JP4136638B2 - Surveillance system, monitored site computer, monitoring site computer, and mobile phone - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a monitoring system, a computer at a monitored site, a computer at a monitoring site, and a mobile phone, and more particularly to a monitoring system in which a third party monitors a remote location via a communication line such as a public line, an extension line, or a LAN. It is suitable for use.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of a general monitoring system. In FIG. 16, a monitored site (1701) is placed at a location to be monitored, and necessary monitoring information is collected by a video camera, a sensor, or the like. The collected monitoring information is transmitted to the monitoring site (1702) via a public line or the like. A so-called observer is staying at the monitoring site (1702), and the monitoring information sent from the monitored site (1701) is regularly or periodically checked. Makes it possible to do.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The problem with such a monitoring system as described above is that the information on the privacy of the monitored side becomes completely visible to the monitor. Nonetheless, there is no problem if the owner of the monitored site (1701) is a monitor, but when a third party is a monitor, there is a big problem regarding the protection of the privacy of the monitored party. It was.
[0004]
In order to avoid this problem, there are also monitoring systems that limit the information provided to the monitoring staff. However, in such a monitoring system, there is another error such as false alarms or oversight of abnormalities. There was an inconvenience that caused problems.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and can prevent leakage of all privacy information to personnel at the monitoring site, and can prevent oversight of abnormal situations as much as possible. The purpose is to provide a monitoring system.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The monitoring system of the present invention is a monitoring system that includes a computer at a monitored site, a computer at the monitored site, and a mobile phone, and performs monitoring via a communication line. Storage means for storing the obtained image; simplification means for simplifying the image obtained from the photographing means; and image transmission means for transmitting the image simplified by the simplification means to the computer at the monitoring site; A command receiving means for receiving a command from the computer at the monitoring site and the mobile phone, and a representative example of a sample from an image accumulated by the accumulating means when an event occurrence notification command is received by the command receiving means Before an event notification message that includes a sample image created by extracting the image An event notification means for transmitting to a mobile phone, and a non-simplified image stored by the storage means when the command reception means receives a transmission start command for the image stored by the storage means from the mobile phone. Stored image transmission means for transmitting to a computer at the monitoring site, the computer at the monitoring site being simplified from the computer at the monitored site and stored by the storage means with the simplified image. Image information receiving means for receiving no image, image display means for displaying the simplified image received by the image information receiving means, and event occurrence notification command input means for inputting the event occurrence notification command And the event occurrence notification input by the command input means An event occurrence notification command transmission means for transmitting a command to the computer at the monitored site, and the mobile phone displays a sample image included in the event notification message received from the computer at the monitored site Means for inputting an event confirmation processing command, and for transmitting the image accumulated by the accumulation means to the computer at the monitoring site in response to the input of the event confirmation processing command. A stored image transmission start command transmission means for creating a transmission start command and transmitting the transmission start command to a computer at the monitored site;
The computer of the monitored site according to the present invention is capable of configuring the monitoring system.
The monitoring site computer of the present invention is characterized in that the monitoring system can be configured.
The mobile phone of the present invention is characterized in that the monitoring system can be configured.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the monitoring system of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram for explaining the outline of the monitoring system. The monitoring system according to the present embodiment includes three types of sites: a monitored site (201), a monitoring site (202), and a confirmation site (203).
[0008]
The monitored site (201) is placed at a location to be monitored. Then, necessary information is collected by a video camera, a sensor, etc., and the collected monitoring information is transmitted to the monitoring site (202).
[0009]
In the present embodiment, at this time, information related to privacy or the like is deleted (referred to as simplification) and then transmitted to the monitoring site (202) (shown in FIG. 2A). In addition, in the event that detailed information is needed later, the information before simplification is also stored in the secondary storage device or the like so that it can be taken out and transmitted whenever necessary (see FIG. 2 (e).
[0010]
However, the detailed information before the simplification cannot be freely accessed from the monitoring site (202). In order for the monitoring site (202) to access detailed information that is not simplified, permission from the confirmation site (203) is required. Therefore, normally, the monitoring site (202) determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred based on the simplified information.
[0011]
When the monitoring site (202) determines that there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred, the monitoring site (202) notifies the confirmation site (203) (shown in (b) of the figure). At this time, in the present embodiment, notification is not made directly from the monitoring site (202) to the confirmation site (203) but via the monitored site (201). In this way, it is possible to add information necessary for permitting access to detailed information or detailed information not simplified to the monitoring site (202) by notification.
[0012]
The confirmation site (203) is allowed to access more detailed information than the monitoring site (202). For example, the owner of the monitored site (201) is allowed to access detailed information. The confirmation site (203) uses the information transferred via the monitored site (201) to determine whether there is an error or to provide more detailed information to the monitoring site (202). (Shown in (c) of FIG. 2), a countermeasure such as requesting an investigation of the situation is performed (shown in (d) of FIG. 2).
[0013]
In order to implement the above processing, each site has the following means.
The monitored site (201) is an “information collection means” composed of a video camera and various sensors, and a means for deleting information related to privacy from the information acquired by the above information collection means. Means "," information storage means "for storing and storing information acquired by the" information collection means "," information transmission means "for transmitting information collected to the monitoring site and the confirmation site, the monitoring site (202), and It has “command execution means” for receiving and executing a command from the confirmation site (203) and “authentication means” for performing user authentication as necessary.
[0014]
The monitoring site (202) displays “information receiving means” for receiving the monitoring information collected at the monitored site (201) and the monitoring information collected at the monitored site (201) on a display or the like. The “information display means”, “command input means” for inputting a command to the monitored site (201), and “command transmission means” for transmitting the command to the monitored site (201) ing.
[0015]
The confirmation site (203) displays “information receiving means” for receiving the monitoring information collected at the monitored site (201) and the monitoring information collected at the monitored site (201) on a display or the like. "Information display means", "command input means" for inputting a command to the monitored site (201), "command transmission means" for sending a command to the monitored site (201), "Notification receiving means" for receiving a report of a situation that seems to be abnormal notified from the site (201), and processing such as requesting more detailed information according to the notification received by the above "notification receiving means" And “notification analysis means”.
[0016]
With the above configuration and each means provided in each configuration, it is normally possible to prevent the monitoring staff (monitoring site personnel) from being given more information than necessary by transmitting simplified information. Therefore, it is possible to realize a monitoring system that can prevent leakage of privacy information and prevent oversight of abnormal situations by taking appropriate measures at the confirmation site in abnormal situations.
[0017]
Next, an embodiment of the monitoring system of the present invention will be described.
Here, an application example of the present invention using the Internet and a mobile phone will be described as an embodiment.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the concept of the monitoring system of the present embodiment.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral (301) denotes a monitoring camera capable of transmitting video via the Internet (in this embodiment, an infrastructure such as an analog telephone line or an ISDN line is used) (the monitored target in FIG. 2). Equivalent to Site 201).
[0019]
This video transmission function may be incorporated in the surveillance camera itself, or may be realized by connecting another device to the camera like the surveillance camera 301.
In this embodiment, the surveillance camera (301) is connected not only to a video camera but also to an appropriate sensor (such as a contact sensor or an infrared sensor). Information detected by this sensor is also transmitted via the Internet.
[0020]
(302) is a monitoring site. In the present embodiment, it is realized as software operating on a general personal computer (PC). The monitoring site (302) acquires image data and sensor information from the monitoring camera (301), and outputs the contents to an output device such as a display for the monitoring person (monitoring person) to check (monitoring in FIG. 2). Equivalent to Site 202).
[0021]
(303) is a mobile phone site. The mobile phone site (303) can also receive and display notifications from the monitoring site (302), image data from the monitoring camera (301), and sensor information (corresponding to the confirmation site 203 in FIG. 2). ).
[0022]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation procedure of the present embodiment.
Normally, in a situation where no special incident has occurred, the monitoring camera (301) transmits image data and sensor information to the monitoring site (302) (normal monitoring process: step S601).
[0023]
At this point, the image data has been subjected to appropriate simplification processing, and the monitoring site 302 receives only the simplified image. At the monitoring site (302), the monitor monitors the simple image and sensor information constantly or periodically. If the monitoring person finds any abnormality in the simplified image or sensor information (step S602, in the present embodiment, this abnormality detection is hereinafter referred to as “event detection”), the event detection is made to the mobile phone site (303). Notify (event notification processing, step S603).
[0024]
It is also possible to automate the work of the observer. What is necessary is just to add the means to detect abnormality from sensor information or a simple image. As a method for detecting an abnormality, a method in which a sensor input exceeds a certain value or a moving object of a certain size or more is detected in a simple image can be applied.
[0025]
On the mobile phone site (303) side, detailed information is acquired from the monitoring camera (301) and it is confirmed whether an abnormality has actually occurred (step S604, event confirmation processing).
[0026]
Next, details of the monitoring camera (301), the monitoring site (302), and the mobile phone site (303) will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the monitoring camera (301).
In the present embodiment, the monitoring camera (301) includes a video camera (102), a monitoring box (101), a sensor (103), and the like.
[0027]
The video camera (102) is connected to the monitoring box (101) and used for photographing near the installation location.
The sensor (103) is also connected to the monitoring box (101) and can detect an appropriate phenomenon. Although the present embodiment does not specify the type of sensor, an infrared sensor is temporarily used in the present embodiment.
[0028]
The infrared sensor is used, for example, in an automatic door or the like, and can detect passage of an object. In this embodiment, one video camera and one sensor are connected to one monitoring box. However, even when this is extended so that a plurality of video cameras and sensors can be connected, there is a method described below. It can be applied as it is.
[0029]
The monitoring box (101) is composed of the following means. In FIG. 1, the hardware configuration is not specified, but a computer such as a general personal computer PC having a CPU, a main memory, and a secondary storage device is assumed. As for the input / output devices, those other than the video camera (102) and the sensor (103) are not essential. Further, data is exchanged between means connected by arrows such as “image capture means (104)” and “image transmission means (107)”.
[0030]
The image capture means (104) is a means for acquiring a video signal in NTSC format or PAL format from the video camera (102) and converting it into an image data format that can be easily processed by a computer, such as a bitmap format, JPEG or MPEG. .
[0031]
The image primary storage means (105) records the image data acquired by the image capture means (104) in the secondary storage device. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the image data is held for 10 minutes and replaced with newer image data after 10 minutes. Here, the recording period of 10 minutes may be appropriately changed according to the storage capacity of the secondary storage device and the size of the image data. If the secondary storage device has a very large storage capacity and can hold several months to years of image data, the recording period is not limited. In this case, the image secondary storage means (108) described later is also unnecessary.
[0032]
The image simplification means (106) is means for simplifying the image data acquired by the image capture means (104) and converting it into a format that may be seen on the monitoring site. In the present invention, the simplification method is not particularly defined, but in the present embodiment, it is assumed that a mosaic is applied to the image data using a general mosaic method.
[0033]
The image transmission means (107) is means for transmitting the image data generated by the image capture means (104) and the image simplification means (106) to the monitoring site (302) and the mobile phone site (303). In the present embodiment, TCP / IP and general protocols such as FTP and HTTP implemented thereon are used for transmitting image data. For this reason, this means is implemented using a general interprocess communication means such as socket.
[0034]
Similar to the image primary storage means (105), the image secondary storage means (108) is means for recording image data in a secondary storage device or the like. Unlike the image primary storage means (105), the data is not deleted even after 10 minutes. If the data held in the primary image storage means (105) is transferred to this means, it can be prevented from being deleted after 10 minutes.
[0035]
The sensor control means (109) is means for obtaining sensor information (information such as detection of the passage of an object) from the sensor (103). The information acquired from the sensor is converted into an appropriate internal data format so that other means can handle it.
[0036]
The sensor information storage means (110) is means for storing the sensor information acquired by the sensor control means (103). Normally, sensor information is much smaller in size than image data. Therefore, in this embodiment, a method of dividing the sensor information into primary storage means and secondary storage means is not adopted, but there is no particular problem even if it is adopted.
[0037]
The sensor information transmission means (111) is means for transmitting the image data generated by the sensor control means (109) to the monitoring site (302) or the mobile phone site (303). Similar to the image transmission means (107), it can be realized by using a general interprocess communication means.
[0038]
The sample image creation means (112) is a means for extracting the most characteristic image from the image data held in the image secondary storage means (108). For example, when a sensor detects a moving object, a sample image is created by a method such as using an image in which a moving object is displayed in the middle as a sample. The created sample image is used to determine the occurrence of an abnormality at the mobile phone site (303).
[0039]
The sample image creating means (112) assumes a situation where the capability of the mobile phone site is low and the image stored in the image secondary storage means cannot be processed as it is. In the future, if the mobile phone site has the same capability as a general personal computer and the transmission path between the surveillance camera and the mobile phone site can handle a large amount of image data, The sample creation function becomes unnecessary.
[0040]
The command receiving means (113) is a means for receiving a command (command) transmitted from the monitoring site (302) or the mobile phone site (303). Similar to the image transmission means (107) and the like, it is realized by using a general interprocess communication means.
[0041]
The command interpretation / execution means (114) is means for interpreting the command received by the command reception means (113) and performing appropriate processing. The command of this embodiment adopts an ASCII character string format that can be understood by humans. Therefore, this means can be realized by performing general character string processing.
[0042]
Some user authentication means (115) require user authentication depending on the type of command. For example, a command for downloading non-simplified image data stored in the image primary storage means may infringe privacy, and thus requires user authentication. This means is means for performing this user authentication. As an authentication method, user authentication using a password or a personal identification number can be used, but in this embodiment, the security is enhanced by adding a one-time password issuing means (116) described later.
[0043]
The one-time password issuing means (116) is a means for creating a temporarily usable password in accordance with a request from the user authentication means (115). As an implementation method, a random character string or data may be simply generated. The role of this means will be described in detail later.
[0044]
In this embodiment, the event notification means (117) notifies the mobile phone site (303) via the monitoring camera (301) when the monitoring site (302) detects an event (a situation that may be abnormal). To do. This means is introduced to realize this function. Detailed functions of this means will be described later.
[0045]
FIG. 4 is a software configuration diagram of the monitoring site (302, 401 in FIG. 4). The monitoring site software is composed of the following six means (modules).
The image information receiving means (402) is means for receiving the image data transmitted from the image transmission means (107). This means is also implemented using a general interprocess communication means.
[0046]
The image display means (403) is means for displaying the image data received by the image information receiving means (402). In the present embodiment, an image is displayed on a display included in the hardware configuration of a monitoring site (general personal computer PC).
[0047]
The sensor information receiving means (404) is means for receiving the sensor information transmitted from the sensor information transmitting means (111). This means is also implemented using a general interprocess communication means.
[0048]
The sensor information display means (405) is means for displaying the sensor information received by the sensor information receiving means (404). In this embodiment, sensor information is displayed as a character string on a display included in the hardware configuration of a monitoring site (general personal computer PC).
[0049]
The command input means (406) provides a user interface for the monitor to send a command to the monitoring camera (301). In the present embodiment, it is realized in the form of a button or the like displayed on the display.
[0050]
The command transmission means (407) converts the command issued by the monitor using the command input means (406) into a data format that can be interpreted by the command interpretation / execution means (114), and sends it to the command reception means (113). It is a means for transmitting. The transmission part is realized by using the inter-process communication function in the same way as other similar means (modules).
[0051]
FIG. 17 is an outline of the display on the display installed at the monitoring site (302). In FIG. 17, the display on the display 1801 is divided into three areas. The image display area (1802) displays image data transmitted from the monitoring camera (301).
[0052]
Sensor information is displayed in the sensor information display area (1803). 1805 is a display example of sensor information. The date and time when the sensor detected an abnormality is displayed. Buttons (six in FIG. 17) are arranged in the command input area (1804). By operating this button, a command can be transmitted to the surveillance camera.
[0053]
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the software configuration of the mobile phone site (303, 501 in FIG. 5). Although the hardware configuration is not shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the CPU, the main storage device and the output means capable of displaying images and characters and the input means capable of inputting some commands are the same as those of the personal computer PC.
[0054]
The mobile phone site software consists of the following seven means (modules). Except for 508 and 509, both the function and the implementation are the same as the means of the same name in the monitoring site (401).
[0055]
The image information receiving means (502) is means for receiving the image data transmitted from the image transmission means (107). This means is also implemented using a general interprocess communication means.
[0056]
The image display means (503) is means for displaying the image data received by the image information receiving means (502). In this embodiment, an image is displayed on a display included in the hardware configuration of the mobile phone site.
[0057]
The sensor information receiving means (504) is means for receiving sensor information transmitted from the sensor information transmitting means (111). This means is also implemented using a general interprocess communication means.
[0058]
The sensor information display means (505) is a means for displaying the sensor information received by the sensor information receiving means (504). In this embodiment, sensor information is displayed as a character string on a display included in the hardware configuration of the mobile phone site.
[0059]
The command input means (506) provides a user interface for a user of the mobile phone site (303) to transmit a command to the monitoring camera (301). In this embodiment, it is realized by a button of a mobile phone.
[0060]
The command transmission means (507) converts the command issued by the monitor using the command input means (505) into a data format that can be interpreted by the command interpretation / execution means (114), and sends it to the command reception means (113). It is a means for transmitting. The transmission part is realized by using the inter-process communication function in the same way as other similar means (modules).
[0061]
The event notification receiving means (508) is a module for receiving an occurrence notification of an event (an event that may be abnormal). A function substantially equivalent to the command receiving means (113) in the surveillance camera site (301) is realized.
[0062]
The event notification interpretation / execution means (509) analyzes the content of the event occurrence notification and performs processing according to the content. Functionally, it realizes almost the same function as the command interpretation / execution means (114) in the surveillance camera site (301).
[0063]
Next, the flow of processing of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. As described in FIG. 6, the processing flow of the present embodiment can be roughly divided into the following three.
[0064]
That is, a normal monitoring process (step S601), an event notification process (step S603), and an event confirmation process (step S604).
First, details of the normal monitoring process (step S601) will be described.
In the normal monitoring process (step S601), the following three types of processes are executed in the monitoring camera site (301).
[0065]
The first is image transmission processing. This is a process of transmitting the video of the video camera (102) to the monitoring site (302) (see FIG. 7).
The second is sensor information transmission processing. This is a process of transmitting data acquired from the sensor (103) to the monitoring site (302) (see FIG. 8).
The third is command execution processing. This is a process of interpreting and executing a command transmitted from the monitoring site (302) or the mobile phone site (303) (see FIG. 9).
[0066]
The details of the “image transmission process” are as follows.
First, the image capture means (104) captures image data from the video camera (102), and converts it into a data format such as a bitmap format or JPEG format that allows easy image processing. (Step S701)
[0067]
The captured image data is stored in the secondary storage device by the image primary storage means (105) (step S702). At the same time, the image data stored 10 minutes ago is deleted.
[0068]
The image data is simultaneously transferred to the image simplification means (106), where simplification (mosaic processing in the present embodiment) is performed (step S703). The simplified image data is transmitted to the monitoring site (302) via the image transmission means (107) (step S704).
[0069]
The processes in steps S701 to S704 are repeated until the monitoring camera site (301, strictly, the monitoring box 101) is stopped or an “image transmission stop” command is received.
[0070]
Details of the “sensor information transmission process” are as follows.
First, the sensor control means (109) waits for an input from the sensor (103) (step S801).
When sensor input is detected (step S802), the date, time, and sensor input contents ("object detection", "object detection end", etc.) are secondarily transmitted via the sensor information storage means (step S803). Recording is performed in the storage device (step S803).
[0071]
At the same time, the contents of the sensor input are transmitted to the monitoring site (302) via the sensor information transmission means (111) (step S804). The processes in steps S801 to S804 are repeated until the monitoring camera site (301, strictly speaking, the monitoring box 101) is stopped or a “sensor information transmission end” command is received.
[0072]
Details of the “command execution process” are as follows.
First, the command receiving means (113) waits for reception of a command (step S901). When a command is received (step S902), the command interpretation / execution means (114) analyzes the contents of the command (step S903).
[0073]
Here, if the command requires authentication (step S904, in this embodiment, the “transmission of primary stored image” command and the “transmission of secondary stored image” command are commands that require authentication). The authentication information (specifically, the password generated by the one-time password issuing means (116)) that should have been added to is extracted (step S906).
[0074]
If the extracted password matches the password held in the one-time password issuing means (116) (step S907), command processing is performed (step S905).
[0075]
In the present embodiment, the following commands can be executed.
(A) Simple image transmission start-command for starting transmission of simplified image data.
(B) End of simple image transmission-A command to end transmission of simplified image data.
(C) Sensor information transmission start-a command for starting sensor information transmission.
(D) End of transmission of sensor information-a command to end transmission of sensor information.
(E) Secondary transmission image transmission start--a command for starting transmission of image data (secondary storage image) managed by the image secondary storage means (108).
(F) End of transmission of secondary stored image-command to end transmission of secondary stored image.
(G) Event occurrence notification-A command to notify the mobile phone site of an event (an event that may be abnormal).
(H) Other commands for operating the camera, such as the zoom magnification of the video camera. However, in order to implement these functions, it is necessary to add “camera operating means” in the monitoring box (101).
[0076]
In the normal monitoring process (step S601), the following three types of processes are executed in the monitoring site (302).
The first process is an image reception process. This is a process of receiving and displaying image data from the surveillance camera site (301) (see FIG. 10).
The second process is a sensor information reception process. This is a process of receiving and displaying sensor information data from the monitoring camera site (301) (see FIG. 11).
The third process is a command transmission process. This transmits a command to the surveillance camera site (301) (see FIG. 12).
[0077]
The details of the “image reception process” are as follows.
First, the image information receiving means (402) waits for reception of image data (step S1001).
When image data is transmitted from the surveillance camera site (301) (step S1002), the transmitted image data is displayed on the display (step S1003).
[0078]
The details of the “sensor information reception process” are as follows.
First, the sensor information receiving means (404) waits for reception of sensor information data (step S1101). When sensor information data is transmitted from the monitoring camera site (301) (step S1102), the transmitted sensor information data is displayed on the display as a character string (step S1103).
[0079]
The details of the “command transmission process” are as follows.
First, the command input means (406) waits for an observer to perform a command input operation (step S1201). When the monitor performs a command operation (step S1202), the command is transmitted to the monitoring camera site (303) via the command transmission means (407) (step S1203).
[0080]
In the normal monitoring process (step S601), the mobile phone site does not perform any particular process.
[0081]
The event notification process (step S603) is started when the monitoring person at the monitoring site (302) inputs an event occurrence notification command. The processing on the monitoring site side is the same as the processing in steps S1201 to S1203 in FIG.
[0082]
The monitoring camera site (301) that has received the event occurrence notification performs the following processing.
That is, when a command is received (step S1401, details are omitted, the processing content is the same as the processing in steps S901 to S905. Since this command does not require authentication, the processing in steps S906 and S907 is performed. The processing is omitted.) The image data for 10 minutes under the control of the image primary storage means (105) is transferred to the image secondary storage means (108).
[0083]
The image secondary storage means (108) puts the transferred image data under management (step S1402, at this time, the secondary stored image data stored in the previous event occurrence notification is deleted).
[0084]
Next, the command interpretation / execution means (114) instructs the One-time password issuing means (116) to create a new password. The one-time password issuing means (116) generates a new password and puts it under its own management (step S1403).
[0085]
Next, based on the image data transferred to the image secondary storage means (108), a sample image is created by the sample image creation means (112) (step S1404). At the same time, sensor information for the past 10 minutes is extracted from the sensor information data under the control of the sensor information storage means (110) (step S1405).
[0086]
Finally, an event notification message is transmitted to the mobile phone site (303) (step S1406). At this time, the generated password and sample image are attached to the event notification message.
[0087]
When the mobile phone site (303) receives the event notification message (step S1501, step S1502), the event notification interpretation / execution means (509) extracts the sample image, sensor information data, and password from the event notification (step S1503). The sample image and sensor information are displayed on a display or the like (step S1504).
[0088]
When the user of the mobile phone site determines from the content of the sample image and sensor information displayed on the display that confirmation is necessary, the user can cause the mobile phone site to execute event confirmation processing (step S604).
[0089]
When the user inputs an event confirmation processing command (steps S1601 and S1602), a “secondary accumulated image transmission start” command is created (step S1603). Since this command requires user authentication, the password information acquired in step S1503 is added to the command (step S1604).
[0090]
Further, transmission destination information of the image information (TCP / IP port number and transmission destination IP address in this embodiment) is added (step S1605). If the mobile phone site (303) is designated as the transmission destination, the secondary stored image is transmitted to the mobile phone site. Also, when the monitoring site (302) is designated as the transmission destination, a secondary storage image that is not simplified is transmitted to the monitoring site.
[0091]
Since monitoring is performed as described above, according to the monitoring system of this embodiment, it is possible to normally prevent leakage of privacy and to monitor without leaking necessary information in an emergency. .
[0092]
In the present embodiment, in particular, it is possible to hold necessary image data without using a large-scale secondary storage device by duplicating the image storage means. Further, by using image information and sensor information in combination, the accuracy of abnormality detection and the reduction of false alarms can be reduced. By creating and changing a password necessary for authentication each time, it is possible to construct a system that is not affected by password leakage.
[0093]
Furthermore, by using the sample image, it is possible to use a mobile phone having a low hardware capability as a confirmation site. In addition, by using a mobile phone as hardware for the confirmation site, it becomes possible for the user of the confirmation site to confirm the occurrence of an abnormality at any time.
[0094]
(Another embodiment of the present invention)
The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.
[0095]
In addition, for operating various devices so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments, for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments for an apparatus or a computer in the system connected to the various devices. Implementations by supplying software program codes and operating the various devices in accordance with programs stored in a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus are also included in the scope of the present invention.
[0096]
In this case, the program code itself of the software realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer, for example, the program code are stored. This storage medium constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for storing the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0097]
Further, by executing the program code supplied by the computer, not only the functions described in the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS (operating system) or other operating system in which the program code is running on the computer. It goes without saying that the program code is also included in the embodiment of the present invention even when the functions described in the above-described embodiment are realized in cooperation with application software or the like.
[0098]
Further, after the supplied program code is stored in the memory provided in the function expansion board of the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit based on the instruction of the program code The present invention also includes a case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by performing part or all of the actual processing.
[0099]
Embodiments of the present invention are listed below.
[Embodiment 1] A monitoring system having three types of sites, a monitored site, a monitoring site, and a confirmation site, for monitoring a remote location via a communication line,
The monitored site collects detailed monitoring information by a predetermined information monitoring means, records the collected detailed monitoring information on a recording medium, and also simplifies information recorded on the recording medium. Send to the above monitoring site,
The monitoring site determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred based on the simplified information transmitted from the monitored site. If it is determined that an abnormality may have occurred, the monitoring site To inform it and
The confirmation site determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the monitored site based on detailed monitoring information transferred via the monitored site, and is recorded on the recording medium. A monitoring system for instructing the monitored site to transmit detailed information to the monitoring site.
[0100]
[Embodiment 2] A monitoring system that has three types of sites, a monitored site, a monitoring site, and a confirmation site, and monitors a remote location via a communication line,
The monitored site includes an information collecting unit for collecting monitoring information regarding a place or object to be monitored, and an information simplifying unit for deleting unnecessary information from the monitoring information collected by the information collecting unit. Information storing means for storing and storing monitoring information collected by the information collecting means, monitoring information transmitting means for sending monitoring information collected by the information collecting means to the monitoring site and confirmation site, and the monitoring site and confirmation Having command execution means for receiving and executing instructions from the site, and authentication means for performing user authentication as necessary;
The monitoring site includes information receiving means for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, information display means for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and Command input means for inputting a command, and command transmission means for transmitting a command to the monitored site,
The confirmation site includes information receiving means for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, information display means for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and Command input means for inputting a command, command transmission means for transmitting a command to the monitored site, and notification receiving means for receiving a report of an abnormal situation notified from the monitored site And a notification analysis unit for performing processing including processing for requesting more detailed information in response to the notification received by the notification receiving unit.
[0101]
[Embodiment 3] The monitoring system according to Embodiment 2, wherein a video camera is used as information collecting means in the monitored site.
[0102]
[Embodiment 4] The monitoring system according to Embodiment 2, wherein a sensor device including an infrared sensor is used as the information collecting means at the monitored site.
[0103]
[Embodiment 5] The monitoring system according to Embodiment 2, wherein mosaic means for performing image mosaic processing is used as the information simplification means at the monitored site.
[0104]
[Embodiment 6] The information storage means in the monitored site is composed of primary storage means for storing monitoring information only for a certain period and secondary storage means for storing monitoring information regardless of the period. The monitoring system according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 5.
[0105]
[Embodiment 7] The monitoring system according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 5, wherein the authentication means in the monitored site generates new authentication information as necessary.
[0106]
[Embodiment 8] The command input means in the monitoring site includes a simplified information transmission start / end command, a non-simplified information transmission start / end command, and a notification command to the confirmation site. The monitoring system according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 6, wherein at least one command can be input.
[0107]
[Embodiment 9] Any one of Embodiments 2 to 6, wherein the command input means in the monitoring site can instruct various operations including panning, tilting, and zooming of the video camera. The monitoring system according to item.
[0108]
[Embodiment 10] The monitoring system according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 8, wherein the monitored site notifies the confirmation site in accordance with a notification command to the confirmation site.
[0109]
[Embodiment 11] The monitoring system according to Embodiment 10, wherein the notification to the confirmation site includes monitoring information collected by the information collecting means and information generated by the authentication means.
[0110]
[Embodiment 12] The monitoring system according to any one of Embodiments 2 to 11, wherein a mobile phone is used as the confirmation site.
[0111]
[Embodiment 13] Any one of Embodiments 2 to 12, wherein the command input means of the confirmation site is configured to be able to input a command to start / end transmission of information that is not simplified. The monitoring system according to item.
[0112]
[Embodiment 14] The confirmation site command input means is capable of designating the confirmation site itself or the monitoring site as an information transmission destination in the non-simplified information transmission start command. The monitoring system according to claim 13.
[0113]
[Embodiment 15] Embodiment 2 is characterized in that the monitored site has sample information creation means for taking out representative information as a sample from the information accumulated by the information accumulation means and creating sample information. The monitoring system according to any one of ˜13.
[0114]
[Embodiment 16] A monitored site for configuring a monitoring system for monitoring a remote site through a communication line together with a monitoring site and a confirmation site,
Information collecting means for collecting monitoring information regarding a place or object to be monitored, information simplifying means for deleting unnecessary information from the monitoring information collected by the information collecting means, and the information collecting means Information storage means for storing and storing the monitoring information collected by the above, monitoring information transmission means for transmitting the monitoring information collected by the information collecting means to the monitoring site and the confirmation site, and instructions from the monitoring site and the confirmation site are received. And a command execution unit that executes the command and an authentication unit that performs user authentication as necessary.
[0115]
[Embodiment 17] A monitoring site for configuring a monitoring system for monitoring a remote site through a communication line together with a monitored site and a confirmation site,
Information receiving means for receiving the monitoring information collected at the monitored site, information display means for displaying the monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and an instruction for the monitored site And a command transmission means for transmitting a command to the monitored site.
[0116]
[Embodiment 18] A confirmation site for configuring a monitoring system for monitoring a remote site through a communication line together with a monitored site and a monitoring site,
The confirmation site includes information receiving means for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, information display means for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and Command input means for inputting a command, command transmission means for transmitting a command to the monitored site, and notification receiving means for receiving a report of a situation considered to be abnormal notified from the monitored site And a notification analysis unit for performing processing including processing for requesting more detailed information in response to the notification received by the notification receiving unit.
[0117]
[Embodiment 19] A monitoring method for monitoring a remote location via a communication line using three types of sites, a monitored site, a monitoring site, and a confirmation site,
The monitored site includes an information collection process for collecting monitoring information related to a location or object to be monitored, and an information simplification process for deleting unnecessary information from the monitoring information acquired by the information collection process. An information storage process for storing and storing the monitoring information acquired by the information collection process, a monitoring information transmission process for transmitting the monitored and collected information acquired by the information collection process to the monitoring site and the confirmation site, and the monitoring site And a command execution process for receiving and executing a command from the confirmation site, and an authentication process for performing user authentication as necessary,
The monitoring site includes an information reception process for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, an information display process for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and the monitoring site A command input process for inputting a command and a command transmission process for transmitting a command to the monitored site are performed.
The confirmation site includes an information reception process for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, an information display process for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and A command input process for inputting a command, a command transmission process for transmitting a command to the monitored site, and a notification receiving process for receiving a report of an abnormal situation notified from the monitored site And a notification analysis process for performing a process including a process for requesting more detailed information in accordance with the notification received by the notification reception process.
[0118]
[Embodiment 20] A program for causing a computer to execute a monitoring method for monitoring a remote location via a communication line using three types of sites: a monitored site, a monitoring site, and a confirmation site,
In the monitored site, an information collection process for collecting monitoring information related to a location or object to be monitored, and an information simplification for deleting unnecessary information from the monitoring information acquired by the information collection process Processing, information storage processing for storing and storing the monitoring information acquired by the information collection processing, monitoring information transmission processing for transmitting the monitoring and collection information acquired by the information collection processing to the monitoring site and the confirmation site, and the monitoring The command execution process for receiving and executing the command from the site and the confirmation site and the authentication process for performing user authentication as necessary are executed.
The monitoring site includes an information reception process for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, an information display process for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and the monitored site A command input process for inputting a command for the command and a command transmission process for transmitting a command to the monitored site,
The confirmation site includes an information reception process for receiving monitoring information collected at the monitored site, an information display process for displaying monitoring information collected at the monitored site, and the monitored site. Command input processing for inputting a command to the command, command transmission processing for transmitting the command to the monitored site, and notification reception for receiving a report of an abnormal situation notified from the monitored site A computer program for executing processing and notification analysis processing for performing processing including processing for requesting more detailed information in response to the notification received by the notification reception processing.
[0119]
[Embodiment 21] A recording medium on which the computer program according to Embodiment 20 is recorded.
[0120]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the image obtained from the photographing means is accumulated in the computer at the monitored site, and the image obtained by simplifying the image obtained from the photographing means is usually used as the computer at the monitoring site. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary information from being given to monitoring personnel at the monitoring site and to prevent excessive leakage of privacy information. In addition, when an abnormal situation occurs, the unsimplified images stored in the computer at the monitored site are sent to the computer at the monitoring site, so that the abnormal situation can be reliably prevented from being overlooked. Can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing main means of a surveillance camera site configured by software.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an overview of a monitoring system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an overview of the entire monitoring system according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of a monitoring site, which is one of the components of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a software configuration of a confirmation site, which is one of the components of the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a rough flow of processing according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the monitoring camera site.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the surveillance camera site.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the monitoring camera site.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing performed in a monitoring site.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing performed in a monitoring site.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing performed in a monitoring site.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing performed at a monitoring site when an event (an event that may be abnormal) is detected.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing performed at a confirmation site when an event is detected.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a flow of confirmation processing performed after the processing in FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a general monitoring system.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of a display at a monitoring site in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Surveillance box representing the hardware constituting the surveillance camera site
102 Video camera connected to the surveillance box
103 Sensor connected to the monitoring box
104 Image capture means for capturing an image from a video camera
105 Image primary storage means for storing image data for a certain period
106 Image simplification means for converting image data into simplified image
107 is an image transmission means for transmitting image data to the monitoring site.
108 Image secondary storage means for storing image data regardless of period
109 Sensor control means for acquiring information from sensor
110 Sensor information storage means for storing information acquired from a sensor
111 Sensor information transmission means for transmitting sensor information to a monitoring site
112 Sample image creation means for creating a sample of image data;
113 Command receiving means for receiving command command from monitoring site
114 Command interpretation / execution means for executing received command
115 User authentication means for performing user authentication
116 Password generation means for generating a password for authentication as necessary
117 Event notification means for notifying the confirmation site of the occurrence of an event

Claims (5)

A monitoring system having a computer at a monitored site, a computer at a monitoring site, and a mobile phone and monitoring via a communication line,
The monitored site computer is:
Storage means for storing images obtained from the photographing means;
Simplification means for simplifying an image obtained from the photographing means;
Image transmission means for transmitting the image simplified by the simplification means to the computer at the monitoring site;
Command receiving means for receiving commands from the monitoring site computer and the mobile phone;
When an event occurrence notification command is received by the command receiving unit, an event notification message including a sample image created by extracting a representative image as a sample from the image stored by the storage unit is sent to the mobile phone. An event notification means to send;
Storage for transmitting the non-simplified image stored by the storage means to the computer at the monitoring site when the command reception means receives the transmission start command of the image stored by the storage means from the mobile phone by the command receiving means Image transmission means,
The computer at the monitoring site is
Image information receiving means for receiving the simplified image and the unsimplified image stored by the storage means from the computer of the monitored site;
Image display means for displaying the simplified image received by the image information receiving means;
An event occurrence notification command input means for inputting the event occurrence notification command;
An event occurrence notification command transmission means for transmitting the event occurrence notification command input by the command input means to the computer of the monitored site;
The mobile phone
Display means for displaying a sample image included in the event notification message received from the computer of the monitored site;
Event confirmation processing input means for inputting event confirmation processing commands;
In response to an input of the event confirmation processing command, a transmission start command for transmitting the image stored by the storage means to the computer at the monitoring site is created, and the transmission start command is sent to the computer at the monitored site. And a transmission start command transmission means for transmitting accumulated images to be transmitted.   The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein mosaic means for performing image mosaic processing is used as simplification means in the computer of the monitored site.   A computer at a monitored site, wherein the monitoring system according to claim 1 can be configured.   A monitoring site computer capable of configuring the monitoring system according to claim 1.   A mobile phone capable of configuring the monitoring system according to claim 1.

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