WO2012137367A1

WO2012137367A1 - Image accumulation system

Info

Publication number: WO2012137367A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/069923
Authority: WO
Inventors: 豊彦林
Original assignee: 株式会社日立国際電気
Priority date: 2011-04-01
Filing date: 2011-09-01
Publication date: 2012-10-11
Also published as: GB2502922B; GB201316192D0; GB2502922A; WO2012137368A1; JP2012216102A

Abstract

The present invention makes it possible to store and accumulate images in a wide range of areas and use the images afterward according to the characteristics of the images by a small number of image capturing devices (10) similarly to a monitoring system in which a large number of cameras are fixedly installed in the streets. An image capturing device (10) provided in a mobile object (1) acquires additional information that characterizes an image captured by an image capturing means, transmits the additional information to an image management device (20), when an image request is made by the image management device (20), captures an image by the image capturing means, and transmits the captured image to the image management device (20). The image management device (20) associates, stores, and accumulates received additional information and images, and upon receiving, from a terminal device (50), an instruction including a designation made by additional information, transmits an image corresponding thereto to the terminal device (50) and makes the image viewable.

Description

Image storage system

The present invention relates to an image storage system in which an image capturing device is provided in a moving body such as a vehicle, a ship, and an aircraft, and an image captured by the image capturing device is stored and stored in association with additional information characterizing the image.

A system in which a camera is fixedly installed and monitored in a remote monitoring room based on an image captured by the camera, or a record of this image is held in practical use.
In addition, a camera is mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle or an aircraft, and images are recorded and recorded by the camera while the moving body is in operation. A system in which images can be used for analyzing the cause of an accident has been put into practical use.

Further, as described in Patent Document 1, an imaging unit, a position information acquisition unit, and an information communication unit are provided in a vehicle that has been registered as a member, and an image taken by a vehicle at a position desired by another member is centered. There has been proposed a system that can be obtained and viewed via the Internet.

JP 2007-179553 A

When building a system that records moving images or still images taken with a camera and can use these images for surveillance and other purposes, the range of images that can be taken is limited if the camera is fixedly installed. Therefore, a wide range of monitoring cannot be performed.
In contrast, if a large number of cameras are fixedly installed, the range that can be monitored according to the number of cameras is expanded, but the cost of the system increases according to the number of cameras. Also, no matter how many cameras are used, it is practically difficult to capture a wide range of images without any problems.

In addition, when a large number of cameras are fixedly installed, these cameras touch the eyes of an unspecified number of people, resulting in a system configuration that gives an unpleasant feeling such as a violation of privacy.
Further, since it is impossible to install a camera in a place other than the ground such as the sky or the sea, it is impossible to see an image of such a place while on the ground.

In the system described in Patent Document 1, an image taken by a camera mounted on a vehicle can be seen by other members, but an image of the current location where the vehicle exists can be seen remotely. However, there is no contrivance to use the captured image for monitoring or subsequent confirmation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and solves the problem in the case of using a fixedly installed camera, and also enables image storage to be used for monitoring or subsequent confirmation. The purpose is to provide a system.

An image storage system according to the present invention includes an image capturing device provided on a moving body, and an image management device that stores an image and additional information that characterizes the image in association with each other.
In this image storage system, an image is captured by an image capturing device on a moving body such as a vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, a mobile phone, and the like, and additional information characterizing the image is acquired. Then, the additional information is first transmitted from the image capturing apparatus to the image management apparatus, and when the image management apparatus requests an image based on the additional information, the image corresponding to the additional information is transmitted to the image management apparatus.
In the image management apparatus, the received image is stored and stored in association with the additional information, and if there is an instruction including designation by the additional information from a terminal device operated by the user or the like, the corresponding stored and stored accordingly Output an image.

Specifically, the image capturing apparatus includes an image capturing unit that captures an image, an acquisition unit that acquires additional information that characterizes an image captured by the image capturing unit, and additional information acquired by the acquiring unit via a wireless section. Additional information transmitting means for transmitting to the image management apparatus, request receiving means for receiving a request from the image management apparatus, and an image management apparatus for transmitting an image corresponding to the additional information in response to a request from the image management apparatus via a wireless section An image transmission unit that transmits the additional information to the image management device, and an image characterized by the additional information based on the received additional information. A determination unit that determines whether or not the image is necessary, a request transmission unit that transmits a request for an image that the determination unit determines to be necessary, an image reception unit that receives an image from the image capture device, and a received image And storage means for storing in association with the additional information, and a, and output means for outputting a corresponding image stored in the storage means in accordance with instruction including designation by the additional information.

In the present invention, it is preferable that image capturing devices are provided in a large number of moving bodies, and images captured by these moving bodies are stored in the image management device in association with additional information. A wide variety of images with different characteristics such as the time of shooting can be stored in the image management device, but the present invention is not limited to this. Also by this, since the moving body moves, it is possible to accumulate a wide variety of images having different characteristics as described above in the image management apparatus.

In the present invention, as additional information that characterizes a captured image, a captured position, a captured orientation, a captured time, and the like can be selectively used, and identification information that can identify a moving object (that is, an image capturing device) ( ID), importance level information added by the operator of the image capturing apparatus when the image is captured, and the like can be selectively used.
When displaying and using stored and stored images, for example, by using position information and time information, a large number of images taken in a predetermined range (area) including the position are displayed in time series. By using the azimuth information and the time information, it is possible to display and output an image photographed from a certain direction at a certain time, and by using the moving body identification information, the patrol can be performed. Only images taken by a specific type of moving body such as a car can be displayed and output, and only images with high importance can be displayed and output by using importance information.

In the present invention, a GPS, a direction sensor, a clock, and the like may be provided exclusively for acquiring the location, direction, and time taken from these, but a navigation system provided in a moving body such as a vehicle. It is also possible to obtain the position and azimuth from, and to acquire the time from a clock provided in the moving body.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the image capturing device automatically captures images at a predetermined cycle so that the images are automatically stored in the image management device. An image may be stored in the image management apparatus by operating the image capturing apparatus to capture an image.
In the present invention, either a still image or a moving image may be taken and stored and stored, and a set of intermittent images such as frame dropping may be handled as one image.
In addition, since the image capturing device is provided on the moving body, the image capturing device performs information communication by wireless communication. However, information communication is performed by wired communication using a wired line in the middle of the image management device. May be.

In the present invention, the image management device determines whether or not the image characterized by the additional information is necessary based on the additional information, thereby omitting the transmission processing and storage accumulation processing of the image that is less necessary, and the system configuration. Simplification and speeding up of operation have been realized, but as this judgment criterion, the already stored image and the shooting position (location), shooting direction, shooting time, etc. are the same or in a similar range set in advance. Arbitrarily set from the viewpoint of the necessity of the system according to the purpose of use of the system, such as no need for images, or no need for images of position, orientation, time etc. in a preset range can do.

In the present invention, the image received by the image management apparatus is stored in association with the additional information, but according to the additional information, for example, images of the same and similar places are arranged and stored in time series according to the shooting time. It is suitable to search and output images stored and accumulated based on the additional information if they are stored with classification or organization as in the above, but it is not necessary to perform such classification and storage. Since the image stored and accumulated can be retrieved and output based on the additional information, the additional information and the image need only be associated with each other.

Further, in the system according to the present invention, typically, the correspondence stored in the storage unit in response to an instruction including designation by additional information input from a terminal device used by a user outside the image management apparatus However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the image management device displays and outputs the corresponding image to the administrator who uses the image management device. You may make it show.

In the present invention, in addition to the above processing, image retransmission processing is performed to cope with communication failures and the like.
Specifically, the image management apparatus has response means for transmitting a response to the image photographing apparatus in response to receiving an image from the image photographing apparatus, and the image photographing apparatus does not receive a response from the image management apparatus Holds the transmitted image in the memory, and retransmits the image after receiving the response.

Furthermore, in the present invention, in addition to the image management device and the image capturing device, a terminal device used by the user can be provided.
Specifically, the terminal device includes an output unit that outputs an instruction including designation by additional information to the image management device, an input unit that inputs an image output from the image management device, and a display that displays the input image Means.

When the stored and stored images are displayed and used, the display output means of the terminal device or the image management apparatus serves as an interface for the user or administrator. In the present invention, the display output means is configured as follows. It is good.
By classifying the images stored and accumulated by the image management apparatus based on the position information (additional information) for each predetermined position range (area), or by classifying the same when the terminal apparatus or the image management apparatus displays and outputs Then, the image accumulation amount for each area is displayed on the screen of the display output means.
Specifically, based on an instruction including designation by position information (additional information), the display output means displays a map of the area including the position and surrounding areas on the screen, and displays each area of the map. In accordance with the number of images stored and stored in correspondence with the number of images, a change in an aspect that can be visually identified (such as making a difference in density, changing the color, or displaying the number of stored images) is displayed.

Furthermore, the position where each moving body (camera) exists in the map on the screen may be displayed using the identification information (ID) of the moving body included in the additional information.
Further, the image management device or the terminal device may transmit a movement instruction to the moving body. For example, in an area where there is a high necessity for an image such as an area where there are few images stored or accumulated or an area where there is no image stored or accumulated. A moving instruction for moving the moving body may be transmitted so that the image management apparatus stores and accumulates the images shot in the area.

Also, since the camera (image capturing means) that captures an image is provided on the moving body, it is preferable to deal with blurring of the captured image due to the movement of the moving body. As a countermeasure, known camera shake correction means for vibrations in the front / rear / right / left and up / down directions may be provided in the camera. Therefore, based on the moving speed and moving direction of the moving body acquired by the acquiring unit, it is preferable to control the electric lens of the camera and the electric pan head that instructs the camera to prevent the image blurring.

Since the present invention can be said to be an invention in which stored and accumulated images can be made highly valuable by additional information, it can also be configured as follows.
An image storage system comprising an image capturing device provided on a moving body and an image management device for storing images, wherein the image capturing device captures images by image capturing means for capturing images and image capturing means An acquisition unit that acquires additional information characterizing the image, an additional unit that adds additional information characterizing the image to the image captured by the image capturing unit, and an image with the additional information added to the image management apparatus via the wireless section The image management apparatus includes: a receiving unit that receives an image to which additional information is added; a storage unit that stores the received image in association with the additional information; and a designation based on the additional information. An image storage system comprising: output means for outputting a corresponding image stored in the storage means in response to an instruction to be included.

According to the present invention, an image is captured by an image capturing device provided on a moving body, and the image is stored and stored in association with additional information. Therefore, a large number of cameras are fixed on a street, for example, by a small number of image capturing devices. Similar to the surveillance system installed in the image, it is possible to store and accumulate images in a wide area, and to use the images stored and accumulated based on the additional information according to the characteristics of the image.
In addition to the above, according to the present invention, prior to transmitting an image captured by the image capturing apparatus to the image management apparatus, it is determined whether or not an image to be stored and stored is necessary based on additional information characterizing the image. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the system configuration and speed up the system operation by omitting the processing load required for image communication and the processing load required for storage accumulation, which are not necessary for storage accumulation.

In the present invention, it is possible to provide to the user like an image taken with a fixed camera, and since the camera is installed on the moving body, it is difficult to touch the eyes of the human and there is also a sense of intimidation by the surveillance camera. In addition, since the image is taken with a moving body, it is possible to view an image of a place where a camera cannot be installed such as the sky or the sea.
In the present invention, images taken by a camera mounted on a moving body are managed in time series according to location, and are provided to a supervisor (service user) like a video taken by a fixed camera. be able to.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the structure of the image management apparatus (storage / distribution server) which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the memory | storage aspect of the image which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the terminal device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 4A and 4B are views for explaining a method for preventing image blur according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure explaining communication with the imaging device (camera) and image management device (accumulation / distribution server) concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The figure explaining the process of the image imaging device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the process of the image management apparatus (storage / distribution server) which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining an example of the utilization mode of the image which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the screen display of the terminal device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the image management apparatus (storage / distribution server) which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

An image storage system according to the present invention will be specifically described based on an embodiment thereof.
In the embodiment described below, still images are taken and stored and stored. However, the present invention can also be configured as a system that takes moving images and records and stores them. In one embodiment described below, automobiles such as patrol cars, ambulances, taxis, and guard vehicles are used as moving bodies. However, in addition to moving bodies that move on land in this way, the present invention can be used for ships and airplanes. Can be used as a moving body, and a mobile phone with a camera carried by a user can also be used as a moving body.

In this embodiment, a service provider operates an information terminal device such as a portable information terminal device or a personal computer with images collected using a large number of various types of public vehicles such as police cars, ambulances, and passenger cars. It is configured as a system that provides users who want to.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 is provided with an image capturing device 10 that captures images outside the vehicle, and the service provider 2 is provided with an image storage / delivery server 20 as an image management device. The service provider 2 includes a system management server (WEB server) 30 that distributes a WEB screen for providing a service, and an NTP server 40 for time synchronization of all the image capturing devices (cameras) 10. Is also provided.

In addition, a plurality of wireless relay stations (access points) 3 that are wirelessly connected to the image capturing apparatus 10 are provided. The wireless relay station 3 is connected to the image storage / delivery server 20 of the service provider 2 and the system via the Internet network 4. It is connected to a management server (WEB server) 30 and an NTP server 40. Reference numeral 5 in the figure denotes a router that controls communication information to the image storage / delivery server 20, system management server (WEB server) 30, and NTP server 40.
Therefore, the image capturing device 10 provided in the vehicle 1 is connected to the image management device (image storage / delivery server) 20 via the wireless section, and communicates information such as images and additional information.

The terminal device 50 is a personal computer or portable wireless communication terminal having a communication function that is owned and operated by the user, and is connected to each device of the service provider 2 via the Internet network 4 so as to be communicable. .
The wireless relay station 6 is a facility for wirelessly connecting the terminal device 50 to the Internet network 4 and is a public wireless LAN or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image capturing apparatus 10 includes a camera (image capturing unit) 11 that captures an image outside the vehicle, and additional information (position, image capturing) that characterizes each of the images (still images) obtained by the camera 11. Direction, time, camera ID, importance, acquisition reason, etc.), wireless communication device 13 that performs wireless communication with the wireless relay station 3, operating device 14 that receives input from the operator, and image capturing device 10 The wireless communication device 13 is provided with a memory 16 used for image retransmission processing.

The camera 11 is a camera that electrically (preferably automatically) adjusts the focus of the lens and adjusts the aperture. For example, the camera 11 is fixed to the vehicle 1 so as to capture the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 and always captures a moving image. Alternatively, a still image is shot under shooting conditions (shutter timing, aperture, exposure, resolution, etc.) instructed in accordance with the control of the control means 15 and the image data is output to the control means. For example, images are taken at a predetermined cycle, such as every 5 minutes.
The acquisition unit 12 includes a clock, a GPS terminal, and a direction sensor, acquires time, position, and direction, acquires importance information input from the operation unit 14, and further, from the speedometer of the vehicle 1, The travel speed information (vehicle speed pulse etc.) of the vehicle is acquired. The acquisition unit 12 also holds a preset camera ID in a nonvolatile memory (not shown).

The camera ID is information for identifying each image capturing device 10, and by using the association between the vehicle on which the image capturing device 10 is mounted and the camera ID, each vehicle or vehicle mounted with the camera ID is used. Can be specified.
Further, in order to achieve highly accurate time synchronization between the image capturing apparatus 10 and the service provider 2, it is preferable that the clock is automatically synchronized with an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server 40 via a communication network.

The control means 15 basically captures and temporarily stores an image from the camera 11 at a predetermined cycle (for example, several seconds to several minutes), and also adds additional information (position, position, etc.) when the camera 11 captures the image. (Azimuth, time, camera ID, importance, etc.) is acquired by the acquisition means 12, and the acquired additional information (and image) is transmitted to the image management apparatus 20 by the wireless communication device 13 via the wireless relay station 3 and the Internet network 4 Send it. Additional information transmitting means is constituted by means for executing these functions.

The control unit 15 causes the wireless communication device 13 to receive the image request transmitted from the image management apparatus 20. Thus, a request receiving unit is configured.
Further, the control unit 15 causes the wireless communication device 13 to transmit an image corresponding to the already transmitted additional information to the image management apparatus 20 in response to a request from the image management apparatus 20. In order to do this, the control means 15 is provided with a memory that temporarily holds an image to be transmitted between the transmission of the additional information and the transmission of the image. Image transmitting means is constituted by means for executing these functions.

Preferably, the control unit 15 controls the shooting conditions of the camera 11 based on the speed information acquired by the acquisition unit 1 to prevent blurring of the captured image.
As an example of the control, the camera 11 sends a shooting start preparation signal to the control means 15 before shooting, and when the control means 15 receives this signal, the optimal vehicle speed is determined based on the current vehicle speed and the positional relationship between the current position and the subject. The shooting conditions are determined and sent to the camera 11 as a control signal. The camera 11 receives the control signal, controls the lens and the like, and starts shooting after the shooting conditions are satisfied.

Note that the timing of capturing an image from the camera 11 is not limited to a periodic trigger, but may be triggered by a speed error, a signal from the operation device 14, or the like, and triggered by a request from the image management device 20. It may be something that lets you shoot. That is, the acquired additional information (especially importance) is periodically transmitted to the image management apparatus 20, and an image is captured from the camera 11 only when there is a request from the image management apparatus 20. If accuracy is required for the position and time, the additional information is reacquired and transmitted to the image management apparatus 20 together with the image. When a part of the image acquisition device 10 (operator 14) also serves as a car navigation device, it may be triggered by having approached a predetermined position on the map or receiving a beacon. When the image acquisition device 10 also serves as a driving support device, it may be triggered by the detection of road parking or the occurrence of a collision avoidance event.

In addition, although the basic operation is periodic image capturing, the acquired image is not preferable (for example, the image is blurred, most of the field of view is blocked by the vehicle ahead, etc.). (Additional information) may be reacquired. As a method for detecting a forward vehicle from an image taken from a traveling vehicle, the well-known Lucas-Kanade method (local gradient method) can be used.
Note that the camera 11 may have a camera head function that electrically changes the shooting direction and orientation. In that case, the camera pan head and the lens are also controlled according to the speed of the vehicle 1 to prevent blurring of the captured image.
In addition, when a moving body is a rail vehicle, you may obtain positional information from kilometer information.

FIG. 6 shows a shooting angle of view of the camera 11 mounted on the moving body at the time of shooting in order to explain the prevention of camera shake.
The horizontal angle of view angle of the camera 11 immediately before shooting is θ, the horizontal angle of view angle of the camera 11 at the end of shooting is φ, the moving distance of the camera 11 during still image shooting is Y, and the distance from the camera 11 to the subject. When L is obtained from an isosceles triangle of θ, where X is a horizontal angle of view (horizontal distance) at the subject position, X is a moving speed of the moving body at the time of photographing, and T is a photographing time of the still image, X = 2Ltan ( θ / 2 (Expression 1), and X is obtained from an isosceles triangle of φ. X = 2L−Y) tan (φ / 2 = 2L−VT) tan (φ / 2. 2).

From (Equation 1) and (Equation 2), Ltan (θ / 2 = (LY) tan (φ / 2, that is, tan (φ / 2 = {L / (LY) tan (θ / Therefore, φ = tan ⁻¹ [{L / (LY} tan (θ / 2)] (Expression 3).
Therefore, when a moving object is taken straight and a still image is taken, the control means 15 changes the horizontal angle θ from the current camera angle of view to the horizontal angle φ according to the moving speed V (= Y / T) of the moving object. By performing zoom control of the electric lens so as to make it possible to suppress changes in the image even during movement, it is possible to reduce still image blurring.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image storage / delivery server (image management apparatus) 20 is based on communication means 21 for communicating information such as images and additional information via the router 5, and additional information received from the image capturing apparatus 10. A determination unit 22 that determines whether or not the image characterized by the additional information is necessary, and a request transmission unit 23 that transmits a request for an image determined to be necessary by the determination unit 22 to the corresponding image capturing apparatus 10 via the communication unit 21. Categorizing means 24 for classifying the received image based on the additional information and storing it in the database memory 25 in association with the additional information; instruction accepting means for accepting an instruction including designation by the additional information received by the communication means 21 26. Search for an image corresponding to the additional information stored in the database memory 2 in accordance with the received instruction and send it to the instruction source by the communication means 21. It means 27 comprises a map database 28 which holds a map, a map of the required area corresponding to the image retrieved by the retrieval means 27 is transmitted in response to the retrieved image.

The communication unit 21 includes a response unit 29 that transmits an image reception response to the image capturing device 10 in response to receiving an image from the image capturing device 10.
The communication means 21 constitutes additional information receiving means for receiving additional information from the image capturing apparatus 10 and image receiving means for receiving images, and the images received by the classification means 24 and the database memory 25 correspond to the additional information. And a storage means for storing information, and an output receiving means for outputting a corresponding image stored in the storage means in response to an instruction including designation by the additional information by the instruction receiving means 26, the search means 27, and the communication means 21. is doing. When the image management apparatus 20 displays the searched image on the screen, this display screen constitutes output means.

Here, in the present embodiment, the classifying unit 24 arranges the received images in advance based on the additional information, for example, by grouping them at the same shooting position (or an area of a predetermined area including the position). Although it is stored in the database memory 25, if an image and additional information characterizing the image are associated and stored as shown in FIG. 4, a desired image can be searched later based on the additional information. In the present invention, the classification unit 24 may be eliminated, and the received image may be stored and accumulated in the database memory 25 in association with the additional information.

In this embodiment, as additional information, a camera ID for identifying each image capturing device, a position where the image is captured, a direction where the image was captured, a time when the image was captured, and an operator at the shooting site when capturing the image The added importance is used, and the additional information is processed in association with the image to be photographed. However, as the additional information, some of these may be adopted. For this purpose, various information can be used from the viewpoint of how much images with different characteristics are necessary.
The camera ID is a type ID for identifying the type of moving body such as a patrol car or an ambulance by managing the correspondence between the image management apparatus 20 and the type of moving body on which the image capturing apparatus 10 is mounted.

Further, in the present embodiment, in order to reduce the processing burden of communicating and storing redundantly images captured by the same image capturing device or a plurality of image capturing devices, each additional information such as position and time has a predetermined width. Is set in the determination unit 22, and the determination unit 22 determines whether the received additional information is the same or similar to the additional information stored in the database memory 25. Is determined to be necessary when no image is already stored in the database memory 25.
It should be noted that how much the similar width is set is arbitrarily determined according to the system operational requirements in consideration of the necessity of details of stored and accumulated images and the degree of reduction of the processing load. You only have to set it.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal device 50 includes a communication unit 51 that communicates information including an instruction including designation by additional information and information such as an image, a display processing unit 52 that performs display processing of a received image, and the image that has undergone display processing. And a display screen 53 for displaying a display screen, etc., and an operation means 54 for receiving an operation input from a user such as an instruction including designation by additional information.
Therefore, the communication unit 51 and the operation unit 54 constitute an output unit that outputs an instruction including designation by additional information to the image management device 20, and the communication unit 51 and the display processing unit 52 output the image output from the image management device 20. An input means for inputting is configured.

Next, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment will be described.
With the image storage system configured as described above, images captured at a fixed period by the camera 10 mounted on the moving body 1 are collected by the image storage / delivery server 20 via the communication path, and the image storage / delivery server 20 Based on the added additional information, for example, from the direction information and the position information, it is classified according to the direction and place where the image was taken, and the classified images are further classified into a certain range that is regarded as almost the same time based on the time information. The data is stored and accumulated in the database memory 25 in such a manner that the images are classified into time images.
By such processing, for example, images are arranged in time series for each area, and it is possible to provide a video from the past to the present of a specific area to a monitor who operates the terminal device 50.

In the above processing, the management server 30 distributes a WEB screen for providing the service to the terminal device (client) 50 of the supervisor, and the terminal device 50 is provided by accessing the service. The stored and stored images can be browsed on the WEB screen. The terminal device 50 in the system of the present embodiment is a PC or a portable information terminal, and can receive this service anywhere as long as there is a browser and an Internet connection environment that run on it.
The NTP server 40 synchronizes the time of all the image capturing devices (cameras) 10.

FIG. 7 shows a processing sequence between the image capturing device (camera) 10 and the image management device (storage distribution server) 20.
The image capturing apparatus 10 sequentially transmits additional information of images to be periodically captured to the image management apparatus 20 (step S1).
The image management apparatus 20 determines the necessity of the image based on the received additional information (step S2), and requests the image that has been determined to be necessary from the image capturing apparatus 10 that is the transmission source (step S3). For example, from the position information included in the additional information, whether the source image capturing device 10 (that is, the moving body 1) has moved to another area, or is there no other image capturing device (moving body) in that area? If the transmission source image capturing device 10 (moving body) stays in the same area, it is determined that the image is not duplicated. If there is an image capturing device, it is determined that an image is unnecessary in the other area.

Upon receiving the image request from the image management apparatus 20, the image capturing apparatus 10 performs an image capturing process corresponding to the additional information from which the request is determined (step S4), and the captured image is captured by the image management apparatus. 20 (step S5), the image management apparatus 20 stores and accumulates the image received from the image management apparatus 20 in the database memory 25 in association with the additional information (step S6), and repeats the same processing as described above. (Step S7).

In the present embodiment, the image capturing apparatus 10 transmits the additional information at the present time to the image management apparatus 20 before capturing an image, and captures an image when an image transmission request is received from the image management apparatus 20. The information is transmitted to the management device 20, and even if processing for periodically transmitting additional information about an image to be taken in the future is performed, the position and time of the additional information are set to a predetermined value. When managing with a width or when using a moving body having a relatively low moving speed, the characterization of the image by the additional information can be ensured, and according to such processing, the image capturing device can be secured. The burden of 10 image capturing processes can be reduced.
In the present invention, additional information when the image capturing apparatus 10 captures an image is transmitted to the image management apparatus 20, and when the image management apparatus 20 makes a transmission request for the image, the captured image is image-managed. You may make it transmit to the apparatus 20. FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a more detailed processing sequence in the image capturing apparatus (camera) 10.
The image capturing apparatus 10 transmits additional information such as position information to the image management apparatus 20 at a predetermined cycle (step S10), and receives an image transmission request for the additional information from the image management apparatus (storage / delivery server) 20. Is determined (step S11).
In the case of a system configuration using a plurality of image capturing apparatuses 10 (moving bodies 1), the image management apparatus 20 has a one-to-one communication between each image capturing apparatus 10 and the image management apparatus 20. Include a camera ID (mobile ID) as a destination for an image request or the like.

When the image capturing apparatus 10 receives the image transmission request, the image capturing apparatus 10 performs image capturing processing, inputs the orientation information and position information acquired by the acquiring unit 12 to the control unit 15 (step S12), and the control unit 15 Based on the input information, the camera head and lens of the camera 11 are controlled to prevent image blurring (step S13), and the camera 11 takes an image (a still image in this example) (step S14). The image is transmitted to the request source image management apparatus 20 by the wireless communication device 13 (step S15).
Then, the image capturing device 10 determines whether or not a reception response to the transmitted image has been received from the image management device 20 (step S16). If no reception response is received, the image capturing device 10 holds the transmitted image in the memory 16 (step S17). ).

After receiving an image to the image management device 20, if a reception response is not obtained, it is considered that there is a line abnormality such as a disconnection state such as a wireless line from the image capturing device 10 to the image management device 20. Is stored in the memory 16, and when a corresponding reception response or a reception response to another additional information image is obtained from the image management apparatus 20 (step S16), the presence or absence of the image stored in the memory 16 is determined. (Step S18), the held image is transmitted again to the image management apparatus 20 by the wireless communication device 13 (Step S19).

Note that the same ID (image ID in the example of FIG. 4) is added to the additional information transmitted earlier and the image transmitted later, or the additional information transmitted earlier is added to the image. The correspondence relationship between the additional information and the image may be maintained by the method.
In addition to performing retransmission processing when a reception response cannot be obtained as described above, when the reception level of the wireless communication device 13 is low, the image to be transmitted is temporarily stored in the memory 16 so that the reception level is normal. It is also possible to transmit the image according to the reception level by transmitting the image at the time of becoming.

FIG. 9 shows a more detailed processing sequence in the image management apparatus (storage distribution server) 20.
When the image management apparatus 20 receives additional information such as a camera ID and position information periodically transmitted from the image capturing apparatus (camera) 10 (step S20), the image management apparatus 20 displays the additional information received this time and the additional information received last time. In comparison, it is determined whether the area in which the image capturing apparatus 10 exists has changed (step S21), and when it can be determined that the area has moved to another area, another image capturing apparatus (that is, another moving body) is moved to the moved area. ) Exists (step S22).

Based on this determination, it can be expected that an image taken in an area different from the area where the image has been taken will contain new information, and if there is no other image taking device, an image containing new information is taken. Therefore, when it is determined that these conditions are satisfied, the image management apparatus 20 transmits an image transmission request to the image capturing apparatus 10 that has transmitted the additional information (step S23).
Then, when receiving the requested image (step S24), the image management apparatus 20 transmits an image reception response to the image capturing apparatus 10 that is the transmission source (step S25).
The source image capturing device 10 can be specified by, for example, the camera ID included in the additional information, and the image that is the target of the transmission request or reception response can be specified by, for example, the image included in the additional information. This can be done by ID.

In the present invention, the additional information can be transmitted to the image management apparatus 20 together with the image captured by the image capturing apparatus 10. In this aspect, images are added from a plurality of image capturing apparatuses 10 simultaneously in the same area. When the information is transmitted, the image management apparatus 20 transmits a request for suspension of image transmission to other image capturing apparatuses except for one, and the image capturing apparatus 10 that has received the suspension request transmits the image. While stopping the transmission, only the additional information (especially position information and camera ID) may be periodically transmitted to the image management apparatus 20. In this case, when the image management device 20 detects that the image capturing apparatus 10 that transmits an image from the additional information has moved to another area, the image transmission is performed to one of the other image capturing apparatuses. The resumption request is transmitted, and the image capturing apparatus that has received the distribution resumption request resumes image transmission.
In this way, even if there are a plurality of image capturing devices in the same area, the number of image capturing devices that perform image transmission can be limited to one.

FIG. 10 shows an example of an image classification method based on the additional information.
By using the position information and time information of the additional information, a plurality of images shot in a preset range (area) including the position are classified in time series, and the images are transmitted to the terminal device 50 and displayed on the screen 53. Can be displayed. In the figure, a to d are areas, M1 and M2 are different image capturing devices 10 (moving bodies), g1 is an image captured by the moving body M1 at the time T in the area a, and g2 is an area where the moving body M2 is at the time T. An image captured at b, g3 is an image captured by the moving body M1 in the area b at time T + 1, g4 is an image captured by the moving body M2 in the area c at time T + 1, and g5 is an image captured by the moving body M1 in the area c at time T + 2. A photographed image, g6, is an image photographed in the area d by the moving body M2 at time T + 2.

In this way, when the two image capturing devices (moving bodies) M1 and M2 move to the areas a to d and images are taken in each area, the images for each area captured by these two image capturing devices. In other words, time series images g2 and g3 are obtained for area b, and time series images g4 and g5 are obtained for area c.
That is, by transmitting images classified in time series for each area to the terminal device 50 and displaying them on the screen 53, the user of the terminal device 50 continuously monitors images in a specific area in time series. It becomes possible to do.

In the terminal device 50 that has received the delivery of the WEB screen for providing this service from the management server 30, the user operates the operation means 54 to transmit an instruction including additional information from the terminal device 50 to the image management device 20. Then, the image management device 20 searches the database memory 25 for an image corresponding to the additional information, and transmits a map of a necessary area corresponding to the search result to the transmission source terminal device 50 together.
When the terminal device 50 receives the image and map of the search result, the terminal device 50 displays and outputs the image on the screen 53 so that the user can view it.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the screen display of the terminal device 50, FIG. 11 (a) shows the display of the main screen, and FIG. 11 (b) shows the image display displayed by selecting the area. .
In FIG. 11, 60 is an area where a user inputs position information for designating an image browsing area, 61 is a button for searching for an image taken by a bus or taxi, 62 is a police car or an ambulance, etc. A button for instructing to search for an image taken by an emergency vehicle, 63 is a button for instructing to search for an image taken by an aircraft or a ship, 64 is a button for instructing image forward or reverse display, and 65 is an image for viewing an image. An area for inputting the time information of the user, 66 is a button for instructing a return to the main screen.

These areas and buttons constitute the operation means 54 of the terminal device 50.
In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, an instruction including the position information input to the region 60 as additional information is transmitted to the image management apparatus 20, and the image management apparatus 20 displays the image of the area including the position information and the area. The peripheral image is transmitted to the terminal device 50 together with the additional information. However, in the present invention, the image management device 20 is instructed every time the terminal device 50 designates position information, time information, mobile type information, and the like. The corresponding image may be transmitted.

In addition, the terminal device 50 may acquire its own position using the GPS function or the like and include the position information as default in the additional information without instructing the area 60 by inputting the position information. Alternatively, the image management device 50 may provide a map centered on the position from position information such as an address input in the area 60 and display it on the main screen of the terminal device 50.

Further, in this example, a map corresponding to the designated position information is displayed on the main screen, and each area partitioned in the map is displayed in a different manner depending on the number of images taken in the area. ing. Specifically, the area 80 with a relatively large number of captured images is displayed with a relatively dark background color, and the area 81 with a relatively small number of captured images is displayed with a relatively light background color. Thus, the user can intuitively grasp the size of the image for each area.

Then, when an area in the map on the main screen is selected (clicked), an image taken in the area shown in FIG. 11B is displayed, and the image advance / return button 64 is operated to operate the area. Can be viewed in chronological order.
In addition, by inputting the time in the area 65, it is possible to display the image specifying the shooting time on the screen for browsing.
In addition, by selecting the button 63 from the main screen, the display on the main screen can be changed to a map of the sky or the sea, and the user can see the sky image sent from the aircraft or the sea sent from the ship. It is possible to browse images. In addition, the sky image can know local weather information, the sea image can know local ocean conditions, and it is possible to search from the image information when an accident such as distress or grounding occurs at sea.

Further, based on the additional information (type ID or the like) received together with the image from the image management device 20, the terminal device 50 has a taxi or bus equipped with the image capturing device 10 as well as the position 70 where the user (terminal device) exists. The position 71 and the position 72 where an emergency vehicle such as a patrol car on which the image capturing device 10 is mounted are displayed on the map of the main screen in a manner such as being color-coded so that each can be identified.

Thereby, when the user selects the

buttons

61 and 62, an image photographed with a vehicle such as a taxi or an image photographed with an emergency vehicle can be selected and browsed.
Further, by displaying and outputting a similar main screen on the image management apparatus 20, the service provider discriminates an area where the moving body is not traveling or is traveling less or an area where a specific type of moving body is not traveling. For example, the service provider notifies the moving body equipped with the image capturing device 10 to move to an area where the moving body is not traveling (that is, an area where no image is accumulated), and is necessary. It is possible to collect images in various areas. In addition, the service provider can be used for efficient patrol by notifying the police station of areas where patrol cars are not patroling.

In the above embodiment, the image management device 20 determines whether or not an image is necessary based on the additional information, and receives and stores only the necessary image from the image capturing device 10, but as shown in FIG. In addition, a configuration in which the function of determining whether an image is necessary may be eliminated.
That is, the image capturing apparatus 10 is configured to add additional information acquired when the camera 11 captures an image to the image management apparatus 20 by the control means (addition means) 15 and transmit the image to the image management apparatus 20. When 20 receives the image with the additional information added, it stores the received image in the database memory 25 in association with the additional information. Also with such a configuration, a necessary image can be retrieved from stored and accumulated images based on the additional information and provided to the terminal device 50, as in the above embodiment.

It can be used in the same fields and applications as a conventional CCTV (closed circuit television) system in which many cameras are fixedly installed on the street.

1: mobile, 2: service provider,
10: Image photographing device, 11: Imaging means,
12: acquisition means, 13: wireless communication device,
15: Control means, 16: Memory,
20: Image management device (image storage / delivery server) 21: Communication means 22: Determination means 23: Request means
25: Database memory, 26: Instruction receiving means,
27: Search means, 50: Terminal device,
53: Display screen,

Claims

An image storage system comprising: an image capturing device provided on a moving body; and an image management device that stores an image and additional information that characterizes the image in association with each other,
The image capturing device transmits an image capturing unit that captures an image, an acquiring unit that acquires additional information characterizing the image captured by the image capturing unit, and the additional information acquired by the acquiring unit to the image management device via a wireless section. Additional information transmitting means, request receiving means for receiving a request from the image management apparatus, and image transmission for transmitting an image corresponding to the additional information to the image management apparatus via a wireless section in response to a request from the image management apparatus Means,
The image management apparatus includes additional information receiving means for receiving additional information from the image capturing apparatus, determination means for determining the necessity of an image characterized by the additional information based on the received additional information, and determination means. A request transmission unit that transmits a request for an image determined to the image capturing device, an image receiving unit that receives an image from the image capturing device, a storage unit that stores the received image in association with additional information, and additional information An image storage system comprising: output means for outputting a corresponding image stored in the storage means in response to an instruction including designation.
The image storage system according to claim 1.
The image management device has response means for transmitting a response to the image photographing device in response to receiving an image from the image photographing device,
An image storage system characterized in that, when a response is not received from the image management device, the image capturing device holds the transmitted image in a memory and retransmits the image after receiving the response.
The image storage system according to claim 1 or 2,
It has a terminal device used by users,
The terminal device includes an output unit that outputs an instruction including designation by additional information to the image management device, an input unit that inputs an image output from the image management device, and a display unit that displays the input image. An image storage system characterized by that.