JP2000032443A - Image display method for monitor camera system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a monitor to supervise 5 to 8 places at all times by compressing a video image of one monitor camera into 1/3 respectively longitudinally and laterally, so as to 5 to 8 images on a monitor screen at the same time and displaying each status with respect to each video image on a space of the monitor screen. SOLUTION: A monitor screen 85 of the monitor camera system is divided into 9 areas, and at least one screen area among 1st screen area to 9th screen area 99 is used for a status display area. In the monitor camera system where plural video images are displayed on the one monitor screen 85, such that video images photographed by 6 monitor cameras are displayed on one monitor television receiver, a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal from a synchronization signal generating means which is integrated in the monitor system device are used for synchronizing all of the 6 monitor cameras which are 1st to 6th monitor cameras.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for displaying an image on a monitor screen in a surveillance camera system having a plurality of surveillance cameras.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, in order to monitor indoors or outdoors, a surveillance camera system in which a plurality of surveillance cameras are installed at predetermined positions and an image photographed by each surveillance camera is projected on a monitor television in a surveillance room is frequently used. I have.

[0003] In this surveillance camera system, images taken by a plurality of surveillance cameras are usually displayed on one monitor television.
It is assumed that the images are divided and images taken by three or four surveillance cameras are simultaneously displayed.

[0004] In addition, while surveillance of an image taken by one surveillance camera on the entire screen of the monitor television, the surveillance cameras connected to the monitor television are sequentially switched at regular time intervals, and each surveillance camera takes a picture. In some cases, the scene at the monitoring location is sequentially displayed on a monitor television for monitoring.

Further, in a surveillance camera system, a camera I
A status such as D may be displayed on the screen.

The status is, for example, the camera I
D, and when monitoring and projecting images from a plurality of locations on one monitor television, the name of the installation location is included in the video signal from each monitoring camera so that the user can understand which video is the video at which monitoring location. Is synthesized with the video signal by the character information indicating the character or the numerical information indicating the camera number. In this manner, by superimposing image information representing characters and numbers on a video signal on a screen, a camera ID of characters and numbers can be superimposed on a video of a scene shot by a camera and displayed on a monitor screen. It is.

In the case where a monitoring camera is provided so as to capture the location where the sensor is installed, a mark signal indicating an alarm is superimposed as image information on the video signal of the monitoring camera capturing the location in accordance with the operation of the sensor. However, an alarm mark may be displayed as a status on the screen together with the alarm sound. By displaying the alarm mark as the status in this way, the abnormality occurrence screen can be immediately identified and the abnormality can be visually recognized.

[0008] Further, depending on the surveillance camera system, an image of a specific camera may be recorded on a video recorder in conjunction with an alarm by a sensor or manually.
Further, in a surveillance camera system using a frame memory, an image of a specific camera can sometimes be temporarily stopped manually or the like. Therefore, depending on the surveillance camera system, characters or marks indicating such a recording state or an image stop state may be displayed as a status on a monitor screen.

[0009]

As described above, in a surveillance camera system for displaying scenes photographed by a plurality of surveillance cameras on one monitor television, one surveillance camera connected to the monitor television is switched one by one. When displaying the video of one surveillance camera on the entire monitor screen, it is easy and reliable to check the status of the monitoring location displayed on the monitor screen, but a sudden abnormality occurs in the monitoring location that is not displayed When this was done, there was a disadvantage that the discovery of abnormalities was delayed.

When a plurality of scenes are simultaneously displayed by dividing the screen, the image of one surveillance camera may become small on the monitor screen, making it difficult to confirm the scene at the surveillance place. In particular, when superimposing a status such as text on a video, some of the scene cannot be monitored due to the text.If the text is reduced to fit the size of the split screen, the status cannot be read. Then, since the area of the screen that cannot be seen by the characters increases, the division into four screens is currently the limit.

For this reason, when it is necessary to provide more than four surveillance cameras, and when it is not possible to increase the number of monitor televisions, intermittent surveillance is performed despite the fact that the surveillance cameras are installed in necessary places. However, there is a drawback that a place where it becomes impossible occurs.

The present invention is a video display method which eliminates such drawbacks and provides a surveillance camera system capable of constantly monitoring five to eight locations.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the image of one surveillance camera is compressed to one third in each of the vertical and horizontal directions, and 5 to 8 screens are obtained.
The screens are displayed on the monitor screen at the same time, and the status regarding each image is displayed on the monitor screen as a margin.

As described above, since the image of one surveillance camera is reduced to one third in length and width, the scene of the surveillance location is projected in a 1/9 range on the monitor screen, and a large number of surveillance locations are constantly monitored. can do.

Also, since the status is displayed in the margin of the monitor screen, it is possible to confirm the whole view of the surveillance place without hiding the scene photographed by each surveillance camera with the characters while making the size of the characters and numbers easy to see. Can be displayed.

When displaying images captured by seven or eight surveillance cameras, the status is preferably displayed at the center of the monitor screen.

If the status is displayed at the center of the screen as described above, it is easy to confirm the contents of the status such as an alarm when indicating the status such as an alarm.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, according to the present invention, a monitor screen 85 of a surveillance camera system is divided into nine, and at least one of the first to ninth screen areas 91 to 99 is defined. This is a status display area.

As an embodiment of a surveillance camera system for displaying a plurality of images on one monitor screen 85, for example, as shown in FIG. Some are displayed on the screen of the television 80.

In this surveillance camera system, all of the six surveillance cameras 11 to 16 are monitored by the vertical synchronization signal and the horizontal synchronization signal from the synchronization generation means 21 incorporated in the monitoring system device 20. Of surveillance cameras are synchronized.

A video signal or a video signal output from each of the monitoring cameras 11 to 16 is converted into a digital video signal by a first analog-to-digital conversion circuit 31 to a sixth analog-to-digital conversion circuit 36, respectively. Each digital video signal from the 11th to the sixth monitoring camera 16 is recorded as image data in the first to sixth frame memories 41 to 46, respectively.

The image data in the first to sixth frame memories 41 to 46 is read out by the first selector 51, and the read out image data is input to the main digital encoder 65 via the character synthesizing circuit 63.
The video signal is returned to the third selector 55 and the output terminal 75 at 65.
Is output to the monitor television 80 via the.

When the first selector 51 reads image data from the first frame memory 41 to the sixth frame memory 46, the first frame memory 41 to the third frame memory are read every third of one horizontal scanning time. Switching to reading from the frame memory 43, the 1
By reading out pixel data of every three pixels in the image data of the horizontal scanning lines and performing pixel thinning, the first frame memory 41 to the third frame memory 41 to third in one horizontal scanning time can be obtained.
After reading the image data for the horizontal scanning lines in the image data stored in the frame memory 43 and reading the image data for one horizontal scanning line from the first frame memory 41 to the third frame memory 43, respectively, In reading out the image data for one horizontal scanning line, the image data skipped over two horizontal scanning lines is similarly read out while thinning out the pixels.

As described above, image data for one scanning line is read out by performing pixel thinning from the first frame memory 41 to the third frame memory 43 during one horizontal scanning time.
In addition, by reading out image data from the first frame memory 41 to the third frame memory 43 by performing scanning line thinning, the first frame memory 41 to the third frame memory 43 are read out.
, The image data obtained by compressing the image for one screen into one-third vertically and horizontally each is read out from the fourth frame memory 44 to the sixth frame memory.
Similarly, an image for one screen is also read from the frame memory 46 in the vertical and horizontal directions.
When the image data to be compressed to one-half is read, as shown in FIG. 3, the image based on the image data in the first frame memory 41 is stored in the first screen area 91 and the image based on the image data in the second frame memory 42 is displayed. Is displayed in the second screen area 92, the image based on the image data in the third frame memory 43 is displayed in the third screen area 93, and the scenes captured by the first to third monitoring cameras 11 to 13 are arranged in the upper row of the monitor screen 85. The fourth monitoring camera 14 to the sixth monitoring camera 14 display the images based on the image data of the fourth frame memory 44 to the sixth frame memory 46 in the fourth screen area 94 to the sixth screen area 96 in the same manner.
The 16 shot scenes can be displayed side by side in the middle of the monitor screen 85.

The thinning-out reading by the first selector 51 from each of the frame memories 41 to 46 is performed based on a control signal from the central control means 23 which is a microcomputer.
The thinning control means 57 controls the operation of the first selector 51 and controls the reading of each of the frame memories 41 to 46.

The monitoring system device 20 includes the first
A signal from a sensor 27 provided at each monitoring location where the monitoring cameras 11 to the sixth monitoring camera 16 are installed is input to the central control means 23, and when the sensor 27 is activated, the central control means 23 corresponds to the activated sensor 27. The combined signal output means 61
To the sensor 27 operated from the synthetic information output means 61
It outputs the number indicating the camera number of the surveillance camera that is shooting the place corresponding to the number, the character information indicating the installation location, and the image information of the alarm mark, and the status information which is the image information has passed through the selector in the character synthesis circuit 63. It is to be synthesized with video information.

When synthesizing the image information for displaying the status with the video information, the output timing of the image information for displaying the status is set so as to exclude the timing for reading the image data as the video information from the frame memory. When the data obtained by synthesizing the status information and the video information is returned to the video signal by the main digital encoder 65 and displayed on the monitor screen 85, characters, numbers or marks indicating the status are displayed on the monitor screen 85 in the margin. It is displayed in the seventh to ninth regions that are the portions.

The surveillance system device 20 is provided with a video recorder 71. In accordance with the detection operation of the sensor 27, a video signal from a specific surveillance camera, which is a digital video signal through an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, is converted. The digital video signal selected by the second selector 52 is converted into a video signal by the second digital encoder 67 and can be recorded on the video recorder 71.

When operating the video recorder 71, the installation information such as the camera number of the surveillance camera selected by the second selector 52 and the record mark information are output from the composite information output means 61. The status is also displayed in the margin of the screen.

Further, in the monitoring system device 20, by operating the switch 25, the third selector 55 is controlled to display the video being recorded on the video recorder 71 on the monitor screen 85, and the video recorder 71 is displayed on the monitor screen 85. The video recorded by the reproducing operation can be displayed on the monitor screen 85, and the status indicating these operations is also displayed.

The operation of the switch 25 may stop the writing of the digital video signal to the frame memory via the digital-to-analog conversion circuit. In this case, a still image can be displayed on the monitor screen 85 by the image data stored in the frame memory. And
When displaying such a paused image, image information for displaying an appropriate status is also output to the composite information output unit 61.
, And display the status in the margin of the monitor screen 85.

As described above, in this surveillance camera system, an image of a scene photographed by one surveillance camera is compressed to one-third in both the vertical and horizontal directions, so that a relatively easy-to-view screen can be obtained without changing the aspect ratio of the video. Each image of the scene reduced and imaged by six surveillance cameras can be displayed on one screen.

The status indicating the status of each monitoring camera and the status of the monitoring location is displayed in the margin of the monitor screen 85 where the scene captured by the monitoring camera is not displayed. In addition, the entire scene captured by the surveillance camera can be reliably viewed.

When reading image data from the first frame memory 41 to the sixth frame memory 46, the start of reading from the first frame memory 41 is determined by starting from the vertical synchronizing signal by five times.
By delaying about milliseconds and starting to read out image data by sending from the vertical synchronizing signal for several tens of horizontal scanning times, the scenes captured by the first monitoring camera 11 through the sixth monitoring camera 16 as shown in FIG. Margins can be formed above and below the projected image, and the image to be monitored can be displayed on the monitor screen.
It can be collected near the center of the 85 to make it easier to see the video.

When reading image data from the first frame memory 41 to the sixth frame memory 46, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of an image are reduced to one third by pixel thinning or scanning line thinning. 2 frame memory 42
After reading one frame or one field from the third frame memory 43 and the fourth frame memory 44
And then read from the fifth frame memory 45 and the sixth frame memory 46, as shown in FIG. 5, the image is displayed as three rows of two screens on the left and right, as shown in FIG. Can be.

When five surveillance cameras are used, it is easy to view the entire monitor screen 85 as a multi-screen display with less uncomfortable feeling by displaying five images with the lower right screen of the six displayed screens as a margin. The status can be displayed in an appropriate margin to prevent the video taken by the surveillance camera from being obstructed by the status such as characters and numerals.

However, when images are displayed side by side on three screens, five screens may be displayed with a margin at the bottom center.
A multiple-screen display with less discomfort can be provided.

When the number of surveillance cameras is increased to provide eight surveillance cameras, a fifth screen area 95 at the center of the monitor screen 85 is used as a margin for status display as shown in FIG. It is.

As described above, when the status is displayed at the center of the monitor screen 85, the entire monitor screen 85 is easy to see, and
The status of each monitoring camera can be easily checked by the status, and the status of eight monitoring locations can be constantly monitored.

In a surveillance camera system using seven surveillance cameras, a margin for status display is formed at the center, and an image reduced to one third in length and width is displayed on a monitor screen 85.
It is sufficient that one of the images arranged around the monitor screen 85 is set as a margin.

When a five-screen display or a seven-screen display is used, the area of the screen on which the status is not displayed is filled with black or blue, and is distinguished from the margin for displaying the status as an image displayable area. There is also.

[0042]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the video of one surveillance camera is compressed to one third in each of the vertical and horizontal directions and displayed on one monitor screen, and each video is displayed on a monitor screen serving as a margin. 3 is an image display method of the surveillance camera system for displaying a status regarding the image.

Therefore, a plurality of images of five or more screens are simultaneously displayed to continuously monitor a plurality of locations, and when an abnormality occurs in the monitored place, the status is displayed so that the contents of the abnormality can be immediately discriminated and Thus, the situation of the monitoring place can be prevented from becoming invisible, and the state of the site can be surely confirmed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surveillance camera system according to the first aspect, wherein images taken by seven or eight surveillance cameras are simultaneously displayed, and the status is displayed at the center of the monitor screen. Image display method.

If the status is displayed in the center of the screen as described above, it is easy to confirm the content of the alarm based on the status when indicating the status such as an alarm, and the specific video whose status is displayed or changed can be displayed. Attention will make it easier to find abnormalities.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a screen division for displaying an image according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a surveillance camera system embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image display according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of image display according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of image display according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing still another example of image display according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numerals 11 to 16 monitoring camera 20 monitoring system device 21 synchronization generating means 23 central control means 25 switch 27 sensor 31 to 36 analog-to-digital conversion circuit 41 to 46 frame memory 51, 52, 55 selector 57 thinning-out control means 61 synthetic information output means 63 characters Synthesizing circuit 65 Main digital encoder 67 Second
Digital encoder 71 Video recorder 75 Output terminal 80 Monitor television 85 Monitor screen 91 First screen area 99 Ninth
Screen area

Claims (2)

[Claims] An image of one surveillance camera is compressed to one-third in each of vertical and horizontal directions, and images of five to eight screens are simultaneously displayed on one monitor screen, and each image is displayed on a monitor screen serving as a margin. An image display method for a surveillance camera system, characterized by displaying a status. 2. The image display method for a surveillance camera system according to claim 1, wherein images taken by seven or eight surveillance cameras are simultaneously displayed, and a status is displayed at the center of the monitor screen.