JP2015088780A - Intercom system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intercom system capable of preserving the voice collected by an intercom slave unit having no camera, using a video recording device of a network camera protocol specification disposed in a communication network.SOLUTION: A video signal is transmitted from a monitor camera 3 to a video recording device 5 using the network camera protocol. A first slave unit CPU 14 of a first intercom slave unit 1, including an image storage unit 16 for storing a dummy image, transmits to the video recording device 5 a voice collected by a microphone 12 together with the dummy image, using the network camera protocol. The video recording device 5 preserves the video image transmitted from the monitor camera 3 and the dummy image and the voice transmitted from the first intercom slave unit 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to an interphone system in which an interphone slave unit and an interphone master unit are connected via a communication network.

In an intercom system in which devices are connected using a communication network, a device equipped with a recording function such as a server is installed on the communication network separately to record images taken by cameras and network cameras installed in the intercom device. Some have been made possible (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, there is a network video recorder (NVR) as a device for storing captured images of a network camera. Since the NVR operates with the network camera protocol, the video of the network camera can be recorded via the IP network without converting the protocol (and recording of audio accompanying the recording is also performed), so the wiring is simple. However, since the video is not deteriorated even if it is transferred through a communication network, it is spreading.

JP 2012-15626 A

Since the NVR is for storing the video of the network camera, the video captured by the intercom slave connected to the communication network can be stored in the same manner as the video of the network camera. The voice of the visitors who picked up the sound was also saved.
However, in the case of only an audio signal without video, even if the protocols match, it is regarded as an illegal signal and cannot be stored in NVR. For this reason, even if an interphone handset that does not have a camera is connected to the communication network, the collected voice cannot be stored in NVR.

  Therefore, in view of such problems, the present invention uses a video camera recording device for network camera protocol specifications such as NVR arranged on a communication network, and is capable of storing the sound of an interphone slave without a camera. The purpose is to provide a system.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 has an interphone handset having a function of calling a resident with a microphone and a speaker and having a function of calling, a surveillance camera, and responding to a call from the interphone handset. In addition to the function to perform, the interphone master unit having a display unit that displays the captured video of the surveillance camera, and a recording device that records the captured video of the surveillance camera, and connected to each other via a communication network The video signal transmitted from the surveillance camera to the recording device is implemented by the network camera protocol, while the interphone slave unit includes an image storage unit for storing a dummy image and a sound collected by a microphone as a dummy image. And a video transmission control unit that transmits to the recording device in accordance with the network camera protocol specifications. In addition to the video transmitted from, characterized in that storing images and audio transmitted from the interphone handset with.
According to this configuration, even an interphone handset that does not have a camera can be stored in a network camera protocol specification recording device by transmitting it together with a dummy video. Therefore, there is no need to install a separate recording device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first aspect, the dummy image stored in the image storage unit is an image having information for identifying a transmission source.
According to this configuration, since the dummy image includes the terminal information, the transmission source can be grasped from the image when the sound is reproduced, and the display image can also be used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first or second aspect, when the interphone master unit receives a call from the interphone slave unit, the interphone master unit has a display control unit that displays a captured image of the monitoring camera on the display unit. Features.
According to this configuration, since the video of the surveillance camera is displayed even if the intercom slave has no camera, it is effective to improve the security if the surveillance camera is installed so as to be able to take an image of a visitor.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, a camera including a microphone and a speaker and a camera for imaging a visitor in addition to a function of calling and calling a resident The intercom slave unit is connected via a communication network, and the interphone slave unit with camera has a video transmission control unit that transmits the captured image of the camera and the sound collected by the microphone to the recording device using the network camera protocol. It is characterized by having.
According to this configuration, when a call is generated from the interphone slave unit with a camera, the video captured by the interphone slave unit with the camera and the collected sound are stored by the recording device like a network camera. Therefore, even if a large-capacity memory for recording is not provided in the interphone master unit, it is possible to record a visitor video for a long time, which is effective in improving security.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, the frame rate of the dummy image transmitted by the video transmission control unit of the interphone slave unit is equal to the frame rate of the video of the interphone slave unit with camera. It is characterized by being 1/10 or less.
According to this configuration, since the dummy image is not a moving image, the transmission frame rate may be as low as 1 frame per second, for example, and it may be transmitted at a rate at which the recording apparatus can recognize that it is a video signal. For this reason, transmission can be performed without reducing the frame rate of the captured video of the surveillance camera.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the dummy image stored in the image storage unit is an encoded image obtained from image storage means provided separately on the communication network. It is characterized by being.
According to this configuration, since the image stored together with the collected sound of the interphone slave unit can be obtained from the outside via the communication network, the user can select according to his / her preference. Further, since the image to be obtained is an encoded image, it is not necessary to convert it to a moving image format that can be recorded when it is transmitted to the recording device.

  According to the present invention, even an interphone slave unit that does not have a camera can store an audio signal in a network camera protocol specification recording device by transmitting it together with a dummy video. Therefore, there is no need to install a separate recording device.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the intercom system which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the dummy image which an intercom cordless handset memorize | stores.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an interphone system according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a first interphone handset for calling a resident (hereinafter simply referred to as “first handset”), and 2 is a function for calling a resident. In addition to the above, a second interphone slave unit (hereinafter simply referred to as “second slave unit”) provided with a camera for imaging a visitor, 3 is a surveillance camera for monitoring a suspicious person, and 4 is a second one. In addition to the function of responding to calls from the first slave unit 1 and the second slave unit 2, an interphone master unit (hereinafter simply referred to as “master unit”) 5 having a display for displaying video and various types of information, 5 is a video. It is a recording device for recording. Each device is connected via a communication network N such as the Internet.

  The first handset 1 includes a call button 11 for calling a resident, a microphone 12 and a speaker 13 for calling, a first handset CPU 14 for controlling the first handset 1, and a base unit 4 via a communication network N. And a first slave unit communication IF 15 for communicating with the recording device 5. The first slave CPU 14 has an image storage unit 16 for storing a dummy image to be described later. When the call button 11 is pressed, the dummy image stored together with the sound collected by the microphone 12 is stored in the network camera protocol. Based on the above, control is performed to transmit to the recording device 5 as video information.

The second handset 2 includes a call button 21 for calling a resident, a microphone 22 and a speaker 23 for calling, a handset camera 24 for imaging a visitor, and a second handset for controlling the second handset 2. A second slave unit communication IF 26 for communicating with the master unit 4 and the recording device 5 via the unit CPU 25 and the communication network N is provided.
In addition, when the call button 21 is pressed, the second slave CPU 25 performs control to transmit the captured video of the slave camera 24 and the sound collected by the microphone 22 to the recording device 5 based on the network camera protocol.

  The base unit 4 includes a call button 41 for answering a call, a microphone 42 and a speaker 43 for making a call, a display 44 for displaying video and various information, a touch panel 45 that is assembled to the display 44 and enables various operations, A master CPU 46 that controls the master device 4, a first slave device 1, a second slave device 2, a monitoring camera 3, and a master device communication IF 47 for communicating with the recording device 5 via a communication network N are provided. .

  The recording device 5 includes a recording device storage unit 51 that records received audio in addition to recording the transmitted video, a recording device CPU 52 that performs recording / playback control based on a network camera protocol, and a communication network N. A first slave unit 1, a second slave unit 2, a monitoring camera 3, and a recording device communication IF 53 for communicating with the master unit 4 are provided. For example, NVR can be applied as the recording device 5.

  The operation of the intercom system configured as described above is as follows. First, a case where the first handset 1 is called up will be described. However, the surveillance camera 3 is always activated, establishes a link with the recording device 5 based on the network camera protocol, and the video is transmitted to the recording device 5 by, for example, multicast RTSP. The video transmitted to the recording device 5 is stored in the recording device storage unit 51 under the control of the recording device CPU 52.

In this state, when the call button 11 of the first slave unit 1 is pressed, a call signal is transmitted to the master unit 4 via the communication network N under the control of the first slave unit CPU 14. At the same time, a dummy image stored in advance in the image storage unit 16 is read out and transmitted as video data to the master unit 4 and the recording device 5 together with the audio signal picked up by the microphone 12.
FIG. 2 shows a dummy image stored in the first handset CPU 14, in addition to a picture showing that the sound picked up by the first handset 1 is being recorded / reproduced, as well as terminal information of the first handset 1. Is stored in the upper left corner. The first slave CPU 14 transmits this image at a transmission rate of 1 fps, for example. Since the dummy image is not a moving image, it may be transmitted at a rate at which the recording device 5 can recognize that it is a video signal, and may be as low as 1 fps. As a result, transmission can be performed without applying a load to the communication network N, that is, without reducing the frame rate of the captured video of the monitoring camera 3.

  In the base unit 4 that has received the call signal, the ring tone is sounded under the control of the base unit CPU 46, and the received dummy video is displayed on the display 44. As a result, an image (video) displaying the handset information such as the terminal number shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, in the recording device 5 that has received the dummy video, the recording of the received audio is started together with the recording of the dummy video received in the recording device storage unit 51 under the control of the recording device CPU 52. Note that the surveillance camera 3 also continues to record the captured video.

  When a response operation is performed at the parent device 4 that rings in this manner, a communication path is formed with the first child device 1, and a call can be made between a visitor and a resident. Thereafter, when the call termination operation is performed, a call termination signal is transmitted to the first handset 1 and the speech path is disconnected. The first slave CPU 14 ends the transmission of the dummy video in response to the end speech signal, and the recording of the dummy video in the recording device 5 ends.

In this way, the audio signal of the first slave unit 1 that does not have a camera can be stored in the network camera protocol specification recording device 5 by being transmitted together with the dummy video. Therefore, there is no need to install a separate recording device.
Further, since the dummy image includes terminal information, the transmission source can be grasped from the image when the audio stored in the recording device 5 is reproduced, and the display image can also be used.

Note that the transmission speed of the dummy image only needs to be recognized by the recording device 5 as a video signal, and may be 1/10 or less of the video transmission speed of the monitoring camera 3. In other words, if the video transmission speed of the surveillance camera 3 is 30 fps, it may be 3 fps or less, and even at this transmission speed, an image that is originally a still image can be recognized well. However, since it is necessary to make the recording device 5 recognize the video signal, it is desirable to provide a transmission speed of, for example, 0.5 fps or more.
Further, if the dummy image stored in the first handset 1 is set not to be a fixed image stored in advance but can be obtained from an image storage means (not shown) installed outside via the communication network N, it is used. It is preferable because a person can select an image according to his / her preference and installation environment. Furthermore, the image to be obtained may be an encoded image suitable for recording, and there is no need to convert it to a moving image format that can be recorded when it is transmitted to the recording device 5.

Here, when the surveillance camera 3 is installed so that a visitor who operates the first handset 1 is included in the imaging area of the surveillance camera 3, the operation can be performed as follows.
The master unit 4 that has received the call signal from the first slave unit 1 also receives the dummy image received as described above, but the master unit CPU 46 that has received the call signal instructs the monitoring camera 3 to transmit the captured image. A transmission instruction signal is transmitted.
Upon receiving this instruction, the monitoring camera 3 also transmits the captured image transmitted to the recording device 5 to the parent device 4. The base unit 4 receiving the video in this way displays the video on the display 44.
Thereafter, if a response operation is performed, a communication path is formed with the first handset 1, and an operation that enables a call between a visitor and a resident is the same as the above operation.

In this embodiment, since the monitoring camera 3 always performs imaging, the master unit 4 transmits a transmission instruction signal for instructing transmission of the captured image. This signal is also an imaging start signal, and the monitoring camera 3 If the imaging operation is not performed, the transmission signal is received to start imaging, and the captured image is transmitted to the parent device 4. Further, in this case, the dummy video of the first slave unit 1 is not displayed in the master unit 4, but the recording of the dummy video and the voice is performed in the recording device 5.
The operation for switching the video to be displayed on the base unit 4 to the video of the monitoring camera 3 may be performed by manually switching by placing a switching button on the touch panel 45 and operating the touch panel 45.

  Thus, when the first handset 1 that does not have a camera is operated, the video of the surveillance camera 3 that can capture the visitor video is displayed, which is effective in improving security.

Next, the case where the 2nd subunit | mobile_unit 2 is operated is demonstrated. When a call is generated from the second slave unit 2, a call signal is transmitted to the master unit CPU 46 under the control of the second slave unit CPU 25, and an image captured by the slave unit camera 24 is transmitted to the master unit 4. At the same time, the image captured by the slave camera 24 is also transmitted to the recording device 5.
In the base unit 4 that has received the call signal and the video, a ringing sound is generated under the control of the base unit CPU 46 and the received video is displayed on the display 44. In addition to recording by the monitoring camera 3, the recording device 5 records video of the slave camera 24. Furthermore, recording of the collected sound of the handset microphone 22 transmitted in accordance with the video is also started.
In this case, if the video transmission speed of the slave camera 24 is the transmission speed of the surveillance camera 3, for example, if it is transmitted at 30 fps, an image equivalent to the surveillance camera 3 is secured, but the transmission is performed at about 15 fps, which is a half. It is also suitable. If the transmission speed is increased, a smooth operation image can be displayed. However, since a load is applied to the transmission path, about one half is preferable.

  As described above, when a call is generated from the second slave unit 2 with a camera, the video and audio are stored in the recording device 5. Therefore, long-time recording is possible without providing a large capacity memory for recording in the base unit 4, which is effective in improving security.

  As the network camera protocol, for example, a protocol based on ONVIF can be applied.

  1 .. First interphone slave unit (interphone slave unit), 2. Second interphone slave unit (interphone slave unit with camera), 4. Interphone master unit, 5 .... Recording device, 14..First Slave CPU (video transmission control unit), 16. Image storage unit, 24, slave camera, 25, second slave CPU (video transmission control unit), 44, display (display unit), 46 -Master unit CPU (display control unit) 51-Recording device storage unit 52-Recording device CPU N-Communication network

Claims (6)

In addition to a function of responding to a call from the interphone slave unit having a microphone and a speaker and having a function of calling a resident to make a call, a monitoring camera, and a function of responding to a call from the interphone slave unit, a captured image of the monitoring camera is displayed. An interphone system having an interphone master unit provided with a display unit and a recording device for recording captured images of the monitoring camera, and connected to each other via a communication network,
While the video signal transmitted from the surveillance camera to the recording device is implemented by a network camera protocol,
The intercom handset includes an image storage unit that stores a dummy image, and a video transmission control unit that transmits the sound collected by the microphone together with the dummy image to the recording apparatus according to the protocol specification for the network camera. ,
The interphone system, wherein the recording device stores an image and a sound transmitted from the interphone slave unit in addition to a video transmitted from the monitoring camera. The interphone system according to claim 1, wherein the dummy image stored in the image storage unit is an image including information for identifying a transmission source. 3. The interphone system according to claim 1, wherein the interphone master unit includes a display control unit that displays a captured image of the monitoring camera on the display unit when a call is received from the interphone slave unit. In addition to the function of calling and calling a resident with a microphone and a speaker, an interphone slave unit with a camera having a camera for imaging a visitor is connected via the communication network,
The interphone slave unit with a camera includes a video transmission control unit that transmits a captured image of the camera and sound collected by the microphone to the recording device using the network camera protocol. The intercom system according to any one of 1 to 3. The frame rate of the dummy image transmitted by the video transmission control unit of the intercom slave unit is 1/10 or less of the frame rate of the video of the interphone slave unit with camera. An intercom system according to any one of the above. 6. The interphone according to claim 1, wherein the dummy image stored in the image storage unit is an encoded image obtained from image storage means provided separately on the communication network. system.

Images