JP6116192B2 - Movie processing device, camera monitoring system, program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a moving image processing apparatus, a camera monitoring system, and a program, and more particularly to a moving image processing apparatus used in a camera monitoring system for observing and monitoring devices and facilities, a camera monitoring system using the moving image processing apparatus, and a program.

  At the manufacturing site, various automatic machines such as machine tools, printing machines, packing machines, inspection machines, and transporting machines are operated. When troubles such as abnormalities or failures occur in these machines, major damage occurs, such as the entire line being stopped. Therefore, for the occurrence of trouble, it is necessary to promptly analyze the cause and make appropriate improvements to prevent recurrence.

  There have been many conventional methods for investigating the cause of trouble, and visual observation has been performed by a supervisor. This is a method in which a human monitor is stationed near a target device or facility and continuously monitors it. However, visual inspection is not very effective for accidents that occur only once in a few days. This is because maintaining a concentration over a long period of time due to a trouble that does not occur when it occurs will be a heavy burden for human observers.

  As a method for dealing with this problem and replacing visual observation, a monitoring system using imaging means such as a video camera is known. For example, a monitoring information is a shooting information server that captures a plurality of types of shooting information by an imaging unit, and sends the captured shooting information to a monitoring station via a network, and changes in the state of the monitoring targets related to the plurality of types of shooting information Priority is given to the shooting information for the monitoring target that is determined to have no state change, and the determination unit that determines whether or not the state change has occurred, and the shooting information for the monitoring target that is determined to have the state change by the determination unit. Thus, an invention for sending to a monitoring station is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-292879 A

  When a video camera is applied to trouble analysis of an automatic machine, the amount of data becomes a big problem. A general video camera as an imaging means outputs a huge amount of moving image data of several tens of megabytes per second. However, the capacity of the recording means for storing data and the transmission speed of the network for extracting the data are physically limited. Has its own limitations. Therefore, even in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the capacity of the recording means and the bandwidth of the network for transmitting data tend to be insufficient. That is, when trying to realize the invention, there is a problem that high-performance special hardware must be used, and the cost for the apparatus and the network tends to increase.

  In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to perform a process of reducing the data amount for the moving image data output from the video camera to newly create a moving image having a smaller size. Such processing is referred to as “moving image reduction processing” or simply “reduction” in this specification. Further, a specific method for performing reduction is referred to as a “contraction method”, and a reduction method that is formalized as an algorithm is referred to as a “contraction rule”. Furthermore, a moving image created by reduction is referred to as a “reduced moving image”.

  Many methods based on various principles are known as reduction methods. Most of them are irreversible methods, that is, methods involving loss of information included in the moving image. What information is lost depends on each reduction method. Therefore, when contracting a moving image and using it for monitoring and analysis, it is necessary to select a contraction method that suits the purpose, taking into account the balance between the advantage of reducing the amount of data and the disadvantage of losing information.

  In addition, when using a video camera to analyze the cause of trouble that occurs in equipment and facilities, it must also be taken into account that the trouble analysis work is a trial-and-error and multifaceted nature. In other words, the type of information that should not be lost due to the reduction of moving images changes depending on the stage and scene of analysis. This means that a plurality of moving images with different contraction methods are required in the course of analysis work.

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, although a kind of reduction is performed on a moving image, the reduction method is fixed or limited to a very small number. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to prepare various videos according to the stage and scene of monitoring and analysis and to perform multi-faceted monitoring and analysis.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and can be configured at low cost, and can allow a supervisor to perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis, a moving image processing apparatus, a camera monitoring system, and a program It is an issue to provide.

To solve such problems, a first aspect of the present invention captures an automatic machine as the monitored for recording video into the causes of troubles of the automatic machine, a plurality of image pickup means A moving image processing apparatus that performs arbitrary processing on a captured moving image, the frame recording unit temporarily recording a frame that is a component of the moving image captured by the imaging unit, and the frame recording unit A reduction means for performing a video reduction process for creating a reduced video from which a data amount is reduced based on a preset reduction rule from a video that is a time-series set of a single frame or a plurality of frames. And the contracted moving image recording means for recording the moving image subjected to the contraction by the contracting means for use by a monitor for visual monitoring and / or analysis, About means, the shrinkage of about methods as specifically defined for contraction rule, the contraction rule that performs processing for deleting the temporally excess portion of the moving image, spatially redundant portion of the video The reduction rule for performing the process of deleting video, the reduction rule for performing the process of reducing the time-excessive quality of the moving image, and the reduction rule of performing the process of reducing the spatially-excessive quality of the moving image Using a plurality of different reduction rules at the same time for at least one of the plurality of moving images respectively captured by the plurality of imaging means. The contraction according to each of the different contraction rules is performed in parallel .

Invention according to claim 2, in addition to the structure according to claim 1, wherein the contraction means said contraction is performed on the basis of the contraction rule, deleting the temporally excess portion of the moving image processing As a process for limiting the time of the moving picture, a process for extracting and joining a part of time zones of the plurality of moving pictures, and a process for deleting a spatially redundant part of the moving picture A process of reducing and embedding a plurality of the moving images in each of the divided areas, a process of extracting a part of the area from the screen of the moving images, and the imaging means selected from the plurality of moving images. Processing for deleting the corresponding one, processing for reducing the frame rate of the moving image as processing for reducing the excessive quality of the moving image in time, processing for fast-forwarding reproduction of the moving image, spatially moving the moving image Extra As a processing for reducing a quality, processing for reducing the resolution of the moving image, and the process of reducing the color resolution of the moving image, and the process of changing the lossy encoded manner for the video, at least The process includes any one of them.

The invention described in claim 3 is provided with trigger detection means for detecting a trigger that is output when an arbitrary event occurs, in addition to the configuration described in claim 1 or 2 , and the trigger detection means When a trigger is detected, the contracting unit determines at least one of a timing for starting the generation of the contracted video and a timing for ending the contracted moving image.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect , the trigger is input or reception of an arbitrary command by the operation of the supervisor, detection of an arbitrary state by an arbitrary sensor, arbitrary switch At least one of detection of an operation on the image, detection of time lapse by an arbitrary timer, and pattern recognition in an arbitrary moving image captured by the imaging unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, selection and / or change of the contraction rule operated by the supervisor and used by the contraction means The contraction method changing means for performing is provided.

The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration described in claim 5 , the contracting means and the contraction method changing means are provided at physically separated positions.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the observer visually monitors the moving image that has been contracted by the contracting means. It is characterized by comprising display management execution means for performing processing for display on the display means to be used.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, a part or all of a frame that is a component of the moving image captured by the imaging unit is reduced. It is characterized by comprising live distribution means for transmitting in real time to display means provided at a position physically separated from the approximating means, and distribution method switching means for starting / ending the operation of the live distribution means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the moving image reduction processing by the reduction means is based on at least a part of the reduction rules. Reduction rule restriction means for restricting the reduction to be performed; reduction rule validation means for releasing the restriction by the reduction rule restriction means when an arbitrary condition is satisfied; and the reduction rule validity And a reduction means defining means for defining a set of the reduction rules for which the restriction should be released.

The invention of claim 10 is a camera system for recording video for imaging the automatic machine as the monitored to determine the cause of the trouble of the automatic machine, picked up by a plurality of image pickup means Single or plural imaging means for imaging an arbitrary monitoring target for performing arbitrary processing on the recorded moving image, and frame recording means for temporarily recording a frame that is a constituent element of the moving image captured by the imaging means And generating a contracted video with a reduced amount of data based on a preset contraction rule from a video that is a time-series set of one or a plurality of the frames recorded in the frame recording means. Recording means for performing a video reduction process, and recording the video that has been reduced by the reduction means for use in visual monitoring and / or analysis by a monitor And a contraction moving image recording unit that, the contraction means, as contraction rule specifically defining the contraction of the method, the condensation of performing processing for deleting the temporally excess portion of the moving A contract rule that performs a process of deleting a spatially redundant portion of the video, a contraction rule that performs a process of reducing a temporally excessive quality of the video, and a spatial surplus of the video Means for holding a plurality of the reduction rules having the reduction rule for performing a process for reducing the quality, and for at least one of the plurality of moving images respectively captured by the plurality of imaging means A plurality of different reduction rules are used simultaneously, and the reduction by each of the different reduction rules is performed in parallel .

The invention according to an eleventh aspect is a program that causes a computer to function as the moving image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects.

According to the first and tenth aspects of the present invention, by contracting at least a part of the moving image captured by the imaging unit, the amount of data transmitted by the network or the reduced moving image recording unit is recorded. The amount of data to be transmitted can be reduced, and data transmission and recording can be easily performed even with a small amount of hardware resources. The reduction is performed on the moving image recorded on the frame recording means for temporarily recording all the moving images picked up by the image pickup means, so that the reduction has been completed from the moving pictures taken before the time when the reduction starts. A moving image can also be created, and the monitor can use this to perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis of the monitoring target.

According to the invention described in claims 1 and 10 , the contracting means holds a plurality of contract rules, and contracts using the contract rule selected from them. Therefore, it is possible to create a reduced video by a method according to the stage and scene of analysis, and it is possible to greatly reduce the amount of data according to the nature of the monitoring target and the imaging situation without losing necessary information Become.

Furthermore, according to the invention described in claims 1 and 10 , the reduced moving image recording means for recording the moving image reduced by the reducing means for use by the observer for visual monitoring and analysis is provided. As a result, it is possible to record and store a large amount of contracted videos. Therefore, the monitor can perform multi-faceted monitoring and analysis using the moving images accumulated in the past.

According to the first and tenth aspects of the present invention, the unrecorded moving picture is recorded in the frame recording means, and the reduced moving picture is recorded in the reduced moving picture recording means, so that the data is recorded. Depending on the type and purpose, it is possible to selectively use recording means that reads and writes at high speed and inexpensive and large-capacity recording means. For this reason, it is possible to optimize the allocation of hardware resources for the enormous amount of accumulated moving image data. In addition, general-purpose hardware can be used, and the advantages of small size and light weight can be obtained together.

That is, according to the inventions according to claims 1 and 10 , it can be configured to be inexpensive, small and light, and the supervisor can perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis according to the stage and scene of analysis. A video processing device and a camera monitoring system can be provided.

According to the first and tenth aspects of the present invention, contraction can be performed using different contraction rules for each single or a plurality of moving images. Therefore, the supervisor can perform multi-faceted monitoring and analysis using a plurality of types of moving images with respect to one object.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, at least one of various reduction rules can be selected, and a moving image can be displayed in a method most suited to the nature of the monitoring target, the imaging situation, the stage of analysis, and the scene. It becomes possible to contract.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the contraction means can extract only the moving image when the trigger means detects the trigger. Therefore, if the trigger is generated at the timing when the necessity of monitoring and analysis of the target object is high, it is possible to reliably acquire the contracted video necessary for monitoring and analysis and eliminate unnecessary video. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a set of contracted videos necessary for monitoring and analysis can be ensured by adopting a configuration in which triggers are generated at various timings where the necessity of monitoring and analysis of the monitoring target is high. Can be obtained.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the contraction method changing means for changing the contraction method is provided, the monitor can reduce the contracted video while appropriately selecting or adding contraction rules. Can be created one after another, and multifaceted monitoring and analysis based on sufficient information can be performed flexibly. In addition, unnecessary reduction rules can be deleted to suppress excessive consumption of computer resources, excessive initial investment for the original purpose, and operation mistakes for selecting inappropriate reduction rules. As a result, a device that does not consume excessive computer resources can be configured at low cost, and the supervisor can perform more multifaceted monitoring and analysis reliably and easily.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the contracting means and the contraction method changing means are provided at physically separated positions, the monitor who is away from the monitoring target can contract. Can be started / finished, and reduction rules can be selected / added / deleted. As a result, the monitor can monitor and analyze the monitoring target at a remote location.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the contracted moving image can be viewed by the monitor, and the monitor can reliably perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis of the monitoring target.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the adviser is sent to the display means used by the adviser in real time by transmitting a part or all of the frames constituting the moving image picked up by the image pickup means. It is possible to determine in real time whether or not the position and the imaging conditions are appropriate, and appropriate support can be provided to the monitor. In addition, when the support of the adviser is unnecessary, the CPU load and the memory usage can be reduced by canceling the live distribution, and the limited hardware resources can be used effectively.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, by limiting the contraction performed based on at least a part of the contraction rules, the use of contraction is restricted to an arbitrary condition or an arbitrary user. , Ensuring security and protecting licenses. Further, when the arbitrary conditions are met, by releasing the restriction of the use of contraction rule allows free trial any contraction rule. This makes it possible for a supervisor who is faced with trouble and who cannot afford to learn individual reduction rules to try many reduction rules at will.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the moving image processing apparatus according to the present invention can be realized as software, and the present invention can be realized on various hardware.

It is a figure which shows typically the principle of the camera monitoring system of 1st Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram as a concrete structure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the moving image processing apparatus of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the reduction part of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the operating device of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a figure which shows typically the reduction in the reduction part of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a flowchart which shows the operation procedure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a figure which shows typically the principle of the camera monitoring system of 2nd Embodiment. It is the network block diagram and functional block diagram as a specific structure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the moving image processing apparatus of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the file server of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the remote control apparatus of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a flowchart which shows the operation procedure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a figure which shows typically the principle of the camera monitoring system of 3rd Embodiment. It is the network block diagram and functional block diagram as a specific structure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a flowchart which shows the setup procedure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a figure which shows the license management method of the program which comprises the camera monitoring system of 4th Embodiment. It is the network block diagram and functional block diagram as a specific structure of a camera monitoring system same as the above. It is a functional block diagram of the license management part of a camera monitoring system same as the above.

<First Embodiment>
1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

<Principle of the first embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the principle of the camera monitoring system 100a of this embodiment. The camera monitoring system 100a of this embodiment includes n (n ≧ 1) “imaging means” video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),. .., 2 (n), a moving image processing apparatus 1a, a viewer 44a as “display management execution means”, and a contraction method change unit 43 as “contraction method change means”. Here, the moving image processing apparatus 1a includes a frame recording unit 11 as a “frame recording unit”, m (m ≧ 1) reduction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m). A contracting unit 12 as a “contracting unit” and a contracted moving image recording unit 13 as a “contracted moving image recording unit”.

  The video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are moving image imaging means connected to the moving image processing apparatus 1a via cables, and each of the whole machine tool 59 or a specific part. Image.

  The frame recording unit 11 has a storage medium that can be read and written at high speed, and is a component of a moving image captured by the video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n). The frame of is temporarily recorded. This moving image is a time-series set of frames, and is configured by continuously playing back frames.

  The contracting unit 12 creates a contracted moving image by causing each of the contracting execution units 121 (1), 121 (2), ..., 121 (m) to contract the moving image. The contracted video recording unit 13 has a large-capacity storage medium, and records the contracted video created by the contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),. accumulate.

  The viewer 44a transfers the contracted video stored in the contracted video recording unit 13 to an operating device (not shown in FIG. 1) used by the supervisor 9a and displays the display unit (not shown in FIG. 1). ).

  The contraction method changing unit 43 receives the operation of the operation device (not shown in FIG. 1) by the monitor 9a, and the contraction execution unit 121 (1), 121 (2),. Operations such as addition / deletion, reduction / selection of reduction rules used by the reduction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m) are performed.

  An example of a specific configuration configured based on the principle of the camera monitoring system 100a will be described below.

<Basic configuration of the first embodiment>
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram as a specific configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the camera monitoring system 100a of this embodiment includes a moving image processing apparatus 1a, n (n ≧ 1) video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n). A program storage device 3a and an operation device 4a are provided.

  The video processing device 1a, the video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n), the program storage device 3a, and the operation device 4a are manufactured with a machine tool 59 as a “monitoring target” installed. It is provided in the factory 51. The camera monitoring system 100a is operated by the monitor 9a in the manufacturing factory 51.

  The moving image processing apparatus 1a and each video camera 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are connected by a USB cable, a high-speed LAN, or the like. The moving image processing device 1a, the program storage device 3a, and the operation device 4a are connected by a network (not shown in FIG. 2) such as a LAN or an intranet.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the moving image processing apparatus 1a includes, as functional means, a frame recording unit 11 as a “frame recording unit”, a contracting unit 12 as a “contracting unit”, and a contracting unit as a “contracted moving image recording unit”. The moving image recording unit 13 includes a trigger detection unit 141a as a “trigger detection unit”, a disk management unit 142, a capacity monitoring unit 143, and an alarm transmission unit 144a.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the contracting unit 12 has m (m ≧ 1) contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m), and a link unit 122 as functional means. , A priority setting unit 123 and a speed management unit 124.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the operation device 4 a includes an operation unit 41, a display unit 42 as a “display unit”, a contraction method change unit 43, and a viewer 44 a as a “display management execution unit” as functional units.

<Detailed Configuration of First Embodiment>
Details of the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a will be described below.

<Video camera>
The video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are cameras for capturing moving images, for example, capturing moving images composed of about 30 frames (still images) per second. To do. The video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are installed in the vicinity of the machine tool 59 to capture the moving situation of a single or a plurality of locations of the machine tool 59, and video The data is input to the moving image processing apparatus 1a. Note that the video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) all have the same configuration. Indicated as 2.

<Movie processing device>
In this embodiment, the moving image processing apparatus 1a is configured as a single computer apparatus.

  The moving image processing apparatus 1a shown in FIG. 3 is, for example, a 64-bit personal computer, and includes at least one CPU and recording means such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, and hard disk, and various programs and data are recorded on the recording means. Has been. The moving image processing apparatus 1a has a driver function for the video camera 2 and a control function for the entire moving image processing apparatus 1a. However, the moving image processing apparatus 1a may be a personal computer other than 64 bits, or may be configured by a server computer, a one-board microcomputer, a portable communication terminal, or the like. The moving image processing apparatus 1a may be configured by a single computer or terminal, or may be configured by a system in which a plurality of computers are connected to a network.

  As described above, the moving image processing apparatus 1a includes, as function means, the frame recording unit 11, the contracting unit 12, the contracted moving image recording unit 13, the trigger detecting unit 141a, the disk management unit 142, the capacity monitoring unit 143, and the alarm transmission unit 144a. Is provided.

<Frame recording part>
The frame recording unit 11 is a storage device including a volatile or non-volatile storage medium having a high-speed throughput that can withstand the writing of a large amount of data output from a plurality of cameras. The frame recording unit 11 is, for example, a main memory that is a RAM area that can be directly accessed by the CPU, a RAM disk that uses a part of the RAM as a disk drive, and a solid state drive (SSD) that uses a flash memory as a disk drive. Disk).

  The frame recording unit 11 temporarily records all frames constituting the moving image captured by the video camera 2 as still images. The frame recording unit 11 has a capacity of, for example, several hundred megabytes to several hundreds gigabytes, and can record frames included in several seconds to several tens of minutes of moving images. When the frame recording unit 11 has recorded a frame close to the capacity, the frame recording unit 11 discards the recorded frames in order from the oldest frame.

  The frame recording unit 11 discloses all the recorded frames to the contracting unit 12. In other words, the contracting unit 12 specifies an arbitrary frame by designating the video camera 2 that has captured the moving image, the serial number of the frame in the moving image, or the time at which the frame was imaged, and the content of the frame is known. It can be read out as an image.

<Contracted part>
The contracting unit 12 contracts at least a part of the moving image captured by each video camera 2 and causes the contracted moving image recording unit 13 to record the obtained contracted moving image as a file.

  Specifically, the contracting unit 12 has a function of holding an arbitrary number of contracting programs 31 in which various video contracting processes are implemented, and executing a part or all of them simultaneously. Then, the contracting unit 12 activates each contracting program 31 to perform arbitrary contraction on the moving image constituted by the frames recorded and disclosed by the frame recording unit 11, and has been contracted. Make a video.

<Detailed configuration of contraction unit>
As shown in FIG. 4, the contracting unit 12 has m (m ≧ 1) contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m), and a link unit 122 as functional means. , A priority setting unit 123 and a speed management unit 124.

  The contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m) each have a function of contracting a moving image individually according to a command from the contraction unit 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m) are the moving images 21 (1) and 21 (2) captured by the plurality of video cameras 2. ,..., 21 (n) are subjected to moving image reduction processing to create reduced moving image files 22 (1), 22 (2),.

  The moving image reduction processing performed by the reduction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m) is k reduction programs (k ≧ 1) that are programs implementing reduction rules. This is realized by executing one of 31 (1), 31 (2),..., 31 (k). The contracted programs 31 (1), 31 (2),..., 31 (k) are subprograms recorded in advance in the moving image processing apparatus 1a or acquired from the program storage apparatus 3a. It operates by being loaded into a main body program (not shown in FIG. 4) installed in 1a, and executes a video reduction process.

  Note that the contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2),..., 121 (m), the moving images 21 (1), 21 (2),. 1), 22 (2),..., 22 (m) and the contracted programs 31 (1), 31 (2),..., 31 (k) basically have the same configuration, and will be described below. For the sake of simplicity, unless otherwise required, the contraction execution unit 121, the moving image 21, the contracted moving image file 22, and the contracted program 31 are described.

  The link unit 122 causes the moving image processing apparatus 1a to load one or a plurality of contracted programs 31 recorded in advance in the moving image processing apparatus 1a or acquired from the program storage apparatus 3a to the moving image processing apparatus 1a. The function of the reduction execution unit 121 is realized. The link unit 122 acquires the contracted program 31 from the program storage device 3a without stopping the execution of the contraction execution unit 121 that contracts the moving image 21, or stores the contracted program 31 in the moving image processing device 1a. Can be loaded.

  The priority setting unit 123 sets an execution priority for the contracted program 31 loaded in each contracted execution unit 121, and the free disk capacity of the contracted video recording unit 13 is set to an arbitrary value set. When the value becomes smaller than the value of, the function of automatically stopping the contracted program 31 having a low priority is provided.

  The speed management unit 124 records the data recording speed when each contracted program 31 writes the contracted moving image file 22 to the contracted moving image recording unit 13. Further, the data recording speed of the reduction execution unit 121 as a whole is calculated based on the history of past data recording speeds, and the hard disk or the like constituting the reduced moving picture recording unit 13 is full of disk (the data is filled to the full capacity of the disk). The estimated time until the recorded free disk capacity becomes 0 bytes (same in this specification) is displayed on the display unit 42 of the operation device 4a.

<Reduced video recording part>
The reduced video recording unit 13 shown in FIG. 3 is a storage device including a non-volatile storage medium having a capacity of several hundred gigabytes to several terabytes. The reduced video file 22 created by the reduction unit 12 is recorded and recorded. accumulate. The contracted moving image recording unit 13 is realized by a large-capacity hard disk or SSD, or a disk array (RAID) combining a plurality of them.

  In addition to the above configuration, the contracted moving image recording unit 13 may include a high-speed cache storage unit implemented by a main memory, a RAM disk, or the like. If the contracted moving image file 22 created by the contraction execution unit 121 is temporarily stored in the cache storage device and then sequentially moved to a hard disk, SSD, or RAID, a large number of contraction execution units 121 are executed simultaneously. Even in this case, it is possible to realize a writing speed sufficient to record the contracted moving image file 22.

<Trigger detection unit>
The trigger detection unit 141a is an input device that detects a trigger that is output when an arbitrary event occurs. Examples of triggers detected by the trigger detection unit 141a include the following (trigger 1) to (trigger 5).
(Trigger 1) A command input by the supervisor 9a operating the operation unit 41 of the operation device 4a.
(Trigger 2) Any detection signal output from any sensor. For example, an audio signal output from a microphone (not shown) installed in the vicinity of the machine tool 59. With this signal, it is possible to detect an abnormal sound generated due to a failure of the machine tool 59.
(Trigger 3) A signal output when an arbitrary switch, relay, or the like shifts to an on state or an off state. For example, a signal output from a limit switch (not shown) provided at a position on the work table (not shown) of the machine tool 59 where the product (not shown) is not to be placed. With this signal, an abnormal placement state of the product can be detected.
(Trigger 4) Detection signal of an arbitrary time elapsed by an arbitrary timer. For example, an alarm signal generated by the timer every hour.
(Trigger 5) A signal generated as a result of arbitrary pattern recognition in the moving image 21. For example, it is detected by image recognition from the moving image 21 in which an abnormality notification lamp (not shown) installed in the machine tool 59 is reflected.

  Based on these triggers, the trigger detection unit 141a transmits a command that informs the contracting unit 12 of a time that is a reference for timing to start or end the generation of the contracted moving image file 22. Here, “creation of the contracted moving image file 22” is processing in which the contracting unit 12 adds a frame to the contracted moving image file 22. The contracting unit 12 receives this command, and determines the timing for starting the creation of the contracted video and the timing for ending it. This will be described later.

<Disk Management Department>
The disk management unit 142 monitors various states of the reduced video recording unit 13, and saves and restores data as necessary. For example, the disk management unit 142 backs up the reduced video file 22 recorded in the reduced video recording unit 13 to a large-capacity NAS (Network Attached Storage) or cloud storage, The contracted moving image file 22 or the contracted moving image file 22 considered to be damaged is deleted, and the free disk capacity of the contracted moving image recording unit 13 is secured.

<Capacity monitoring unit>
The capacity monitoring unit 143 continuously monitors the free disk capacity of the reduced moving image recording unit 13 that records the reduced moving image file 22, and detects a state in which the disk is approaching full.

<Alarm transmitter>
As a result of monitoring by the capacity monitoring unit 143, the alarm transmission unit 144a transmits an alarm to the operation device 4a when it is determined that the disk of the reduced moving image recording unit 13 is approaching. Examples of the alarm include an alarm for displaying characters on the display unit 42 of the operation device 4a and an alarm for generating sound on the operation device 4a.

<Program storage device>
The program storage device 3a shown in FIG. 2 is a kind of server that holds a program as a file, and records a single or a plurality of contracted programs 31. The program storage device 3a receives a request from the moving image processing device 1a and supplies the selected contracted program 31 to the moving image processing device 1a.

<Operation device>
As shown in FIG. 2, the operating device 4a is an input / output device provided attached to the moving image processing device 1a, and operates the moving image processing device 1a in response to the operation of the supervisor 9a. The operation device 4a is realized as an input / output device such as a touch panel and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for controlling them.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the operation device 4 a includes, as functional units, an operation unit 41, a display unit 42, a contraction method change unit 43 as “contraction method change unit”, and a viewer 44 a as “display management execution unit”. Prepare.

  The operation unit 41 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, various buttons displayed on the display unit 42, and the like, and receives an input operation by the supervisor 9a. The display unit 42 is a liquid crystal panel or the like, and displays text information and a moving image based on the reduced moving image file 22 transmitted from the moving image processing apparatus 1a on the monitor 9a.

The contraction method changing unit 43 transmits a command for causing the moving image processing apparatus 1a to change the contraction method based on a command of the supervisor 9a input to the operation unit 41 or automatically based on a predetermined sequence. To do. Specifically, the contraction method changing unit 43 transmits commands exemplified below (command 1) to (command 4).
(Command 1) A command that causes the moving image processing apparatus 1a to acquire a selected one of the contracted programs 31 held by the program storage device 3a and store the selected program in a storage device included in the moving image processing apparatus 1a. Alternatively, a command that causes the moving image processing apparatus 1a to delete the reduced program 31 that has not been loaded from the storage device.
(Command 2) A command that causes the link program 122 constituting the contracting unit 12 of the moving image processing apparatus 1a to load the contracting program 31 acquired by the command 1 and stored in the storage device into the moving image processing apparatus 1a. Alternatively, a command that causes the link unit 122 to unload the contracted program 31 that is no longer needed.
(Command 3) A command for adding the necessary reduction execution unit 121 to the reduction unit 12 of the moving image processing apparatus 1a. Alternatively, a command that causes the reduction unit 12 to delete the reduction execution unit 121 that is no longer necessary.
(Command 4) A command for causing the reduction execution unit 121 constituting the reduction unit 12 of the moving image processing apparatus 1a to change the reduction rule used by the reduction program 31 executed by the reduction execution unit 121. Alternatively, a command that causes the reduction execution unit 121 to acquire a reduction rule used by the reduction program 31.

  The viewer 44a displays the reduced moving image file 22 transferred from the reduced moving image recording unit 13 to the operation device 4a on the display unit 42 as a moving image.

<Overview of contraction>
Here, an outline of the reduction process by the reduction unit 12 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the contraction by the contraction unit 12. In FIG. 6, each square shown inside the frame recording unit 11 represents each frame captured by the video camera 2 (in FIG. 6, the video cameras 2 (1),..., 2 (6)). Show. The horizontal row indicates frames captured by the same video camera 2, and the vertical row indicates frames recorded in the frame recording unit 11 at the same time. The arrangement of squares indicates the flow of time from the left side to the right side. That is, this figure shows that the frame 24 (2) is recorded in the frame recording unit 11 earlier than the frame 24 (1) and the frame 24 (15) is recorded earlier than the frame 24 (2). This figure also shows that a frame for which a certain time has elapsed since recording is discarded from the frame recording unit 11, and therefore, the frame 24 (16) and subsequent frames are not described. The pattern written in the grid indicates the type of contraction. That is, squares having the same pattern indicate that reduction has been performed according to the same reduction rule.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the frames constituting the unreduced moving images 21 (1),..., 21 (6) captured by the respective video cameras 2 (1),. Are all recorded in the frame recording unit 11. The contraction unit 12 includes a plurality of contraction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2), 121 (3), 121 (4), for example, different contraction programs 31 (contraction programs 31 (1)). ˜31 (4)) are executed at the same time to reduce the moving image 21 (6), 21 (2), 21 (4), 21 (5). The reduction execution units 121 (1), 121 (2), 121 (3), 121 (4) illustrated in this figure are described later as (reduction rule 3), (reduction rule 4), ( The video is contracted using the contract rule 7) and (contract rule 6). As a result, reduced moving image files 22 (1), 22 (2), 22 (3), and 22 (4) as reduced moving images are created and recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13, respectively. In this example, each contracted execution unit 121 creates one contracted video file 22 one by one. However, one contracted execution unit 121 may create a plurality of contracted video files 22. .

  As can be seen, the reduction by the reduction program 31 is performed by selecting an appropriate frame from the frames recorded and released by the frame recording unit 11 and appropriately converting the selected frame as a still image. Are performed, the converted frames are connected in time series again to be converted into a moving image, and the completed moving image is stored in a file. The moving image processing apparatus 1 a including the frame recording unit 11 has a very high degree of freedom as a platform for operating the contracted program 31, and thus various contracted programs 31 can be realized. For example, since the frame recording unit 11 records past frames, the contract program 31 can create not only the latest frame but also the contracted moving image file 22 using the past frame. The n video cameras 2 and the m contraction execution units 121 do not need to correspond one-to-one, and can be arbitrarily corresponded. For this reason, it is possible to freely associate one reduction execution unit 121 with a plurality of video cameras 2, or allow a plurality of reduction execution units 121 to correspond with one video camera 2.

  When the reduction program 31 selects an appropriate frame from the frames disclosed by the frame recording unit 11, it can specify the time when the frame was imaged. If a frame whose imaged time is later than the current time is required, it is possible to wait until the frame is imaged and recorded in the frame recording unit 11. By combining such operations, it is possible to implement a moving image reduction process that uses a complicated reduction rule. For example, only a moving image of 20 seconds before and after the trigger is input can be taken out. In this case, the first 10 seconds of the reduced video file 22 are created by concatenating 300 frames that have already been recorded in the frame recording unit 11 at the time when a trigger is input. In the second half of 10 seconds, the video camera 2 waits for a frame to be recorded in the frame recording unit 11 every 1/30 seconds, and connects newly recorded frames one by one to the reduced video file 22. create.

  In some contraction rules, the operation period of the contract program 31 does not coincide with the creation period of the contract video file 22 (period in which frames are added to the contract video file 22). In some cases, even when the contracted program 31 is operated, no contracted moving image file 22 is created. For example, when only a moving image of 20 seconds before and after the trigger is input is extracted, the reduced moving image file 22 is not created unless the trigger is generated once. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly distinguish the operation of the contracted program 31 from the creation of the contracted moving image file 22. In this specification, the phrase “contract” is used to mean “operation of the contract program 31”.

  The contraction unit 12 can add / delete other contraction execution units 121 without stopping the execution of the contraction execution unit 121. For example, the contracting unit 12 deletes the contracting execution unit 121 (1) while 121 (2), 121 (3), 121 (4) contracts the moving image 21, and instead uses the contracting program. A new reduction execution unit 121 (not shown) for executing 31 (5) can be added to change the reduction method for the moving image 21 (6).

<Specific details of the contract rule>
The contraction method changing unit 43 automatically selects a contraction rule used by the contraction execution unit 121 based on a command input to the operation unit 41 by the operation of the monitor 9a or based on a predetermined sequence. Can be changed. For example, at least one contraction rule can be selected and changed from the following (contract rule 1) to (contract rule 10). The contracting unit 12 contracts the moving image 21 by causing the contracting execution unit 121 to load and execute the contracting program 31 that implements the selected contracting rule.

(Reduction rule 1) The processing reduction unit 12 that reduces the resolution of the moving image 21 performs a process of creating a reduced moving image file 22 in which the resolution of the moving image 21 is reduced. For example, when a moving image of 640 × 480 pixels is coarsened to 320 × 240 pixels, the data size is expected to be about ¼.

(Reduction rule 2) The processing reduction unit 12 that reduces the frame rate of the moving image 21 is a reduced moving image file in which a part of the frames constituting the moving image 21 is periodically removed and played back in slow motion. 22 is created. This is similar to (contraction rule 7), except that the apparent speed does not change by making the playback speed proportional to the frame rate. For example, it is expected that the data size is reduced to about 1/3 by thinning out frames every three frames.

(Reduction rule 3) The process reduction part 12 which limits the time of the moving image 21 performs the process which produces the reduced moving image file 22 which removed the part of the moving image 21 temporally. For example, by extracting only 10 minutes before and after the trigger from a 1 hour movie, the data size is expected to be about 1/6, and the time required for the observer 9a to view the movie is expected to be about 1/6. Is done. In FIG. 6, the contraction execution unit 121 (1) schematically shows the operation of this contraction rule.

(Reduction Rule 4) The processing reduction unit 12 reduces and embeds a plurality of moving images 21 in each area obtained by dividing the screen into a plurality of images, and reduces the plurality of moving images 21 to a plurality of reduced animation file 22 screens. A process of embedding in each divided area is performed. For example, when the screen is divided into four and the moving images 21 captured by the different video cameras 2 are fitted, the data size is reduced to about 1/4, and the time required for the observer 9a to view the moving image is about 1 /. Expected to be 4. In FIG. 6, the contraction execution unit 121 (2) schematically shows the operation of the contraction rule.

(Reduction rule 5) The processing reduction unit 12 that extracts and connects a part of time zones of a plurality of moving images 21 extracts a part of the moving images 21 captured by the plurality of video cameras 2 for an arbitrary time. Then, a process for creating a reduced video file 22 in which a plurality of angles are switched in order and displayed is performed. For example, by switching the moving images 21 captured by the four video cameras 2 every 2 seconds, the data size is reduced to about 1/4, and the time required for the observer 9a to view the moving images is reduced to about 1/4. Expected to be.

(Reduction Rule 6) The processing reduction unit 12 that extracts a partial area from the screen of the moving image 21 creates a reduced moving image file 22 in which only a part of the moving image 21 is extracted. For example, it is expected that the data size is reduced to about ¼ by taking out a 320 × 240 pixel region in which only a portion where abnormality is likely to occur is extracted from a moving image of 640 × 480 pixels. In FIG. 6, the contraction execution unit 121 (4) schematically shows the operation of this contraction rule.

(Reduction rule 7) The processing reduction unit 12 for fast-forwarding reproduction of the moving image 21 periodically removes a part of the frames constituting the moving image 21 and reproduces it at the same frame rate as the original moving image 21. A process for creating the reduced video file 22 is performed. This is similar to (contraction rule 2), except that the playback speed is not changed, so that fast-forwarding is apparent. For example, by thinning out frames every three frames, the data size is expected to be about 1/3, and the time required for the observer 9a to view the moving image is expected to be about 1/3. In FIG. 6, the contraction execution unit 121 (3) schematically shows the operation of the contraction rule.

(Reduction rule 8) The processing reduction unit 12 that deletes the one corresponding to the imaging means selected from the plurality of moving images 21 is the part of interest in the moving images 21 captured by the plurality of video cameras 2 respectively. A process of creating a contracted moving image file 22 in which the video camera 2 that has not captured the image is deleted in units of images is performed. For example, on the day when two of the three machine tools 59 are not in operation, the video camera 2 that images the machine tool 59 that is not in operation is stopped and the moving image 21 is not left, so that the data size is about 1 It is expected that the time required for the observer 9a to view the moving image will be about 1/3.

(Reduction Rule 9) The processing reduction unit 12 that reduces the color resolution of the moving image 21 performs a process of creating a reduced moving image file 22 in which the number of colors of the moving image 21 is reduced. For example, it is expected that the data size is reduced to about 1/3 by converting a full-color moving image to monochrome.

(Reduction rule 10) The processing reduction unit 12 that irreversibly changes the encoding method for the moving image 21 irreversibly changes the encoding method (encoding) of the moving image 21, and further reduces the compression rate. A process of creating a moving image file 22 is performed. For example, it is expected that the data size is reduced to about 1/10 by converting an uncompressed AVI video to MPEG format.

  Note that (reduction rule 1) to (reduction rule 10) are examples of reduction rules, and the reduction unit 12 may perform reduction using other reduction rules. Further, the contraction rules exemplified in (contract rule 1) to (contract rule 10) may be applied to only a part of the moving image 21, not the whole.

  The contraction rule may include an incidental method that is required when the moving image 21 is contracted. For example, when creating a contracted moving image file 22 in which the content is temporally and spatially divided, such as (contract rule 3), (contract rule 4), and (contract rule 5), the imaged time Or information about the video camera 2 may be inserted as subtitles on the screen. Or when switching the display method of a moving image like (contraction rule 5), you may insert the animation which shows the transitional change.

<Operation procedure>
Next, the operation procedure of the camera monitoring system 100a of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the supervisor 9a operates the operation device 4a, the moving image processing device 1a is activated (step S1). Thereby, each video camera 2 starts imaging of the machine tool 59. Then, all the frames constituting all the moving images 21 taken by the video camera 2 are recorded in the frame recording unit 11 (step S2).

  The contraction unit 12 executes the contraction execution unit 121 on the moving image 21 as a set of frames recorded in the frame recording unit 11 to perform contraction, and creates the contracted moving image file 22 (step S3). . The contraction execution unit 121 can be automatically operated as the moving image processing apparatus 1a is activated, or can be operated in response to a command from the supervisor 9a. In the former case, information for specifying the reduction program 31 to be automatically executed and information for defining the reduction rule used by the reduction program 31 are registered in advance in the moving image processing apparatus 1a. Based on these, the contracted program 31 is automatically loaded and started. In the latter case, the command is transmitted from the operating device 4a that has received the command from the supervisor 9a to the moving image processing device 1a. This command includes information for specifying the contract program 31 and information for defining contract rules used by the contract program 31, and the video processing apparatus 1a automatically selects the contract program 31 based on these information. Load and start up.

  For example, the contraction of the moving image can be performed by using the contraction rules shown in the above (contraction rule 1) to (contraction rule 10), or by using another contraction rule. it can.

  When the reduction execution unit 121 starts operation, a reduced moving image file 22 is created and recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13. At this time, the speed management unit 124 monitors the speed at which the reduced moving image file 22 is recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13. The disk management unit 142 monitors the state of the reduced moving image recording unit 13, and the capacity monitoring unit 143 monitors the remaining capacity of the reduced moving image recording unit 13 (step S4). When the disk management unit 142 detects a failure in the reduced video recording unit 13 or the capacity monitoring unit 143 detects a state near the disk full, the alarm transmission unit 144a issues a command for causing the operation device 4a to transmit an alarm. Send.

  The priority setting unit 123 can set a priority for the contract program 31 executed by each contract execution unit 121 when the contract execution unit 121 starts operation. When the remaining capacity of the reduced moving image recording unit 13 is small, the reduced moving image file 22 created by the reduced execution unit 121 having a low priority may be deleted by the disk management unit 142. Further, when the remaining capacity of the reduced moving image recording unit 13 is small, the reduction execution unit 121 may be configured to slow down the speed at which the reduced moving image file 22 is recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13.

  The reduced moving image file 22 stored in the reduced moving image recording unit 13 is automatically transferred to the operation device 4a and displayed as a moving image on the display unit 42 of the operation device 4a by the viewer 44a (step S5). As a result, the supervisor 9a can visually monitor and analyze the state of the machine tool 59.

  After step S6, the supervisor 9a requests to change the contraction method using the operation unit 41 of the operation device 4a when he / she wants to visually check the video of another contracted video file 22 (“Yes” in step S6). To do. Upon receiving this request, the contraction method changing unit 43 of the operation device 4a causes the contraction unit 12 of the moving image processing apparatus 1a to download / delete the contract program 31, load / unload the contract program 31, and execute contract. A command for requesting addition / deletion of the unit 121, change / acquisition of contraction rules, and the like is transmitted. The contracting unit 12 performs an operation instructed by the command, and changes the contracting method used by the contracting execution unit 121 (step S7). As a result, the contracting unit 12 can create the contracted moving image file 22 by using a new contracting method. The monitor 9a can perform visual monitoring and analysis again by using the new reduced video file 22 thus created (steps S3 to S5).

  After step S6, if the monitor 9a does not want another reduced video file 22 ("No" in step S6), step S7 and steps S3 to S5 are not performed again. Further, the contraction method change by the procedure “Yes” in step S6 and the procedure in step S7 may be automatically performed based on a sequence predetermined by the contraction method change unit 43.

  The above procedure can be repeated until the monitor 9a finishes the visual monitoring and analysis (“Yes” in step S6 and step S9) (“No” in step S8 and steps S3 to S7).

<Specific monitoring method>
A specific method of monitoring and analysis using the reduced moving image file 22 in the camera monitoring system 100a of this embodiment will be exemplified.

  In this specific method, (reduction rule 1) to (reduction rule 10) are properly used according to the stage of monitoring and analysis. That is, in the initial stage of monitoring and analysis, it is efficient to look at the machine tool 59 and the entire target time roughly and to visually check a part of the machine tool 59 and the target time as the abnormality is specified. Specifically, monitoring / analysis is performed based on the following (monitoring / analysis procedure 1) to (monitoring / analysis procedure 3).

(Monitoring / analysis procedure 1)
First, the contracting unit 12 creates a contracted moving image file 22 to be reproduced at low resolution and fast forward from the moving image 21 captured of the machine tool 59. For this reduction procedure, (reduction rule 1), (reduction rule 7) and the like are used. The monitor 9a displays the reduced moving image file 22 on the display unit 42 of the operation device 4a, and performs visual monitoring and analysis. Thereby, the supervisor 9a can limit the timing and part where the abnormality occurs based on the moving image displayed on the display unit 42.

  When the machine tool 59 is imaged by a plurality of video cameras 2 (for example, the same part is imaged by a plurality of video cameras 2 at different angles), the size of the moving image captured by each video camera 2 is reduced, and a plurality of screens are displayed. A method of creating a reduced video file 22 embedded in each of the divided areas and a part of the video captured by each video camera 2 are extracted and connected for an arbitrary time (for example, 10 seconds). The method of creating the contracted moving image file 22 is also effective for overviewing the machine tool 59 and the entire target time. For this reduction procedure, (reduction rule 4) and (reduction rule 5) are used.

(Monitoring / analysis procedure 2)
When the timing and part where the abnormality occurs in the machine tool 59 are limited by (monitoring / analysis procedure 1), the supervisor 9a operates the operation device 4a to cause the moving image processing device 1a to change the contraction method. As a result, the contracting unit 12 creates a contracted moving image file 22 in which the time when the abnormality is likely to occur and the time before and after the time are likely to be extracted from the moving image 21 captured by the arbitrary video camera 2. For this reduction procedure, (reduction rule 3) is used. The monitor 9a displays the newly created contracted moving image file 22 on the display unit 42 of the operation device 4a, and performs visual monitoring / analysis again. Thereby, the monitor 9a can specify the timing and part where the abnormality occurs based on the moving image displayed on the display unit 42.

(Monitoring / analysis procedure 3)
When the timing and part where the abnormality occurs in the machine tool 59 are specified by (monitoring / analysis procedure 2), the supervisor 9a operates the operation device 4a again, and causes the moving image processing device 1a to change the contraction method. Thus, the contracting unit 12 creates a contracted moving image file 22 that is reproduced in slow motion, in which a specific region that seems to be abnormal is enlarged, from the moving image 21 in which a portion that seems to be abnormal is best captured. For this reduction procedure, (reduction rule 6) and (reduction rule 2) are used. The monitor 9a displays the newly created contracted moving image file 22 on the display unit 42 of the operation device 4a, and performs visual monitoring / analysis again. Thereby, the supervisor 9a can grasp in detail the mechanism in which the abnormality occurs based on the moving image displayed on the display unit 42.

  As described above (monitoring / analysis procedure 1) to (monitoring / analysis procedure 3), the contracted moving image file 22 used for visual observation is obtained by performing contraction while properly using a plurality of contraction rules for each stage of monitoring and analysis. It becomes possible for the monitor 9a to perform multifaceted and detailed monitoring and analysis while preventing the capacity of the system from becoming excessive. It should be noted that even in a configuration in which at least some of the (monitoring / analysis procedure 1) to (monitoring / analysis procedure 3) are automatically performed based on a sequence predetermined in the contracting unit 12 Good.

<Effect of the first embodiment>
As described above, in this embodiment, by reducing the size of at least part of the moving image 21 captured by the video camera 2, the amount of data recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13 can be reduced, and the amount of hardware is reduced. Even if hardware resources are used, data can be recorded easily. Further, the contraction is performed on the moving image 21 recorded in the frame recording unit 11 that temporarily records all the moving images captured by the video camera 2, and therefore, from the moving image captured before the time when the contracting is started. A contracted video can also be created, and the monitor can use this to perform multi-faceted monitoring and analysis of the machine tool 59.

  Further, in this embodiment, the contracting unit 12 holds a plurality of contracting rules and performs contraction using the contracting rule selected from them. Therefore, the contracted video file 22 contracted by a method suitable for monitoring and analyzing abnormalities occurring in the machine tool 59 can be created, and necessary information can be lost in accordance with the nature of the machine tool 59 and the imaging situation. The amount of data can be greatly reduced.

  Further, the contracted moving image file 22 that has been contracted by the contracting unit 12 is provided with the contracted moving image recording unit 13 that records the contracted moving image file 22 for use in visual monitoring and analysis. A large amount of movies can be recorded and stored. Therefore, the monitor 9a can perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis while using the reduced video file 22 accumulated in the past.

  In this embodiment, an unreduced moving image 21 is recorded in the frame recording unit 11, and a reduced moving image file 22 is recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13, so that the data can be used according to the type and purpose of the data. Thus, it is possible to selectively use recording means that reads and writes at high speed and inexpensive and large-capacity recording means. For this reason, it is possible to optimize the allocation of hardware resources for the enormous amount of accumulated moving image data. In addition, general-purpose hardware can be used, and the advantages of small size and light weight can be obtained together.

  That is, in this embodiment, the moving image processing apparatus 1a, camera monitoring, which can be configured inexpensively, compactly and lightly, and can be monitored and analyzed in a multifaceted manner according to the stage and scene of analysis by the monitor 9a. A system 100a can be provided.

  In this embodiment, the contraction can be performed using different contraction rules for each of the single or plural moving images 21. Therefore, the supervisor 9a can perform multi-faceted monitoring and analysis by using a plurality of types of contracted moving image files 22 for one machine tool 59.

  In this embodiment, at least one of various reduction rules can be selected, and the moving image is reduced by a method most suited to the nature of the machine tool 59, the imaging situation, the stage of analysis, and the scene. It becomes possible.

  In this embodiment, the contracting unit 12 can extract only the moving image when the trigger detecting unit 141a detects the trigger. Therefore, if the configuration is such that a trigger is generated at a timing when there is a high possibility that an abnormality will occur in the machine tool 59, the contracted video file 22 necessary for monitoring and analysis can be reliably acquired, and unnecessary video can be eliminated. .

  In this embodiment, by setting the trigger to occur at various timings where there is a high possibility that an abnormality will occur in the machine tool 59, a set of contracted video files 22 necessary for monitoring and analysis is reliably acquired. be able to.

  In this embodiment, since the contraction method changing unit 43 that changes the contraction method is provided, the monitor 9a selects the contraction rule file appropriately while selecting or adding contraction rules. It is possible to create one after another and perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis based on sufficient information on an as-needed basis. In addition, unnecessary reduction rules can be deleted to suppress excessive consumption of computer resources, excessive initial investment for the original purpose, and operation mistakes for selecting inappropriate reduction rules. As a result, the moving image processing apparatus 1a and the camera monitoring system 100a that do not consume excessive computer resources can be configured at low cost, and the monitor 9a can reliably and easily perform multifaceted monitoring and analysis. it can.

  In this embodiment, the contracted moving image file 22 can be viewed by the monitor 9a, and the monitor 9a can reliably perform multi-faceted monitoring and analysis of the machine tool 59.

<Second Embodiment>
8 to 13 show a second embodiment of the present invention.

<Principle of Second Embodiment>
FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the principle of the camera monitoring system 100b of this embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment, the camera monitoring system 100b according to this embodiment includes an uploader 145 as “display management execution means” in the moving image processing apparatus 1b.

  The uploader 145 uploads the reduced moving image file 22 recorded in the reduced moving image recording unit 13 to a file server (not shown in FIG. 8). Further, the viewer 44a downloads the contracted moving image file 22 from the file server to a remote operation device (not shown in FIG. 8) used by the monitor 9a, and displays it on the display unit (not shown in FIG. 8).

  An example of a specific configuration configured based on the principle of the camera monitoring system 100b will be described below.

<Basic configuration of the second embodiment>
FIG. 9 is a network configuration diagram and a functional block diagram as a specific configuration of the camera monitoring system 100b of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the camera monitoring system 100b according to this embodiment includes a remote operation device 4b instead of the operation device 4a, unlike the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment. The camera monitoring system 100b may include not only the remote operation device 4b but also both the operation device 4a and the remote operation device 4b.

  The moving image processing apparatus 1b and the video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are provided in a manufacturing factory 51 in which a machine tool 59 as a “monitoring target” is installed. On the other hand, the program storage device 3 a and the remote control device 4 b are provided in a monitoring center 52 provided at a location away from the manufacturing factory 51. The camera monitoring system 100b is remotely operated by the monitoring person 9a from the monitoring center 52. The program storage device 3a may be provided in the manufacturing factory 51. Further, the program storage device 3a may be provided inside a facility (not shown) other than the manufacturing factory 51 and the monitoring center 52.

  The moving image processing apparatus 1b and each video camera 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are connected by a USB cable, a high-speed LAN, or the like. The moving image processing device 1b, the program storage device 3a, and the remote control device 4b are connected by a network 53 such as a LAN, an intranet, or the Internet.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the moving image processing apparatus 1b includes, as function means, an uploader 145 as “display management execution means” and a mail transmission / reception unit 146 in addition to the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment. . Further, unlike the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment, a trigger detection unit 141b is provided instead of the trigger detection unit 141a as a “trigger detection unit”, and the alarm transmission unit 144b is used instead of the alarm transmission unit 144a. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the file server 15 includes a distribution moving image recording unit 151 and a transmission / reception management unit 152 as functional units.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the remote operation device 4b includes, as function means, an upload management unit 45 and a mail transmission / reception unit 46 as “display management execution means” in addition to the configuration of the operation device 4a according to the first embodiment. Prepare.

<Detailed Configuration of Second Embodiment>
Details of the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100b will be described below.

<Video camera>
Video cameras 2 (1), 2 (2),..., 2 (n) are the same as those in the first embodiment.

<Movie processing device>
As described above, the moving image processing apparatus 1b is substantially the same as the moving image processing apparatus 1a of the first embodiment. However, as described above, the moving image processing apparatus 1b includes the uploader 145 and the mail transmission / reception unit 146 as functional units, and includes a trigger detection unit 141b and an alarm transmission unit 144b instead of the trigger detection unit 141a and the alarm transmission unit 144a, respectively. The point is different.

<Frame recording part>
The frame recording unit 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

<Contracted part>
The contraction unit 12 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

<Reduced video recording part>
The contracted moving image recording unit 13 is equivalent to that in the first embodiment.

<Uploader>
The uploader 145 is a communication device that uploads an arbitrary file from the moving image processing apparatus 1b to the file server 15. Specifically, the uploader 145 performs uploading according to the procedure exemplified below (upload procedure 1) to (upload procedure 3).
(Upload procedure 1)
The uploader 145 uploads an arbitrary contracted moving image file 22 to the file server 15. Prior to uploading, the contracted video file 22 may be converted into a format suitable for Internet publication.
(Upload procedure 2)
The uploader 145 displays profile information of any contracted video file 22 (for example, information specifying the contract program 31 that created the contract video file 22, information defining the contract rule used by the contract program 31, and contraction). A profile file in which information specifying the video camera 2 that has captured the moving image 21 that is the material of the moving image file 22 and the time at which imaging of the moving image 21 was started and ended is created and uploaded to the file server 15. The profile file may be in a format that can be viewed with an Internet browser.
(Upload procedure 3)
The uploader 145 creates a catalog file describing a list of the contracted moving image file 22 and the profile file, and uploads it to the file server 15. The catalog file may be in a format that can be viewed with an Internet browser.

  The uploader 145 continuously monitors the reduced moving picture recording unit 13 and automatically uploads the newly recorded reduced moving picture file 22. However, the configuration may be such that the upload is performed in response to a command instructing the upload transmitted from the upload management unit 45 of the remote operation device 4b.

<Trigger detection unit>
The trigger detection unit 141b is substantially the same as the trigger detection unit 141a in the first embodiment. However, in addition to (trigger 1) to (trigger 5) detected by the trigger detection unit 141a, the following (trigger 6) to (trigger 7) are detected.
(Trigger 6) A command input by the supervisor 9a operating the operation unit 41 of the remote control device 4b.
(Trigger 7) A command mail that is transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving unit 46 of the remote control device 4b and received by the mail transmitting / receiving unit 146 by the operation of the supervisor 9a.
The command mail will be described later.

<Mail sending / receiving unit>
The mail transmission / reception unit 146 performs mail transmission / reception with the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote control device 4b. In addition, the mail transmission / reception unit 146 acquires information on an arbitrary processing state from the individual functional units constituting the moving image processing apparatus 1b, creates a mail notifying the processing state, and sends it to the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote operation device 4b. Send. Furthermore, the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives the mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote control device 4b, and causes each functional unit of the moving image processing apparatus 1b to perform arbitrary processing based on the received mail. Note that the types of mail that the mail transmission / reception unit 146 transmits / receives to / from the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote control device 4b will be described later.

<Disk Management Department>
The disk management unit 142 is equivalent to that in the first embodiment.

<Capacity monitoring unit>
The capacity monitoring unit 143 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

<Alarm transmitter>
The alarm transmitter 144b is substantially the same as the alarm transmitter 144a in the first embodiment. However, it is different in that an alarm is transmitted to the operation device 4a instead of being transmitted to the remote operation device 4b. In the camera monitoring system 100b including both the operation device 4a and the remote operation device 4b, an alarm may be transmitted to both, or may be transmitted to any one designated by the monitor 9a.

<File server>
A file server 15 shown in FIG. 11 includes at least one CPU and has a file transmission / reception function. As described above, the file server 15 includes the distribution moving image recording unit 151 and the transmission / reception management unit 152 as functional units.

  The distribution video recording unit 151 records and holds the reduced video file 22 uploaded from the video processing device 1b in a downloadable state.

  Based on the command from the uploader 145, the transmission / reception management unit 152 performs various processes necessary for uploading the reduced video file 22 from the video processing device 1b. Further, various processes necessary for downloading the reduced moving image file 22 to the remote operation device 4b are performed based on commands from the remote operation device 4b.

<Program storage device>
The program storage device 3a is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the difference is that the contraction program 31 is supplied via the network 53.

<Remote control device>
As shown in FIG. 9, the remote control device 4b is provided in a place physically separated from the moving image processing device 1b, and operates the moving image processing device 1b in response to the operation of the supervisor 9a. The remote operation device 4b is, for example, a personal computer or a mobile communication terminal, and includes at least one CPU and a recording unit, and includes a data and command transmission / reception function, a data processing function, a moving image display function, and the like. Programs and data are recorded.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the remote operation device 4b includes an operation unit 41, a display unit 42, a contraction method change unit 43 as a “contraction method change unit”, and a viewer 44a as a “display management execution unit”. , An upload management unit 45 as a “display management execution means” and a mail transmission / reception unit 46 are provided.

  The operation unit 41 is equivalent to that in the first embodiment.

  The contraction method changing unit 43 is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the difference is that a command for changing the contraction method is transmitted via the network 53. The command may be transmitted to the moving image processing apparatus 1b by a command mail transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving unit 46, or may be transmitted to the moving image processing apparatus 1b by other methods.

  The upload management unit 45 uploads an arbitrary file from the moving image processing apparatus 1b to the file server 15 by the operation of the monitor 9a (for example, the procedure exemplified in the above (upload procedure 1) and (upload procedure 2) is performed). Various processing is performed.

  The viewer 44a is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. However, the difference is that the reduced moving image file 22 is acquired via the network 53.

  The mail transmission / reception unit 46 performs mail transmission / reception with the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b automatically based on a command input to the operation unit 41 by the operation of the monitor 9a or based on a predetermined sequence. .

<Specific examples of email>
Examples of the mail transmitted / received by the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b and the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote control device 4b include the following (A) and (B).

(A) Report mail A mail notifying the status of the moving image processing apparatus 1b from the moving image processing apparatus 1b to the supervisor 9a who uses the remote control device 4b. The report mail is created and transmitted by the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b, and is received / interpreted by the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote operation device 4b. Examples of the report mail include (A-1) to (A-3) below.

(A-1) Notification of Creation of Reduced Video File The email transmission / reception unit 146 that has received a signal from the email reduction execution unit 121 that the creation of the reduced video file 22 has been completed, A notification e-mail that prompts the user to download the reduced video file 22 is transmitted. Thus, the monitor 9a can monitor and analyze the reduced moving image file 22 without waiting unnecessarily.

(A-2) The mail transmission / reception unit 146 that has received a signal from the alarm mail capacity monitoring unit 143 that the disk capacity is insufficient indicates that the disk of the reduced video recording unit 13 or the file server 15 is nearly full. A notification mail is sent to 46 informing that the free disk capacity has been reduced. As a result, the supervisor 9a can immediately take measures such as deleting the unnecessary reduced video file 22.

(A-3) Event Occurrence Notification The mail transmission / reception unit 146 that has received a signal notifying that an event such as a hardware failure has occurred from each part of the email moving image processing apparatus 1b is sent to the mail transmission / reception unit 46. , Send a notification email to notify the occurrence of the event. As a result, the supervisor 9a can cope with a hardware failure without delay.

(B) Command mail Mail for transmitting and executing various commands from the supervisor 9a using the remote control device 4b to the moving image processing apparatus 1b. The command mail is created / transmitted by the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote control device 4b, and received / interpreted by the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. Examples of the command mail include (B-1) to (B-8) below.

(B-1) Camera On / Off Control The mail transmission / reception unit 46 sends a command mail for obtaining a list of the video cameras 2 to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b, and turns on an arbitrary video camera 2. A command mail for performing on / off control can be transmitted. When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives this command mail, the moving image processing apparatus 1b acquires a list of the video cameras 2 and returns them to the remote control device 4b, or performs on / off control of any specified video camera 2. To go.

(B-2) The download / delete mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the contract program 31 can send a command mail requesting the download / delete of the contract program 31 to the mail transmit / receive unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. . When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives this command mail, the moving image processing apparatus 1b downloads the contracted program 31 from the program storage device 3a and stores it in the storage device based on the command mail request or stores the contracted program that has not been loaded. The program 31 is deleted from the storage device.

(B-3) The load / unload mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the reduction program 31 transmits a command mail requesting the load / unload of the reduction program 31 to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. Can do. When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives this command mail, the video processing device 1b loads the contracted program 31 downloaded to the storage device or the contracted program 31 that is no longer needed based on the command mail request. Or unload.

(B-4) The addition / deletion mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the reduction execution unit 121 transmits a command mail requesting addition / deletion of the reduction execution unit 121 to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. Can do. When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives the command mail, the moving image processing apparatus 1b adds the necessary reduction execution unit 121 to the reduction unit 12 based on the request for the command mail, or the reduction that is no longer necessary. The execution unit 121 is deleted. The added reduction execution unit 121 starts operation immediately and starts execution of the reduction program 31.

(B-5) Change / Change of Reduction Rule The mail transmission / reception unit 46 changes the reduction rule used by the reduction program 31 executed by the reduction execution unit 121 with respect to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. -A command mail requesting acquisition can be sent. When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives this command mail, the video processing device 1b changes the contraction rule used by the contraction program 31 executed by the specified contraction execution unit 121 based on the command mail request. The contraction rule used by the contraction program 31 executed by the designated contraction execution unit 121 is acquired and returned to the remote control device 4b.

(B-6) The trigger transmission mail transmission / reception unit 46 can transmit a command mail functioning as a trigger for the trigger detection unit 141b to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the video processing device 1b. When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives this command mail, the trigger detection unit 141b transmits a command notifying the contracting unit 12 of a time that is a reference for the timing of starting or ending the generation of the contracted moving image file 22. The contracting unit 12 receives this command, and determines the timing for starting the creation of the contracted video and the timing for ending it.

(B-7) When there are a plurality of changed file servers 15 of the file server 15, the mail transmission / reception unit 46 transmits a command mail designating the upload destination file server 15 to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. can do. When the mail transmitting / receiving unit 146 receives this command mail, the contracting unit 12 thereafter uploads the contracted moving image file 22 to the file server 15 designated by the command mail.

(B-8) The acquisition mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the reduction program 31 can transmit a command mail for acquiring the reduction program 31 to the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the moving image processing apparatus 1b. When the mail transmission / reception unit 146 receives this command mail, the moving image processing apparatus 1b returns the contracted program 31 downloaded to the storage device to the mail transmission / reception unit 46 as a file.

  This function is useful when the monitoring person 9a in a remote place confirms and edits the reduction rule used by the reduction program 31 executed by the reduction execution unit 121. That is, the contraction rule is usually described in binary data or special format data that is difficult for humans to read. In order to convert this into a format that is easy for humans to read, a GUI is required. However, since the reduction rules are specific to each reduction program 31, a corresponding GUI must also be implemented for each reduction program 31. I must. On the other hand, by acquiring the contract program 31 in the remote operation device 4b and making the GUI available, the supervisor 9a displays the contract rules in an easy-to-understand manner, and confirms and edits them easily and reliably. be able to.

<Operation procedure>
Next, the operation procedure of the camera monitoring system 100b of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The operation procedure of the camera monitoring system 100b is almost the same as the operation procedure of the camera monitoring system 100a in the first embodiment. That is, each step in the first embodiment (see FIG. 7) and each step in the second embodiment are as follows: Step S1 is Step S11, Step S2 is Step S12, Step S3 is Step S13, Step S4 corresponds to Step S14, Step S5 corresponds to Step S16, Step S6 corresponds to Step S17, Step S7 corresponds to Step S18, Step S8 corresponds to Step S19, and Step S9 corresponds to Step S20. However, there are some differences as shown below.

  First, in step S1, the operator operates the operation device 4a to activate the moving image processing device 1a in the camera monitoring system 100a, whereas in step S11, the observer 9a operates the remote operation device 4b in the camera monitoring system 100b. The moving image processing apparatus 1b is operated by operating. When the camera monitoring system 100b includes both the operation device 4a and the remote operation device 4b, the monitor 9a or another operator can operate the operation device 4a to activate the moving image processing device 1b.

  As for step S13, when the contraction execution unit 121 is operated by the command of the monitor 9a, a command mail can be used in addition to the normal command to transmit the command. In this case, a command mail is transmitted from the mail transmission / reception unit 46 of the remote control device 4b that has received the command of the supervisor 9a, and this is received by the mail transmission / reception unit 146 of the video processing device 1b. The command mail includes information for specifying the contract program 31 and information for defining contract rules used by the contract program 31, and the video processing apparatus 1b automatically selects the contract program 31 based on these information. Load and start up. The method of transmitting the command using the command mail can be used not only in step S13 but also in step S15 for downloading the contracted moving image file 22 and step S18 for changing the contraction method used by the contraction execution unit 121. it can.

  The operation after step S14 is completed also differs between the camera monitoring system 100a and the camera monitoring system 100b. In the camera monitoring system 100b, the uploader 145 automatically or in response to a command from the monitor 9a uploads the reduced moving image file 22 from the reduced moving image recording unit 13 to the file server 15 (step S15). This process does not exist in the first embodiment. When the upload is performed by the command of the monitor 9a, the upload management unit 45 of the remote operation device 4b transmits a command instructing the upload.

  The contracted moving image file 22 uploaded to the file server 15 is recorded in the distributed moving image recording unit 151. The transmission / reception management unit 152 downloads the reduced moving image file 22 recorded in the distribution moving image recording unit 151 to the remote control device 4b automatically or by a command from the supervisor 9a (step S15). When the download is performed by a command by the supervisor 9a, the upload management unit 45 of the remote operation device 4b transmits a command instructing the download. The downloaded contracted moving image file 22 is displayed on the display unit 42 of the remote operation device 4b by the viewer 44a (step S16). As a result, the supervisor 9a can visually monitor and analyze the state of the machine tool 59.

<Specific monitoring method>
The specific method of monitoring and analysis using the reduced moving image file 22 in the camera monitoring system 100b of this embodiment is essentially the same as the camera monitoring system 100a. However, in the camera monitoring system 100b, the monitoring person 9a may be located away from the machine tool 59. Therefore, a greater effect can be expected for the purpose of promptly analyzing the cause and making appropriate improvements for the occurrence of trouble.

<Effects of Second Embodiment>
As described above, in this embodiment, all the effects of the first embodiment can be enjoyed.

  In this embodiment, the amount of data transmitted by the network 53 can be reduced by reducing at least a part of the moving image 21 captured by the video camera 2, and less hardware resources are used. However, data transmission can be performed easily.

  Further, in this embodiment, the contracting unit 12 and the contracting method changing unit 43 are provided at positions physically separated from each other, so that the contracting unit 12 and the contracting method changing unit 43 are separated from the manufacturing factory 51 where the machine tool 59 is installed. The monitoring person 9a can start / end contraction by the contraction execution unit 121, and can select / add / delete contraction rules. As a result, the monitor 9 a can monitor and analyze the machine tool 59 located at a location away from the monitoring center 52.

<Third Embodiment>
14 to 16 show a third embodiment of the present invention.

<Principle of the third embodiment>
FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing the principle of the camera monitoring system 100c of this embodiment. The camera monitoring system 100c of this embodiment performs live as “live distribution means” on the moving image processing apparatus 1c provided in place of the moving image processing apparatus 1a in the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment. A distribution unit 147 and a live distribution switching unit 148 as “distribution method switching means” are provided.

  The live distribution switching unit 148 is a type of switch that determines whether to transmit the moving image 21 output from the video camera 2 to the viewer 44b via the network 53. The viewer 44b receives the moving image 21 transmitted from the live distribution unit 147, and displays it on a display unit (not shown) of the advice operating device (not shown in FIG. 14) used by the adviser 9b in real time.

  An example of a specific configuration configured based on the principle of the camera monitoring system 100c will be described below.

<Basic configuration of the third embodiment>
FIG. 15 is a network configuration diagram and a functional block diagram as a specific configuration of the camera monitoring system 100c of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the camera monitoring system 100c of this embodiment includes a live distribution switching unit 148 and an advisory operation device 4c in addition to the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment.

  The adviser 9b instructs the monitor 9a how to install the video camera and how to use the moving image processing apparatus 1c. The camera monitoring system 100a according to the first embodiment is assumed to be used by a monitoring person 9a who is a user as a subject for monitoring and analyzing troubles occurring in the machine tool 59 which is a monitoring target. However, in order to efficiently monitor and analyze troubles, a lot of know-how is required, and it is not always easy for a user who uses the camera monitoring system 100a for the first time to master this.

  In response to this problem, the camera monitoring system 100c has a mechanism in which an advisor 9b who is familiar with its operation and usage supports the monitor 9a. The adviser 9b is usually a developer or a seller of the camera monitoring system 100c, and is familiar with the entire camera monitoring system 100c and the operation and usage of the elements constituting the camera monitoring system 100c. Therefore, it has the knowledge and technology to appropriately apply the camera monitoring system 100c to the trouble faced by the monitor 9a.

  In introducing the camera monitoring system 100c, the first problem faced by the observer 9a is to install the video camera 2 appropriately. In response to a trouble that may occur in the machine tool 59, the supervisor 9a who does not have the knowledge and skill to properly install the video camera 2 requests the adviser 9b for assistance. Then, monitoring and analysis are performed while receiving support such as advice delivered by telephone, e-mail, or the function of the advice operating device 4c.

<Detailed Configuration of Third Embodiment>
Details of the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100c will be described below.

<Video camera>
The video camera 2 is equivalent to the first embodiment.

<Movie processing device>
The moving image processing apparatus 1c is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. However, as described above, the difference is that a live distribution unit 147 and a live distribution switching unit 148 are provided as functional means.

<Live Distribution Department>
The live distribution unit 147 transmits part or all of the frames constituting the moving image 21 output from the video camera 2 to the advisory operation device 4 c in real time via the network 53. The frame to be transmitted to the advisory operation device 4c may be acquired directly from the video camera 2, or the latest frame may be selected from the frames stored in the frame recording unit 11. As a method for transmitting the command, a command mail similar to that in the second embodiment may be used.

<Live distribution switching part>
The live delivery switching unit 148 receives the command by the operation of the supervisor 9a or the adviser 9b, and inputs the video 21 output from the video camera 2 and transmitted to the live delivery unit 147 only to the frame recording unit 11, It is a switch for switching not only to input to the frame recording unit 11 but also to transmit to the viewer 44b via the network 53.

<Operating device>
The operating device 4a is the same as that of the first embodiment. Or you may provide the remote control apparatus 4b similarly to 2nd Embodiment.

<Advisory operation device>
The advice operation device 4c is substantially the same as the remote operation device 4b of the second embodiment. However, the difference is that a viewer 44b that displays a frame transmitted from the live distribution switching unit 148 in real time as a moving image or a still image is provided. Moreover, the function which transmits the advice to the operation apparatus 4a or the remote operation apparatus 4b, or receives the response with respect to the advice from the operation apparatus 4a or the remote operation apparatus 4b may be provided.

<Operation procedure>
Next, the setup procedure of the camera monitoring system 100c of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This setup procedure is often performed between step S1 and step S2 described in FIG.

  When step S1 ends and the moving image processing apparatus 1c is activated, the supervisor 9a uses an arbitrary communication means to ask the adviser 9b at a remote place for assistance. In response to this, the adviser 9b operates the advice operating device 4c and transmits a command requesting real-time distribution of the moving image 21 to the moving image processing device 1c. Receiving this command, the moving image processing apparatus 1c sets the operation of the live distribution switching unit 148 to live distribution, and the frames constituting the moving image 21 input from the video camera 2 to the live distribution unit 147 are advised in real time. It is made to transmit to the operating device 4c (step S21).

  When a moving image or a still image captured by an arbitrary video camera 2 is displayed on the viewer 44b of the advisory operation device 4c, the advisor 9b visually observes it (step S22), and the individual video camera 2 has trouble. It is determined whether the video camera 2 is attached at a position suitable for monitoring and analysis, and whether the imaging conditions (focus, zoom, etc.) of each video camera 2 are appropriate (step S23). When the position of the video camera 2 and the imaging conditions are inappropriate (“No” in step S23), the adviser 9b requests the monitor 9a to move or adjust the video camera 2 (step S24).

  In addition, when the adviser 9b supports the monitor 9a, information other than a moving image or a still image transmitted by live distribution can be used as a determination material. If the file server 15 similar to that of the second embodiment is used, the contracted moving image file 22 created by the contracting unit 12 can be displayed on the viewer 44b of the advisory operation device 4c. Also, if a tool (not shown) for remotely operating a computer such as a remote desktop is used, the setting screen of the moving image processing apparatus 1c may be displayed on the display unit 42 of the advisory operation apparatus 4c and the contents thereof may be confirmed. it can. Since the advisory operation device 4c also includes the contraction method changing unit 43, the contraction method used by the contraction execution unit 121 can be changed and confirmed by the same method as the remote operation device 4b.

  When the position of the video camera 2 and the imaging conditions become appropriate in this manner (“Yes” in step S23), the adviser 9b operates the advisory operation device 4c and sends a command for canceling real-time delivery of the moving image 21 to the moving image processing device 1c. Send. Receiving this command, the moving image processing apparatus 1c cancels the live distribution by the live distribution unit 147 by switching the live distribution switching unit 148 (step S25), and the moving image 21 input thereafter is input only to the frame recording unit 11. To be.

<Effect of the third embodiment>
As described above, in this embodiment, a part or all of the frames constituting the moving image 21 captured by the video camera 2 are transmitted to the advisory operation device 4c in real time, so that the advisor 9b It is possible to determine in real time whether the position and the imaging condition are appropriate, and it is possible to provide appropriate support to the monitor 9a. Further, when the support of the adviser 9b is unnecessary, by canceling the live distribution, the CPU load and the memory usage can be reduced, and the limited hardware resources can be used effectively.

<Fourth embodiment>
17 to 19 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

<Principle of the fourth embodiment>
The principle of the camera monitoring system 100d of this embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. However, in the camera monitoring system 100d of the fourth embodiment, the moving image processing apparatus 1d includes a live distribution unit 147 and a live distribution switching unit 148 similar to the moving image processing apparatus 1c of the third embodiment 3. . Further, the camera monitoring system 100d includes a license management unit 16 in the moving image processing apparatus 1d provided in place of the moving image processing apparatus 1a of the first embodiment. Furthermore, a program storage device 3b is provided instead of the program storage device 3a of the first embodiment. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 18, the moving image processing apparatus 1d is provided with the contracted moving image recording part 13 similar to the moving image processing apparatus 1a of 1st Embodiment.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a license management method for programs constituting the camera monitoring system 100d. The camera monitoring system 100d includes a single main body program 10 mounted on the moving image processing apparatus 1d and a single or a plurality of contracted programs 31 for mounting individual contraction execution units 121. The executable file that is the substance of these programs has a data storage area called “license field”, and a character string called “license key” can be written here. The license key is a character string obtained by encrypting data called “license information” by a secret means, and the user cannot obtain the license information by decrypting the license key.

  The main body program 10 is installed in the computer 50 by the installer 80. The contracted program 31 is installed in the computer 50 by the installer 80, or downloaded from the program storage device 3 b by the contracting unit 12 and installed in the computer 50. At this time, the installer 80 or the contracting unit 12 writes the license key including the hardware identification information in the license field of the executable file according to the procedure shown in the following (license procedure 1) to (license procedure 3).

(License procedure 1)
A license key corresponding to the program is acquired from the seller 9c, and this is decrypted to acquire license information. In this license information, hardware identification information is undefined.

(License procedure 2)
Information specific to the hardware is acquired from the computer 50 and overwritten on the hardware identification information of the license information acquired in (License Procedure 1).

(License procedure 3)
The new license information created in (License Procedure 2) is encrypted to create a license key, which is written in the license field of the executable file.

  When the main program 10 and the contract program 31 are activated or loaded, the license key is read from the license field of its own executable file and decrypted to obtain license information. The hardware identification information included in the license information is collated with information specific to the hardware acquired from the computer 50. The expiration date included in the license information is compared with the current date and time acquired from the computer 50. Based on these pieces of information, it is determined whether or not the program is usable. If the program is not usable, the function is restricted and a message prompting the purchase of a license is displayed on the display unit 42.

  With the above mechanism, the camera monitoring system 100d can individually manage the licenses of the main body program 10 and the contracted program 31, and the necessary licenses can be purchased without purchasing unnecessary licenses for the monitor 9a. There is a merit that you only need to purchase and use it when necessary.

  However, this license management method has a problem that it is difficult to use the contract program 31 for a short period of time. The camera monitoring system 100d is for the monitor 9a to monitor and analyze trouble occurring in the machine tool 59 to be monitored. In many cases, the monitor 9a faced with the trouble is contracted individually. There is no room to learn the operation and usage of the program 31 calmly, and therefore, a situation is encountered in which many reduced programs 31 have to be tried at random. However, since it is necessary to purchase the license every time the contracted program 31 is tried, the supervisor 9a is forced to take a great deal of time for the purchase procedure.

  Therefore, the camera monitoring system 100d provides a mechanism that enables a free trial in a short period such as only one day. This is a mechanism in which all the contracted programs 31 listed in advance can be used free of charge without setting a license by setting a special license key in the main body program 10. As a result, the monitor 9a can freely use a large number of reduction programs 31 and can select the reduction program 31 that is most suitable for trouble monitoring and analysis.

  An example of a specific configuration configured based on the principle of the camera monitoring system 100d will be described below.

<Basic configuration of the fourth embodiment>
FIG. 18 is a network configuration diagram and a functional block diagram as a specific configuration of the camera monitoring system 100d of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the camera monitoring system 100d of this embodiment has a license management as a “contract rule validation unit” as a functional unit in addition to the configuration of the camera monitoring system 100a of the first embodiment. A portion 16 is provided. The program storage device 3b holds and provides a use permission list 32 as “effective reduction rule definition means”.

<License Management Department>
As illustrated in FIG. 19, the license management unit 16 includes a license field 161, a hardware identification information acquisition unit 162, a use permission list acquisition unit 163, and a function restriction release unit 164.

  The license field 161 is a data storage area for writing a license key prepared in the execution format file of the main body program 10. The license key written in the license field 161 is a character string obtained by encrypting arbitrary license information having a known format by a secret means. Since the license key is composed only of readable characters, the user can read and write the license key as text, but the user who does not know the decryption means cannot know the contents. Also, check data for detecting falsification is added to the license key, and the user cannot create a new license key by modifying the license key.

  The hardware identification information acquisition unit 162 extracts information specific to the hardware from the computer 50 in which the main body program 10 is operating. Information unique to the hardware includes the MAC address of the network adapter, the CPU serial number, the hard disk manufacturing number, the OS serial number, the OS activation key, and the like.

  The use permission list acquisition unit 163 selects and acquires the one prepared for the main body program 10 from the use permission list 32 provided by the program storage device 3b that defines a set of contraction rules. . The use permission list 32 is a list that describes the contracted programs 31 that are allowed to be used for a free trial for a short period of time.

  In this embodiment, the main body program 10 and the contracted program 31 loaded into the main body program 10 have a configuration in which only a licensed user can use a part or all of the functions. It functions as a “reduction rule restriction means”. The function restriction releasing unit 164 then releases the function restriction of the main body program 10 itself and the contracted program 31 loaded in the main body program 10 based on the license set in the main body program 10. The release of the function restriction is specifically performed according to the procedure shown below (function restriction release procedure 1) to (function restriction release procedure 6).

(Function restriction release procedure 1) Acquisition of license information The license key written in the license field 161 is read from the execution format file of the main body program 10, and the license information is decrypted to acquire the license information.

(Function restriction release procedure 2) The hardware identification information is extracted from the license information acquired in the verification of hardware identification information (function restriction release procedure 1), and is acquired by the hardware identification information acquisition unit 162 and is unique to the hardware. Check with the information.

(Function restriction release procedure 3) The expiration date is extracted from the license information acquired in the comparison of the expiration date and the current date and time (function restriction release procedure 1), and is compared with the current date and time.

(Function restriction release procedure 4) The license classification (a distinction between a time-limited license, a hardware restriction license, etc.) is extracted from the license information acquired in the function restriction release (function restriction release procedure 1) of the main body program 10, and this is (function restriction). Based on the comparison result of the release procedure 2) and the comparison result of the (function restriction release procedure 3), it is determined whether or not the function restriction of the main body program 10 is released. If the minimum function restriction necessary for operating the main body program 10 is not released, the execution of the main body program 10 is terminated here.

(Function restriction release procedure 5) The use permission list password is extracted from the license information acquired by decrypting the use permission list 32 (function restriction release procedure 1), and the use permission list acquired by the use permission list acquisition unit 163 is used. 32 is decrypted.

(Function Restriction Canceling Procedure 6) It is checked whether or not each contracted program 31 to be loaded by the function restriction canceling main program 10 of the contracted program 31 is described in the decrypted use permission list 32. If it is described, the function restriction of the contracted program 31 is released, and the loading by the main body program 10 is normally performed. As a method of releasing the function restriction of the contracted program 31, there is a method of creating a copy of an executable file of the contracted program 31, writing a valid license key temporarily thereto, and then loading it.

  Of the above procedures, (Function restriction release procedure 5) and (Function restriction release procedure 6) are executed only when a special trial license key including a use permission list password is set in the main body program 10. . That is, the seller 9 c can make the contract program 31 described in the use permission list 32 usable in the main body program 10 by providing the trial license key and the use permission list 32 to the main body program 10. If the expiration date is set in the trial license key, it is possible to freely set a period during which all the reduced programs 31 can be used for free.

<Permission list>
The use permission list 32 is a list that describes the contracted programs 31 that are permitted to be used for a short-term free trial. The use permission list 32 is encrypted by a secret means, and the user cannot know its contents. In order to decrypt the use permission list 32, a corresponding use permission list password is required. Therefore, only the main body program 10 that has received the trial license key can read the contents of the use permission list 32.

  When a plurality of main body programs 10 share one program storage device 3b, a plurality of use permission lists 32 corresponding to the respective main body programs 10 can be prepared. The main body program 10 uses the file name of each use permission list 32 or a catalog file prepared together with the use permission list 32 to determine whether or not a certain use permission list 32 is created for itself. Can be determined.

<Effect of the fourth embodiment>
As described above, in this embodiment, the contracted program 31 is not purchased by restricting contraction performed based on the contracted rules implemented by the contracted program 31 that is not permitted to be used free of charge. It is possible to restrict the use of contraction to the monitoring person 9a, thereby ensuring security and protecting the license. Even if the supervisor 9a has not purchased the contract program 31, the seller 9c allows the program storage device 3b to publish the use permission list 32, thereby canceling the use restriction of the contract rule and any contract. It is possible to make a free trial of the contract rule implemented in the program 31. For this reason, the monitor 9a who faces trouble and cannot afford to learn the operation and usage of the individual contract programs 31 can try many contract programs 31 as needed.

<Other items according to the embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment, the camera monitoring system 100a, the camera monitoring system 100b, and the camera monitoring system 100c are referred to as the machine tool 59 as the “monitoring target”. Configured as a system. However, the “monitoring target” is not limited to this, and may be a machine other than the machine tool 59, for example, an automatic machine such as a printing machine, a packing machine, an inspection machine, and a transport machine.

  Further, the camera monitoring system 100a, the camera monitoring system 100b, and the camera monitoring system 100c are used for, for example, observation of animals and plants, observation of scientific phenomena and natural phenomena, observation of lesions occurring in the human body, sports and performances other than machine monitoring. It may also be used for form correction, crime prevention in offices and stores.

  In addition, the said embodiment is an illustration of this invention, and it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not meant to be limited only to the said embodiment.

100a, 100b, 100c, 100d... Camera monitoring system 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d... Video processing device 10.
11 Frame recording section (frame recording means)
12 ... Reduction part (contraction means)
13 ... Reduced video recording unit (reduced video recording means)
141a, 141b ... trigger detection unit (trigger detection means)
145... Uploader (display management execution means)
147 ... Live distribution part (live distribution means)
148 ... Live distribution switching means (distribution method switching means)
16 ... License management section (contract rule validation means)
2, 2 (1), 2 (2), ..., 2 (n) ... video camera (imaging means)
21, 21 (1), 21 (2),..., 21 (n).
22, 22 (1), 22 (2),..., 22 (m)... Contracted video file (contracted video)
24 (1), 24 (2),..., 24 (15)... Frame 31.
32 ... Use permission list (effective reduction rule definition means)
4a ... operation device 4b ... remote operation device 42 ... display unit (display means)
43 ... Reduction method change section (contraction method change means)
44a, 44b ... Viewer (display management execution means)
59 ... Machine tool (monitoring target)
9a ・ ・ ・ Monitor

Claims (11)

Imaging the automatic machine as the monitored for recording video into the causes of troubles of the automatic machine, a moving image processing apparatus that performs any processing on the captured moving image by the plurality of image pickup means ,
Frame recording means for temporarily recording a frame which is a component of the moving image imaged by the imaging means;
Video reduction for creating a reduced video with a reduced amount of data based on a preset reduction rule from a video that is a time-series set of one or a plurality of the frames recorded in the frame recording means A contracting means for performing processing,
A reduced moving picture recording means for recording the moving picture reduced by the reducing means for use by a monitor for visual monitoring and / or analysis;
The contraction means is a contraction rule that specifically defines the contraction method, the contraction rule that performs a process of deleting a temporally excessive portion of the video, and a spatial surplus of the video The contraction rule for performing a process of deleting an extra portion, the contraction rule for performing a process of reducing a temporally excessive quality of the moving image, and the contraction of performing a process of reducing a spatially excessive quality of the moving image Means for holding a plurality of said reduced rules having about rules,
A plurality of different contraction rules are simultaneously used for at least one of the plurality of moving images respectively captured by the plurality of image capturing units, and the contraction by each of the different contraction rules is performed in parallel. A moving picture processing apparatus. The contraction performed by the contraction unit based on the contraction rule is:
A process of limiting the time of the moving image as a process of deleting a surplus portion of the moving image in time, and a process of extracting and joining a part of time periods of each of the plurality of moving images;
As a process of deleting a spatially excessive portion of the moving image, a process of reducing and embedding the moving image in each area obtained by dividing the screen into a plurality of areas, and extracting a part of the area from the moving image screen Processing to delete, and processing corresponding to the imaging means selected from the plurality of moving images,
A process of reducing the frame rate of the video as a process of reducing the time-excess quality of the video, and a process of fast-forwarding playback of the video,
A process for reducing the resolution of the moving picture, a process for reducing the color resolution of the moving picture, and a method for irreversibly encoding the moving picture as a process for reducing the spatially excessive quality of the moving picture Change processing,
The moving image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing includes at least one of the following . Trigger detection means for detecting a trigger that is output when an arbitrary event occurs,
When the trigger is detected by the trigger detection unit, the contraction unit determines at least one of a timing at which the generation of the contracted moving image starts and a timing at which the contraction unit ends. The moving image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The trigger is input or reception of an arbitrary command by the operation of the supervisor, detection of an arbitrary state by an arbitrary sensor, detection of an operation on an arbitrary switch, detection of time passage by an arbitrary timer, imaging of the imaging unit The moving image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , comprising at least one of pattern recognition in an arbitrary moving image . Is operated by the observer, one of said contraction means, characterized in that with a contraction method change means for selecting and / or changing of the contraction rule to use, according to claim 1 to 4 The moving image processing apparatus described in 1. 6. The moving image processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the contracting unit and the contracting method changing unit are provided at physically separated positions . The display management execution means for performing processing for causing the monitor to display the moving image reduced by the reduction means on a display means used for visual monitoring by the observer. 7. The moving image processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6. Live distribution means for transmitting in real time a part or all of a frame that is a component of the moving image imaged by the imaging means to a display means provided at a position physically separated from the contraction means;
The moving image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a distribution method switching unit that starts / ends the operation of the live distribution unit . In the moving image reduction processing by the reduction means, reduction rule restriction means for restricting the reduction performed based on at least a part of the reduction rules;
A reduction rule enabling means for releasing the restriction by the reduction rule restriction means when an arbitrary condition is satisfied;
9. The reduced contract rule enabling means comprises effective reduced rule defining means for defining a set of reduced rules to be released from the restriction, according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The moving image processing apparatus described. A camera monitoring system for recording a moving image for imaging an automatic machine as a monitoring target and investigating the cause of the trouble of the automatic machine,
  A single or a plurality of imaging means for imaging an arbitrary monitoring target that performs an arbitrary process on a moving image captured by a plurality of imaging means;
  Frame recording means for temporarily recording a frame which is a component of a moving image imaged by the imaging means;
  Video reduction for creating a reduced video with a reduced amount of data based on a preset reduction rule from a video that is a time-series set of one or a plurality of the frames recorded in the frame recording means A contracting means for performing processing,
  A reduced moving picture recording means for recording the moving picture reduced by the reducing means for use by a monitor for visual monitoring and / or analysis;
  The contraction means is a contraction rule that specifically defines the contraction method, the contraction rule that performs a process of deleting a temporally excessive portion of the video, and a spatial surplus of the video The contraction rule for performing a process of deleting an extra portion, the contraction rule for performing a process of reducing a temporally excessive quality of the moving image, and the contraction of performing a process of reducing a spatially excessive quality of the moving image Means for holding a plurality of said reduced rules having about rules,
A plurality of different contraction rules are simultaneously used for at least one of the plurality of moving images respectively captured by the plurality of image capturing units, and the contraction by each of the different contraction rules is performed in parallel. A camera surveillance system characterized by that. A program causing a computer to function as the moving image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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