FR2749427A1 - Recording method for surveillance applications - Google Patents

Abstract

The method entails recording sounds only or sound and vision inputs, transforming analogue inputs into digital form. Digital words are passed to an erasable memory for recording. The memory is arranged such that a continuous flow of incoming information is recorded, with the recording replacing old information. When an infringement event, such as a sound, is detected the recording is frozen at that point. The digital scene inputs are input in a short period.

Description

 The present invention relates to a recording method which finds application in surveillance.

 This application is particularly interesting in large premises.

 Such an invention can be used in an environment such as that described in document FR-B1-2,707,116 at the level of satellites.

 The state of the art can be defined by the following information and documents.

 Thus for large areas, where surveillance is mandatory, it is generally necessary to use a large number of cameras which record continuously and in analog form on video recorders for very many hours of recording.

 This technique is very heavy and expensive to implement.

 It is also possible to make no registration and to pay one or more people to look at all of the control screens. Again, the material, human and financial cost is prohibitive.

 Finally, it is also possible to record images or sounds via a digital communication network.

 The document FR-A-2,626,427 relates to an apparatus which comprises a coding device and a digital speech decoding device coupled, on the one hand, to a digital transmission system through a switching device, and on the other hand to a device for storing speech messages and to a control means for automatically transmitting, to the transmission system, the messages prerecorded in the storage device.

 Whatever the technique used, none proposes to use the voice for surveillance in association with a digital network and a recording limited in time.

To this end, the present invention relates to a method for recording the voice and / or video, in digital form, in a random access memory, characterized in that it consists in:
- record sounds and / or images,
- transform this analog data into digital data,
- record the digital data by constant storage "over the water", that is to say over a short period of time and with re-recording on the oldest data, and
- block the recording as soon as an external event has been detected, in the area of surveillance and security.

In a particular embodiment, the detection of an external event triggers the recording, by other means, of what happens after this detection,
According to another embodiment, the detection of an external event triggers alert means and / or prevention means.

The apparatus, allowing the implementation of the above process, is characterized by the fact that it consists of a controller, integrated into a security management network or into an alarm system, which operates by intermediate at least
- a microphone and / or a camera,
- a digital coding / decoding device or CODEC,
- a means of digital transmission, and
- a means of memorization.

 To allow the operation of the particular embodiments, the device is associated with at least one sensor and / or actuator.

 On the one hand, the digital transmission means comprises channels B1, B2 and D. On the other hand, the channel B1 (64 kilobits or kbits) is assigned to the voice, the channel B2 (64 kbits) is assigned to the video and / or D channel (16 kbits) is assigned to the controller.

 The attached drawings are given as indicative and non-limiting examples. They represent two preferred embodiments according to the invention. They will allow the invention to be easily understood.

 FIG. 1 represents a flow diagram of an apparatus according to the invention operating only in speech.

 FIG. 2 represents a flow diagram of an apparatus according to the invention operating in voice and video.

 The present invention relates to a method for enabling surveillance in large premises.

 This process is compact and inexpensive to implement, since it only concerns, in FIG. 1, the voice.

 In this case, the method consists of recording sounds, transforming them into digital data and recording digital data by constant storage known as "over the water", that is to say over a short period of time. and with a re-recording on the oldest data.

 When the recording is coupled to a detector of an external event for example, a presence sensor, a pressure sensor, a light beam, the external event, which is detected, allows the blocking of the previous recording so that all the sounds, which are still recorded on the recording medium, will be kept in memory.

 However, it is also possible to consider continuing the recording by other means, after the external event has taken place. This can be achieved by conventional recording means, for example cassettes with magnetic tapes.

 According to the embodiment of FIG. 2, it is also possible to couple the speech with the video.

 However, one can imagine using only video.

 Of course, the detection of the external event which will make it possible to block the recording, may also trigger alert means and / or prevention means, such as, in FIGS. 1 and 2, a loudspeaker 11 which can transmit a voice message.

 The essential application of this process is, of course, the surveillance of large premises.

 The device 1 allowing the implementation of this method is well represented in FIG. 1 in the phonic embodiment, but also in FIG. 2 in the phonic and video embodiment.

 Whatever the embodiment, in both cases there is a digital transmission means 6.

 The transmission means 6 allows the electrical wire connection with the rest of the installation.

 The device 1 is, in turn, inserted into an alarm or security management system as described and claimed in document FR-B1-2.707.116.

 It is thus possible to manage in a central unit different processing units which can be very distant.

 All units, whether central or processing, are linked to a central operating station upstream, and to local operating stations downstream.

 Each processing unit can have different satellites under its control, which can be equipped with a "centralized management group", as described in the document above, but also with sensors and / or actuators such as speakers, cameras. , magnetic card readers.

 The apparatus 1 according to the invention is a constituent part of the satellites.

 This digital transmission means 6 can be broken down into three channels.

 A first channel 8 called B1 operating at 64 kbits is assigned to the speech and is therefore coupled, in the two figures, to a microphone 3.

 The second channel 9 is also a B2 channel of 64 kbits, which is assigned to the video, as is well represented in FIG. 2 where there is therefore the presence of a camera 4.

 Finally, the third channel 10 called D of 16 kbits is assigned to controller 2.

 It is this controller 2 which will allow actuators and / or sensors to operate, for example a speaker 11.

 The passage of data, whether audio or video, from analog values to digital values takes place via a digital coding / decoding device also called CODEC 5.

 Finally, there is a random access memory 7 which allows the recording over a fairly short duration of sounds and / or images and also an amplifier 12, a technical controller 13, a power supply 14 and a transmission 15.

REFERENCES
1. Recording device
2. Controller
3. Microphone
4. Camera
5. Digital coding / decoding device or CODEC
6. Digital transmission medium
7. Means of memorization
8. Channel B1
9. Channel B2 10. Channel D 11. Loudspeaker 12. Amplifier 13. Technical controller 14. Power supply 15. Transmission

Claims (6)

 1. Method for recording the voice and / or video, in digital form, in a random access memory, characterized in that  that it consists of  - record sounds and / or images,  - transform this analog data into digital data,  - record the digital data by constant storage "over the water", that is to say over a short period of time and with re-recording on the oldest data, and  - block the recording as soon as an external event has been detected, in the area of surveillance and security.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that  that the detection of an external event triggers the recording, by other means, of what happens after this detection.  3. Method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that  that the detection of an external event triggers alert means and / or prevention means.  4. Apparatus (1) for implementing the method, according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the fact  that it consists of a controller (2 or 13), integrated into a security management network or an alarm system, which operates via at least  - a microphone (3) and / or a camera (4),  - a digital coding / decoding device or CODEC (5),  - a digital transmission means (6), and  - a storage means (7).  5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that  that it is associated with at least one sensor and / or actuator.  6. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that  that the digital transmission means (6) comprises channels B1, B2 and D, and  the B1 channel (64 kbits) (8) is assigned to the voice, the B2 channel (64 kbits) (9) is assigned to the video and / or the D channel (16 kbits) (10) is assigned to the controller ( 2).