. The confirmation process in the server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 52 will be described in detail later.

  Next, the operation flow in the event management system 1a will be described. Here, the description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

  First, in the event management camera 2a of the present embodiment, as described above, the event management camera 2a does not register the notification destination browsing terminal ID in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19 in advance, and does not perform the above-described step S10. In the event management camera 2a, when an event video is requested in step S9 described above, the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 confirms whether or not the event video can be transmitted to the event management server 3a. Then, when the event management camera 2a receives the transmission permission / prohibition information of the content permitting transmission from the event management server 3a, the process proceeds to the above-described step S11. Further, when the event management camera 2a receives transmission permission / prohibition information that does not permit transmission from the event management server 3a, the event management terminal 2a performs event management to display data indicating that transmission of event video is not permitted. The information is transmitted from the camera 2a to the event browsing terminal, and the process proceeds to step S12 described above.

  Subsequently, the event management server 3a does not perform step S106 described above. Further, in the event management server 3a, when the server-side wireless communication unit 31 receives the inquiry data on whether the event video can be transmitted from the event management camera 2 in the above-described step S101, the server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 52 Confirms whether the event video can be transmitted, transmits the transmission permission information to the event management camera 2a, and proceeds to step S107.

  Next, a processing flow at the time of event video transmission by the event management camera 2a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when the event management camera 2a transmits an event video.

  First, in step S301, whether or not the event video can be transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 is confirmed with respect to the event management server 3a. The camera-side wireless communication unit 22 transmits the inquiry data to the event management server 3a, and the process proceeds to step S302. The transmission data of the transmission permission inquiry includes the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 that has requested the event video. On the other hand, in the event management server 3a, the event management camera 2a refers to the notification destination management table of the notification destination storage unit 34 based on the received notification destination browsing terminal ID, and the event management camera 2a It is confirmed whether or not the video can be transmitted, and the result is returned to the event management camera 2a. Specifically, it is assumed that an event video is requested from the event browsing terminal 4 with “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U03” to the event management camera 2a with “camera ID = 0002”. In this case, the event management camera 2a transmits its own camera ID and the notification destination browsing terminal ID ("U03") of the requested event browsing terminal to the event management server 3a. The event management server 3a performs confirmation by referring to, for example, the notification destination management table shown in FIG. In this case, “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01, U03” is registered for the event management camera 2a with “camera ID = 0002”. Since the ID of the event browsing terminal 4 that has requested the event video is “U03”, in this case, the server-side event video transmission permission confirmation unit 52 determines that the event video may be transmitted. For example, “1” is transmitted when permission is permitted, and “0” is transmitted when permission is not permitted, as the transmission permission / prohibition information for notifying the result of permission or rejection from the event management server 3a to the event management camera 2a. You can do that.

  Subsequently, in step S303, when the camera-side wireless communication unit 22 receives the transmission permission information from the event management server 3a (receives a reply) (Yes in step S303), the process proceeds to step S304. If no reply has been received (No in step S303), the process returns to step S303 and the flow is repeated.

  In step S304, if the received transmission availability information is information that permits transmission of the event video (Yes in step S304), the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 notifies the event video extraction unit 24 to the camera-side event. The event video is requested to extract the event video from the related information storage unit 17. Then, transmission data is created by the camera-side event related information communication processing unit 20 from the extracted event video, transmitted from the camera-side wireless communication unit 22 to the event browsing terminal 4, and the flow ends. If the received transmission availability information is non-permission information that does not permit transmission of the event video (No in step S304), the camera-side event related information is instructed by the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51. The communication processing unit 20 creates transmission data for notifying that the transmission of the event video is not permitted, transmits the transmission data from the camera side wireless communication unit 22 to the event browsing terminal 4, and ends the flow.

  Here, a data format of data transmitted from the event management camera 2a to the event browsing terminal 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 33, the viewing terminal ID field, the camera ID field, and the event ID field are the same as those in the first embodiment. Next, the transmission permission / inhibition field is changed according to the result of transmission / non-transmission of the event video confirmed by the event management server 3a. When the transmission of the event video is “permitted”, the transmission permission / non-permission field is set to “1”, and the transmission data in which the event video corresponding to the requested event ID is entered in the event video field that follows. Will be created. If the transmission is “not permitted”, the transmission permission / inhibition field is set to “0”, and transmission data without the event video field is created.

  Next, FIG. 34 shows a display example on the display unit 44 of the event browsing terminal 4 when transmission of the event video is not permitted. When the event browsing terminal 4 receives data in the data format as shown in FIG. 33 and the transmission permission / inhibition field is “0”, for example, a message is displayed at the location where the event video of the corresponding event information is displayed. A display indicating that the event video acquisition is not permitted, such as “event video could not be acquired”, as in 210. On the other hand, when the transmission of the event video is “permitted”, the event video is transmitted from the event management camera 2a to the event browsing terminal 4, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 29, as shown in FIG. In this way, event video is played back.

[Embodiment 3]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. Note that configurations other than those described in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the drawings of the first embodiment or the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the event information is notified to the event browsing terminal 4 from the event management camera 2 or 2a by relaying the event information from the event management server 3 or 3a. On the other hand, for event video notification, event management requests include the event video request from the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management cameras 2 and 2a and the event video transmission from the event management cameras 2 and 2a to the event browsing terminal 4. The configuration mainly without the servers 3 and 3a is shown. In this embodiment, the event management system 1b in which the event management server 3b relays between the event management cameras 2 and 2a and the event browsing terminal 4 will be described in detail for notification of event video.

  The event management server 3b of this embodiment includes the event management server 3 including the server-side request reception unit 37, the server-side request transmission unit 38, the server-side event video reception unit 39, and the server-side event video transmission unit 40 described above. A similar member is provided, and a parameter storage unit (not shown) that stores parameters of data received together with the request signal from the event browsing terminal 4 is further provided.

  First, the operation flow in the event management system 1b will be described. Here, the case where the event management camera 2 is used will be described as an example, and the description of the same parts as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

  First, in the event management camera 2 of the present embodiment, an event video request signal is received from the event management server 3b in step S9 described above. When the event management camera 2 receives the request signal for the event video, the event information table as shown in FIG. 11 stored in the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 based on the event ID that is a parameter of the received content. , The event video extracting unit 24 extracts the corresponding event video. Taking FIG. 11 as an example, if the event ID is “A0004”, the event video is “A0004.mpg”. In step S11 described above, event video data is transmitted from the camera-side wireless communication unit 22 of the event management camera 2 to the event management server 3b instead of the event browsing terminal 4. When transmitting event video data to the event management server 3b, the event ID is also notified as a parameter.

  Subsequently, in the event management server 3b, when the server-side request receiving unit of the server-side wireless communication unit 31 receives the event video request signal from the event browsing terminal 4 in step S101 described above, the event management server 3b converts the request signal into the event management. Send to the camera 2. Then, the server-side event video receiving unit 39 of the server-side wireless communication unit 31 receives the event video data from the event management camera 2, transmits the event video data to the event browsing terminal 4, and proceeds to the above-described step S107. .

  When receiving the event video request signal from the event browsing terminal 4, the event management server 3 b records the received parameters in a parameter storage unit (not shown) of the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33. FIG. 35 shows an example of an event video request management table in which parameters are recorded. Here, it is assumed that the request content and state of the event video are recorded in the event video request management table in the order in which the request signals are received. In the “notification destination browsing terminal ID” and “event ID” fields, the notification destination browsing terminal ID and event ID received together with the request signal are recorded. In the “status” column, a flag indicating the status corresponding to the request for the event video is also recorded. When the “status” column is “0”, the event video request is received and the event management camera 2 is requested to receive the event video request. Further, when the “status” column is “1”, the event video requested from the event management camera 2 is received and notification to the event browsing terminal 4 is completed. Taking FIG. 35 as an example, if the event ID received together with the event video transmission from the event management camera 2 is “A0004”, the notification destination browsing terminal ID is “U01” from the event video request management table of FIG. Can be specified. Further, since the status field is “0”, it is updated to “1”.

  Further, after recording in the event video request management table, the event management server 3b searches for the camera ID of the event management camera 2 corresponding to the received event ID from the event information table as shown in FIG. An event video request signal is transmitted to the corresponding event management camera 2 using the camera ID obtained by the search. Taking the event information table of FIG. 19 as an example, if the received parameter is “event ID = A0004”, the corresponding is “camera ID = 0001”. Therefore, an event video request signal is transmitted to the event management camera 2 with “camera ID = 0001”. The parameter transmitted from the event management server 3b to the event management camera 2 is an event ID.

  Subsequently, the event browsing terminal 4 transmits an event video request signal from the browsing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 of the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management server 3b instead of the event management camera 2 in the above-described step S206. Here, the data format of the data transmitted from the event browsing terminal 4 to the event management server 3b includes a notification destination browsing terminal ID as a request source and an event ID corresponding to the requested event video. Become. In step S207 described above, after the information received from the event management server 3b instead of the event management camera 2 is stored in the viewing terminal side event related information storage unit 43, the event video is displayed on the display unit 44.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the event management camera 2 is used has been described as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the event management camera 2a can be used by applying the contents of the second embodiment to the present embodiment.

  With the above configuration, the event management server 3b relays the event video notification using the event ID as a key, so that each of the event browsing terminal 4 and the event management cameras 2 and 2a communicates only with the event management server 3b. Just get better. Therefore, when the event management server 3b receives an event video request signal from the event browsing terminal 4 and transmits the event video request signal to the event management cameras 2 and 2a, the request signal from the event browsing terminal 4 is transmitted. It is possible to improve the security of the event management system 1b by confirming whether or not is appropriate and transmitting an event video request signal to the event management cameras 2 and 2a only when it is appropriate. That is, the event management server 3b stores the correspondence relationship between the event browsing terminal 4 and the event management camera 2 or 2a that the event browsing terminal 4 wishes to notify of event information as a notification destination management table as shown in FIG. When the event information received from the event management camera 2 or 2a is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4, the received event management camera 2 or 2 is referred to by referring to the notification destination management table as shown in FIG. The event information from 2a is transmitted to the corresponding event browsing terminal 4. Since the event browsing terminal 4 requests an event video based on the event information received from the event management server 3b, the correspondence between the event management cameras 2 and 2a related to the notification of the event video and the event browsing terminal 4 In addition, a notification destination management table as shown in FIG. 5 can be applied.

  In addition, when a request deviating from the correspondence relationship in the notification destination management table, that is, when an event video request signal is transmitted to a certain event management camera 2 or 2a from an event browsing terminal 4 that is not registered as a notification destination browsing terminal ID. Can be determined as an inappropriate request by referring to the notification destination management table managed by the event management server 3b. For example, if the event video request signal parameters received by the event management server 3b from the event browsing terminal 4 are the notification destination browsing terminal ID “U02” and the event ID “A0004”, the event management server 3b A camera ID corresponding to the event ID is specified with reference to an event information table as shown in FIG. 19 stored in the server-side event information storage unit 32. Taking FIG. 19 as an example, “camera ID = 0001” corresponds to “event ID = A0004”. Next, with reference to the notification destination management table as shown in FIG. 5 stored in the notification destination storage unit 34, it is determined whether or not the request (transmission of a request signal) from the event browsing terminal 4 is appropriate. To do. The parameter information received in the event video request is “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U02” and “camera ID = 0001”. On the other hand, taking FIG. 5 as an example, the correspondence registered in the notification destination management table is “camera ID = 0001”, and the notification destination corresponding to the camera ID is “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01”. . Therefore, a request for an event video from the event browsing terminal 4 with “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U02” is not registered in the notification destination management table and can be determined to be inappropriate. If it is not appropriate, for example, the event management server 3b may be configured not to transmit the request signal for the event video to the event management cameras 2 and 2a. Further, the event browsing terminal 4 that has requested the event video is notified that the event video request is not appropriate, and the event browsing terminal 4 displays, for example, “the event video request is not correct”. May be configured to be performed on the display unit 44. As described above, it is determined whether or not the request for the event video is appropriate, and the event video is requested and notified only when it is appropriate. Therefore, the event video is not notified to the inappropriate event browsing terminal 4, and the event video is requested. It becomes possible to increase the security of the event video in the management system 1b.

[Embodiment 4]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. Note that configurations other than those described in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the third embodiment. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the drawings of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Omitted.

  In the first to third embodiments, the configuration in which event information is transmitted from the event management servers 3, 3 a, 3 b to the event browsing terminal 4 one by one in the order in which the event information is received is shown. In the present embodiment, a configuration will be described in which event information is accumulated up to a predetermined amount in the event management server 3c, and the event browsing terminal 4 is notified periodically. The event management system 1c according to the present embodiment is different from the event management systems 1, 1a, and 1b according to the first to third embodiments in place of the event management servers 3, 3a, and 3b. Is different.

  First, the outline of the configuration of the event management server 3c will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 36 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the event management server 3c in the present embodiment. The event management server 3c includes a server-side wireless communication unit 31, a server-side event information storage unit 32, a server-side event related information communication processing unit 33, a notification destination storage unit 34, and an untransmitted event information determination unit 61. The server-side wireless communication unit 31 includes a server-side event information receiving unit 35, a server-side request receiving unit (second request receiving unit) 37, and a server-side event video receiving unit 39. Further, the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33 includes a server-side event information transmission unit (second event-related information transmission unit) 36, a server-side request transmission unit 38, and a server-side event video transmission unit (second event video transmission). Means) 40. In FIG. 36, for simplification of description, among these, the server-side wireless communication unit 31, the server-side event information storage unit 32, the server-side event related information communication processing unit 33, the server-side event information reception unit 35, the server-side event information Only the transmission unit 36 and the untransmitted event information determination unit 61 are illustrated.

  First, the untransmitted event information determination unit 61 extracts untransmitted (unnotified) event information from the server-side event information storage unit 32 at predetermined time intervals. Then, the extracted event information is sent to the server-side event information transmission unit 36. The unsent event information determination unit 61 also extracts a corresponding event ID together with the event information, and sends it to the server side event information transmission unit 36 as event information with an identifier. The predetermined time here can be arbitrarily set, and the untransmitted event information determination unit 61 can perform processing at predetermined time by using a timer, for example. The extraction of unreported event information by the unsent event information determination unit 61 will be described in detail later.

  Here, an example of the event information table stored in the server-side event information storage unit 32 of the event management server 3c will be described with reference to FIG. The contents of each item in the event information table are the same as those in the event information table of FIG. 19, and thus will not be described here. In the first embodiment, event information is stored in the order of reception from the event management camera 2 as shown in FIG. 19, but in this embodiment, the event information is collected for each camera ID as shown in FIG. Store it. This is because, when event information is later transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 collectively, it is determined for which event browsing terminal 4 the event is transmitted for each camera ID, and transmission data is created. It is.

  Next, the processing flow in the event management server 3c will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the event management server 3c.

  First, in step S401, when the server-side event information receiving unit 35 receives data (Yes in step S401), the process proceeds to step S402. If the server-side event information receiving unit 35 has not received data (No in step S401), the process proceeds to step S405.

  Subsequently, in step S402, when the received data is notification destination information from the event browsing terminal 4 ("notification destination information" in step S402), the process proceeds to step S403. If the received data is event information from the event management camera 2 (“event information” in step S402), the process proceeds to step S404. In step S403, the notification destination information is registered (stored) in the notification destination storage unit 34, and the process proceeds to step S409. The details of storing the notification destination information are the same as in the first embodiment. In step S404, the event information is accumulated (stored) in the server-side event information storage unit 32, and the process proceeds to step S409. The details of storing event information are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  Furthermore, in step S405, when the unsent event information determination unit 61 determines that it is the transmission time of the event information (Yes in step S405), the process proceeds to step S406. If the untransmitted event information determination unit 61 determines that it is not the event information transmission time (No in step S405), the process proceeds to step S409. In the event management server 3c, the event information transmission interval is set in advance to “5 minutes”, for example, and the event information is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 at this transmission interval.

  In step S406, when the event information transmission time is reached, the untransmitted event information determination unit 61 extracts untransmitted (unnotified) event information from the server-side event information storage unit 32. More specifically, the unsent event information is extracted by referring to the event information table as shown in FIG. Taking FIG. 37 as an example, the unreported event information is “event ID = A0003, A0004” for “camera ID = 0001” and “event ID = B0002” for “camera ID = 0002”. .

  Subsequently, in step S407, the routing table is updated in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the process proceeds to step S408. In step S408, each event information is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 based on the correspondence relationship between the event management camera 2 and the event browsing terminal 4 stored in the notification destination management table of FIG. 5, and the process proceeds to step S409. In FIG. 5, since the event information of “camera ID = 0001” is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 of “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01”, based on the event information table of FIG. Event information of “event ID = A0003, A0004” is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 of “browsing terminal ID = U01”. Similarly, in FIG. 5, since the event information of “camera ID = 0002” is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 of “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01, U03”, the event of “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01” Event information of “event ID = B0002” is also transmitted to the browsing terminal 4. Collectively, event information of “event ID = A0003, A0004, B0002” is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 of “notification destination browsing terminal ID = U01”.

  Here, FIG. 39 shows a data format of data to be transmitted when a plurality of pieces of event information are collectively transmitted from the event management server 3c to the event browsing terminal 4. The data format of the data transmitted from the event management server 3c to the event browsing terminal 4 includes a field indicating the number of events in addition to the server ID, the notification destination browsing terminal ID, the event ID, and the event information. . Further, event information continues after the number of events. For example, when the number of events is “3”, there are three pieces of event information that follow.

  Finally, in step S409, when the monitoring process in the event management server 3c for notifying the event browsing terminal of the event information transmitted from the event management camera 2 is completed (Yes in step S409), the flow ends. To do. If the monitoring process in the event management server 3c has not ended (No in step S409), the process returns to step S401 to repeat the flow.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the event management camera 2 is used has been described as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the event management camera 2a can be used by applying the contents of the second embodiment to the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the event management systems 1, 1 a, 1 c include the event management cameras 2, 2 a and the event management servers 3, 3 a, 3 c, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the event management camera 2 or 2 a receives notification destination information from the event browsing terminal 4 and stores it in the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19 or transmits event information from the event management camera 2 or 2 a to the event browsing terminal 4. By doing so, the event management servers 3, 3a, 3c may not be included. In this case, in the event management system 1a, the camera-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit 51 refers to the event video notification permission table of the notification destination browsing terminal ID storage unit 19 to transmit the event video to the event browsing terminal 4. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which determines propriety. In the event management system 1c, the event management cameras 2 and 2a include the unsent event information determination unit 61, and the unsent event information determination unit 61 is not notified from the camera-side event related information storage unit 17 to the event browsing terminal 4. The event information may be extracted.

  In the present embodiment, a configuration using an ad hoc network as the network of the event management system 1 is shown, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. When an ad hoc network is not used as the network of the event management system 1, the ad hoc network is constructed and managed by the camera side radio communication unit 22, the server side radio communication unit 31, and the viewing terminal side radio communication unit 41, and ad hoc A configuration may be adopted in which data communication is performed using a preset route without managing the network route table. In the event management system 1, when an ad hoc network is partially used, the camera side wireless communication unit 22, the server side wireless communication unit 31, and the viewing terminal side wireless communication unit 41 that use the ad hoc network A configuration / management process and an ad hoc network route table may be managed, and a terminal that does not use an ad hoc network may be configured to perform data communication through a preset route. For example, when the event management camera 2 and / or the event browsing terminal 4 (for example, a portable information terminal) is a terminal that can be freely moved, if the network route is determined in advance, the event management camera 2 and / or the event browsing terminal 4 can be moved. Accordingly, since the communication wave may not reach, the network path is preferably variable according to the situation. On the other hand, in the case of the event management server 3 and / or an event browsing terminal that is difficult to move (for example, a home terminal), if the network route is first set, there is no need to change the network route. It is more efficient to communicate using a preset route without checking the communication route each time using. Therefore, for communication between mobile terminals or for communication with mobile terminals, an ad hoc network that can flexibly change the communication route according to the situation is used, and an ad hoc network is used between terminals that have fixed installation locations. By adopting a configuration in which communication is performed using a preset route without network communication, it is possible to efficiently perform network communication as the entire system.

  According to the above configuration, the event browsing terminal 4 registers in advance the event management cameras 2 and 2a for viewing the event information in the event management servers 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c. The event information received from the event management camera 2 or 2a is notified of the event information from the event management camera 2 or 2a based on the information such as the notification destination browsing terminal ID of the event browsing terminal 4 registered in advance. receive. Furthermore, when the user wants to view the event video corresponding to the notified event information, the event browsing terminal requests the event video directly from the event management camera 2 or 2a to acquire and display the desired event video. To do. As a result, the event browsing terminal 4 can receive notification of only necessary event information through the mediation of the event management servers 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c. Since it is received from the management cameras 2 and 2a, it is possible to receive notification of necessary information at a necessary timing without imposing a load on the network traffic.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the event management systems 1, 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c are the events detected from the video captured by the event management cameras 2 and 2 a. Notification to the management server 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, and necessary event browsing based on the information on the correspondence necessary for notification for each event browsing terminal 4 recorded in advance in the event management server 3, 3a, 3b, 3c The terminal 4 is selected and event information is notified. Second, an event video is transmitted to the event browsing terminal 4 in response to a request from the event browsing terminal 4 or the event management server 3b. For this reason, the event management server 3, 3a, 3b, 3c first selects the event browsing terminal 4 that is required and notifies the event data of lightweight data, so that event information notification is not applied to the network traffic. Can be done smoothly. Further, since the event video, which is more detailed information of the event information, is notified only when the event browsing terminal 4 desires, it is possible to further reduce the traffic load on the network.

  For example, when the event browsing terminal 4 is a mobile phone and the event management camera 2 or 2a is a monitoring camera installed for each of a plurality of cars parked in a parking lot, When the present invention is applied, when an event occurs in any of the above cars (when a suspicious person approaches, or a car collides with another car, etc.), the owner of the car in which the event has occurred It is possible to send event information only to the telephone. Also, the correspondence between the event management cameras 2 and 2a stored in the notification destination storage unit 34 of the event management server 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c and the event browsing terminal 4, that is, the camera ID of the monitoring camera and the notification of the mobile phone Since it is possible to change the notification destination of the event information simply by changing the correspondence relationship with the previously viewed terminal ID, even if the owner who parks the car in the parking lot is changed, the event management server 3 from the mobile phone If the corresponding relationship is registered for 3a, 3b, and 3c as described in the present embodiment, event information can be easily notified to the mobile phone of the new owner.

  In addition, for example, when a mobile phone and a personal computer owned by one user are registered in the notification destination storage unit 34 as the event browsing terminal 4 that is a notification destination of event information, it is determined that a predetermined event has occurred. In addition to receiving notifications at the two event browsing terminals 4 (mobile phone and personal computer) owned by the user, the event browsing terminals 4 can be used properly according to the situation for requesting and browsing the event video from the event browsing terminal 4. It becomes like this. Specifically, when the user is at home and the event viewing terminal 4 of both the mobile phone and the personal computer receives the event occurrence notification almost simultaneously (receives notification of the event information), more detailed information It is possible to selectively use event video browsing on a personal computer suitable for browsing video information in terms of specifications.

  Finally, each block of the event management cameras 2 and 2a, the event management servers 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c included in the event management system 1, 1a, 1b, and 1c, and the event browsing terminal 4 is configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU as follows.

  That is, the event management cameras 2 and 2a, the event management servers 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c, and the event browsing terminal 4 store a CPU (central processing unit) that executes a command of a control program that realizes each function, and the program A read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM) for expanding the program, and a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data. The object of the present invention is to provide program codes (execution format programs) of control programs for the event management cameras 2 and 2a, the event management servers 3 and 3a, 3b, and 3c, and the event browsing terminal 4, which are software that realizes the functions described above. , An intermediate code program, and a source program) are supplied to the event management cameras 2 and 2a, the event management servers 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c, and the event browsing terminal 4, and the computer ( Alternatively, this can be achieved by reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the CPU or MPU.

  Examples of the recording medium include tapes such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disks such as floppy (registered trademark) disks / hard disks, and disks including optical disks such as CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  In addition, the event management cameras 2 and 2a, the event management servers 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c, and the event browsing terminal 4 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. . The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and the present invention can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Such embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the imaging apparatus, the server, the control program thereof, the computer-readable recording medium storing the control program, the event management system, and the control method of the present invention generate an event without imposing a load on the network traffic. Can be quickly and easily notified to an appropriate browsing terminal. Therefore, the present invention can be suitably used in an industrial field related to an event management system that detects an event from video captured by a camera and notifies a viewing terminal.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the event management camera in this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the event management system in this invention. It is the figure which showed typically the object and event in this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the event management server in this invention. It is the figure which showed the specific example of the notification destination management table of the said event management server. It is a functional block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the event browsing terminal in this invention. It is the figure which showed the flow of the data between the said event management camera, the said event management server, and the said event browsing terminal. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow with the said event management camera. It is the figure which showed the data format of the data transmitted with respect to the said event management server from the said event management camera. It is the figure which showed an example of the event image | video notification permission table in this invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the event relevant information table stored in the camera side event relevant information storage part of the said event management camera. It is the figure which showed the data format of the data transmitted with respect to the said event browsing terminal from the said event management camera. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow of the object detection in the event related information processing part of the said event management camera. It is a schematic diagram of the image created at each step of the background image creation process in the event management camera. It is a schematic diagram of the image created at each step of the object presence / absence detection process in the event management camera. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow of the event detection in the event related information processing part of the said event management camera. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow of the update of the route table of the ad hoc network in the camera side radio | wireless communication part of the said event management camera. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow in the said event management server. It is the figure which showed an example of the event information table stored in the server side event information storage part of the said event management server. It is the figure which showed the data format of the data transmitted with respect to the said event browsing terminal from the said event management server. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow in the said event browsing terminal. It is the figure which showed the example of a display of the selection screen in the said event browsing terminal which selects the event management camera which wants to receive notification of event information. It is the figure which showed an example of the event information table stored in the browsing terminal side event related information storage part of the said event browsing terminal. It is the figure which showed the example of a display of the event information on the display part of the said event browsing terminal. It is the figure which showed an example of the operation corresponding table of the operation part of the said event browsing terminal. It is the figure which showed the data format of the data transmitted with respect to the said event management camera from the said event browsing terminal. It is the figure which showed typically the example of the division | segmentation of the display area in the said display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the present display content corresponding | compatible table managed by the said display part. It is the figure which showed the example of a display in the said display part. It is a functional block diagram which shows other embodiment of the event management camera in this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows other embodiment of the event management server in this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow at the time of the transmission of the event image | video with the said event management camera. It is the figure which showed the data format of the data transmitted to the said event browsing terminal from the said event management camera. It is the figure which showed the example of a display in the said display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the event image | video request management table in this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows other embodiment of the event management server in this invention. It is the figure which showed an example of the event information table stored in the server side event information storage part of the said event management server. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement flow in the said event management server. It is the figure which showed the data format of the data in the case of transmitting several event information collectively from the said event management server to the said event browsing terminal.

Explanation of symbols

1 Event management system 2 Event management camera (imaging device)
3 Event management server (server)
4 Event browsing terminal (viewing terminal)
5 Area 11 Video acquisition unit 12 Video storage unit 13 Event related information processing unit (event related information processing means)
14 background image creation unit 15 event extraction unit 16 event analysis unit 17 camera side event related information storage unit (event video storage unit)
18 Event identifier giving unit (event identifier giving means)
19 Notification destination browsing terminal ID storage (transmission list storage)
20 camera side event related information communication processing unit 21 camera side event information transmitting unit (first event related information transmitting means)
22 Camera-side wireless communication unit 23 Camera-side request receiving unit (first request receiving means)
24 Event video extraction unit (event video extraction means)
25 Camera-side event video transmission unit (first event video transmission means)
31 Server-side wireless communication unit 32 Server-side event information storage unit (event summary information storage unit)
33 server-side event related information communication processing unit 34 notification destination storage unit 35 server-side event information receiving unit 36 server-side event information transmitting unit (second event-related information transmitting means)
37 Server-side request receiver (second request receiver)
38 server-side request transmitter 39 server-side event video receiver 40 server-side event video transmitter (second event video transmitter)
51 Camera side event video transmission availability confirmation unit (event video transmission availability confirmation means)
52 Server-side event video transmission availability confirmation unit (event video transmission availability determination means)
61 Unsent event information determination unit (unsent event summary information determination means)

Claims (16)

An imaging device connected to a plurality of browsing terminals on a network,
Event overview information, which is information obtained by detecting an event that is a motion or change of an object from a captured video, and extracting feature points of the event based on the event, and video corresponding to the event in the captured video Event-related information processing means for generating a part of the event video;
Event identifier giving means for giving an event identifier that is an identifier for identifying the event to the event summary information;
An event video storage unit for storing the event video data;
First event related information transmitting means for transmitting the event summary information to which the event identifier is assigned to one or more of the viewing terminals;
A first request for receiving, from the viewing terminal, an event video request signal including an event identifier for the selected event created by selecting an event on one or more viewing terminals based on the event summary information. Receiving means;
Event video extraction means for extracting event video data corresponding to each event identifier transmitted from the viewing terminal from the event video storage unit;
An imaging apparatus comprising: first event video transmission means for transmitting event video data extracted by the event video extraction means to the corresponding viewing terminal. Furthermore, it is connected on the network with a plurality of browsing terminals via a server,
The first event related information transmitting means transmits the event summary information to which the event identifier is assigned to one or more viewing terminals via the server,
The first request receiving means receives the request signal from one or more browsing terminals directly or via the server,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first event video transmission unit transmits the data of the event video to the corresponding browsing terminal directly or via the server. The imaging device has an imaging device identifier that is an identifier for uniquely identifying the device on the network,
The first event related information transmission unit transmits the imaging device identifier to one or more viewing terminals in addition to the event summary information to which the event identifier is assigned. Imaging device.   The event summary information includes at least the occurrence time of the event, the type of the detected object, the moving direction of the object in the event, the start time of the event, the end time of the event, or the object in the event The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging apparatus includes information on any kind of movement of an object. A transmission list storage unit for acquiring and storing in advance transmission availability information that is information related to the availability of transmission of event video to the plurality of viewing terminals from the server;
The first event video transmission means transmits event video data to the viewing terminal based on the transmission permission information stored in the transmission list storage unit. Or the imaging device of 4. A server connected to an imaging device and a plurality of browsing terminals on a network,
A notification destination storage unit for storing correspondences between the imaging device and the plurality of browsing terminals;
Event summary, which is information obtained by extracting feature points of the event, to which an event identifier that is an identifier for identifying an event that is an exercise or change of an object in a video captured by the imaging device is assigned from the imaging device Event-related information receiving means for receiving information;
Second event related information transmitting means for transmitting the event summary information to one or more viewing terminals based on the correspondence relationship stored in the notification destination storage unit;
Receiving a request signal of an event video including an event identifier for the selected event, which is created by selecting an event at each of the one or more viewing terminals based on the event summary information, from the viewing terminal; A request receiving means;
Request signal transmission means for transmitting the request signal to the imaging device based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit;
Event video receiving means for receiving event video data corresponding to the event identifier included in the request signal from the imaging device;
A server comprising: second event video transmission means for transmitting the event video data to a corresponding viewing terminal based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit. An event summary information storage unit for storing event summary information to which the event identifier is given, received by the event-related information receiving unit;
The event summary information stored in the event summary information storage unit further comprises unsent event summary information determination means for periodically determining whether or not the event summary information has not been transmitted to the viewing terminal,
The second event related information transmission means reads out the event summary information that has not been transmitted to the viewing terminal among the information stored in the event summary information storage unit, based on the determination by the unsent event summary information determination means, The server according to claim 6, wherein the unsent event summary information is transmitted to the corresponding browsing terminal based on the correspondence relationship stored in the notification destination storage unit.   A control program that causes a computer to operate as each of the units included in the imaging apparatus according to claim 1.   A control program that causes a computer to operate as each of the units included in the server according to claim 6.   A computer-readable recording medium in which the control program according to claim 8 or 9 is recorded. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An event management system comprising a plurality of browsing terminals connected on a network.   The event management system according to claim 11, further comprising a server according to claim 6 connected on a network in addition to the imaging device and the plurality of browsing terminals. The imaging apparatus further comprises event video transmission availability confirmation means for inquiring of the server whether or not event video transmission to the viewing terminal is possible after receiving the request signal by the first request signal reception means,
The server refers to the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit in response to an inquiry about whether or not event video can be transmitted to the browsing terminal transmitted from the imaging device, and the browsing terminal Event video transmission availability determination means for determining whether or not event video data can be transmitted to
The imaging apparatus transmits the event video data directly or via the server to the viewing terminal by the first event video transmission unit according to the determination result received from the server. The event management system according to claim 12.   The event management system according to claim 11, wherein the network includes an ad hoc network that autonomously constructs a communication network among a plurality of constituent terminals. A method for controlling an imaging device connected to a plurality of browsing terminals on a network,
Event-related information processing means detects an event that is the movement or change of the target object from the captured video, and based on the event, event summary information that is information obtained by extracting feature points of the event, and the captured video An event-related information processing step for generating an event video that is a video portion corresponding to the event in question,
An event identifier assigning step for assigning an event identifier that is an identifier for identifying the event to the event summary information by the event identifier assigning means;
An event video storage step of storing the event video data in the event video storage unit;
A first event related information transmitting step of transmitting event summary information to which the event identifier is assigned to one or more of the viewing terminals by a first event related information transmitting means;
A request signal for an event video including an event identifier for the selected event, which is created by selecting an event at one or more of the viewing terminals based on the event summary information by the first request receiving means, A first request receiving step received from the terminal;
Event video extraction step of extracting event video data corresponding to individual event identifiers transmitted from the viewing terminal by the event video extraction means from the event video storage unit;
A control method comprising: a first event video transmission step of transmitting event video data extracted by the event video extraction step to the corresponding viewing terminal by a first event video transmission means. A method of controlling a server connected to an imaging device and a plurality of browsing terminals on a network,
A notification destination storage step of storing the correspondence relationship between the imaging device and the plurality of browsing terminals in a notification destination storage unit;
A feature point of the event, to which an event identifier, which is an identifier for identifying an event that is a motion or change of an object in a video captured by the imaging device, is given by the event-related information receiving unit from the imaging device. An event-related information receiving step for receiving event summary information that is extracted information;
A second event related information transmitting step of transmitting the event summary information to one or more of the viewing terminals based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit by a second event related information transmitting means;
A request signal for an event video including an event identifier for the selected event, which is created by selecting each event at one or more of the viewing terminals based on the event summary information by the second request receiving unit, A second request receiving step received from the browsing terminal;
A request signal transmitting step of transmitting the request signal to the imaging device based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit by a request signal transmitting unit;
Event video receiving step of receiving event video data corresponding to the event identifier included in the request signal from the imaging device by the event video receiving means;
A second event video transmission step of transmitting data of the event video to a corresponding viewing terminal based on the correspondence stored in the notification destination storage unit by a second event video transmission means. Characteristic control method.

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