JP2003284046A - Monitoring camera unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitoring camera unit which can record an image of sufficient quality by considering a low cost and energy saving. <P>SOLUTION: The monitoring camera unit comprises a human body detecting sensor for detecting that a person enters into a monitoring field of an imaging unit, an illuminator, and a control means for conducting an imaging operation of the imaging unit by turning off the illuminator when the sensor does not detect that the person enters into the field of the imaging unit or lighting the illuminator when the sensor detects that the person enters into the field and a circumferential brightness is a predetermined value or less. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has an image pickup section and a camera control section for converting an image picked up by the image pickup section into a digital signal, and a signal from the camera control section is constantly output at a predetermined time interval. The present invention relates to a surveillance camera device provided with a recording device for storing it as image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various environments are conceivable as an environment in which a surveillance camera device is installed.

In the daytime and in a room where the lighting is turned on, sufficient brightness can be obtained, and the image data output from the surveillance camera and recorded in the recording device can also be obtained with sufficient image quality. In addition, sufficient brightness cannot be obtained in a room where the illumination is not turned on, and image data output from the surveillance camera and recorded in the recording device cannot be obtained with sufficient image quality.

To solve this problem, conventionally, an illuminating device for illuminating the field of view of the surveillance camera is provided, and the illuminating device is operated when the brightness around the surveillance camera drops below a certain level. Was thought.

There has also been a method of using a night-vision camera using infrared rays or the like.

[0006]

However, the lighting device is always in the operating state, which is not preferable in terms of energy saving.

In addition, in the above, the night-vision camera is expensive and not preferable. Also, since the image obtained by it will also be a black and white image, when considering for monitoring purposes,
It cannot be said that it has sufficient image quality.

The present invention is to solve the above problems and provides a surveillance camera device capable of recording an image of sufficient image quality in consideration of low cost and energy saving. It is intended.

[0009]

Therefore, in the present invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by providing a surveillance camera device shown in any one of the following items (1) to (9). Is.

(1) A human body detection sensor for detecting the presence of a person in the monitoring field of view of the image pickup section, an illuminating device, and the human body detection sensor for detecting that a person has entered the monitoring field of view of the image pickup section. If not detected, the illumination device is turned off, the human body detection sensor detects the presence of a person in the monitoring field of view, and when the ambient brightness is below a certain level, the illumination A surveillance camera device, comprising: a control unit that lights up the device to perform a shooting operation of the imaging unit.

(2) The control means turns off the illumination device when the human body detection sensor detects that a person has left the monitoring field of view, and turns off the lighting device. Surveillance camera device.

(3) The surveillance camera apparatus according to the above (1), wherein the illuminating device includes a light amount adjusting means.

(4) Further, it has a detecting means for detecting the ambient brightness based on the output from the image pickup section, and the light quantity adjusting means has the illuminating device based on the output detected by the detecting means. The surveillance camera device according to the above item (3), characterized in that the amount of light is adjusted.

(5) The light quantity adjusting means adjusts the light quantity of the illuminating device based on the brightness level of the video signal from the image pickup unit when the illuminating device is not lit. The surveillance camera device according to the item (4).

(6) The light amount adjusting means adjusts the light amount of the illuminating device to a preset value corresponding to the brightness level of the video signal from the image pickup section. The described surveillance camera device.

(7) Further, a memory that stores in advance a set value for controlling the brightness level of the video signal output from the image pickup unit before the lighting device is turned on, and the image pickup unit by the human body detection sensor. And a control means for controlling the brightness level of the video signal in accordance with the previously stored set value when the illuminating device is turned off by detecting that a person is out of the monitoring field of view. 4)
The surveillance camera device according to the item.

(8) The surveillance camera apparatus according to item (1), wherein the human body detection sensor is arranged so as to detect the entire area or a part of the visual field of the image pickup section.

(9) The surveillance camera apparatus according to item (1), wherein the human body detection sensor detects that no human body is present in the surveillance field of view by detecting a video signal of the image pickup section.

The details will be described below.

The surveillance camera apparatus of the present invention includes an image pickup section, a recording apparatus which converts an image picked up by the image pickup section into a digital signal and always stores it as image data at predetermined time intervals, a human body detection sensor, and an illumination. Equipped with equipment,
When the human body detection sensor detects that a person has entered the monitoring field of view of the imaging unit, the lighting device is controlled to be turned on by the ambient brightness, and the imaging unit captures an image. It is a device.

According to this surveillance camera device, the illumination device is turned on only when a person enters the surveillance field of view of the image pickup section.
When energy is saved, and a person enters the monitoring field of view of the imaging unit, the lighting device is appropriately controlled to light up, and the output brightness signal control of the imaging unit is performed according to the light amount adjustment value of the lighting device. It is possible to provide a surveillance camera device capable of recording an image having a sufficient image quality according to the surveillance purpose.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on Examples.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view showing the arrangement of a surveillance camera apparatus according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is a camera section, 2 is a camera control section, and 3 is image data having a display device. Recording device, 4 is a lighting device, 5 is a light source, and 6
Is a lighting driver which is a light quantity adjusting means, 7 is a human body detection sensor, 8 is an image pickup section including the detection means 16, 9 is a control microcomputer which is control means, 10 is an image pickup section driver,
Is a video processing unit, 12 is an image data compression unit, and 13 is EEP
ROM, 14 is a memory, 15 is a USB interface, and 16 is a detection means.

The camera unit 1 includes a camera control unit 2,
Illumination device 4, human body detection sensor 7, imaging unit 8, EEPRO
It consists of M13 and memory 14.

The camera control section 2 comprises a control microcomputer 9, an image pickup section driver 10, a video processing section 11, an image data compression section 12 and a USB interface 15, and the lighting device 4 comprises a light source 5 and a lighting driver 6. ing.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

In the surveillance camera apparatus according to the present invention, when the system is activated and the system is activated, the illuminating device 4 does not turn on regardless of the amount of ambient light, and the image pickup section 8 is driven by the image pickup section driver 10 of the camera control section 2. Driven and image pickup unit 8
From the video signal is sent to the video processing unit 11 of the camera control unit 2.

The sent video signal is processed by the video processing unit 11 and the image data compression unit 12 of the camera control unit 2.
Converted to a digital signal, U of the camera control unit 2
It is sent to the image data recording device 3 having a display device via the SB / interface 15, and the image data recording device 3
Recorded in.

At this time, all the processes performed by the camera control unit 2 are controlled by the control microcomputer 9 of the camera control unit 2.

Next, the operation of the surveillance camera apparatus in this embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a schematic operation of the surveillance camera apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

First, when the power supply is turned on (S100) and the surveillance camera device is activated, the control microcomputer 9 controls the human body detection sensor 7 arranged so as to cover the entire field of view of the image pickup section 8 or a part thereof. Check the output at regular intervals,
From the output, it is confirmed whether or not there is a person in the detection area of the human body detection sensor 7 (S101).

When it is determined that there is no person, the control microcomputer 9 determines the ambient brightness level determined by the detecting means 16 based on the brightness level of the video signal obtained from the image pickup section 8 through the video processing section 11. Regardless, the lighting device 4 is not turned on (S201), and it is confirmed whether or not the set value for controlling the brightness level of the video signal before lighting is stored in the memory 14 (S202).

If saved, according to the set value,
The control microcomputer 9 adjusts the level of the video signal obtained from the imaging unit 8 via the video processing unit 11 (S203), and then erases the set value stored in the memory 14 (S).
205).

After that, the process proceeds to S109.

If the set value is not stored in S202, the video signal level is adjusted via the image pickup driver 10 so that the output level becomes a predetermined one (S20).
4).

Then, the process proceeds to S109.

When the control microcomputer 9 determines in S101 that a person is present based on the output of the human body detection sensor 7, the control microcomputer 9 determines from the brightness level of the video signal obtained from the image pickup section 8 via the video processing section 11. The ambient brightness detected by the detection means 16 is determined (S102), and it is determined whether illumination is necessary (S103).

When it is determined that the illumination is not necessary, the same lighting process of the illumination device 4 as when it is determined that there is no person (S20)
1 to S205) and if it is determined that lighting is required,
The following lighting process (S104 to S108) of the illumination device 4 is performed.

First, the set value for controlling the video processing unit 11 corresponding to the luminance signal level stored in advance in the EEPROM 13 is read (S104), and the video unit driver 10 and the video processing unit 11 are adjusted (S105). In addition, the setting value before adjustment is stored in a predetermined area in the memory 14 (S106).

Next, the control microcomputer 9 similarly operates the image pickup unit 8
From the brightness level of the video signal obtained via the video processing unit 11, a light amount adjustment value for adjusting the light amount of the illumination driver 6 corresponding to the set value of the brightness signal level stored in advance in the EEPROM 13 is read out. (S107), the light amount of the illumination driver 4 is adjusted, and the light source is turned on (S1).
08).

At this time, from the image pickup section 8 to the image processing section 1
Since the video signal obtained via 1 is adjusted in S105 so that the optimum brightness level of the video signal is obtained in a state where the light source is turned on by adjusting the light amount, the video signal passes through the image data compression unit 12. , The image data recorded by the image recording device 3 via the USB interface 15 is affected by the sudden lighting of the light source, the image is temporarily blown out, and then the image having appropriate brightness is gradually controlled by the exposure control. Instead of changing to, the image quality is not affected by the sudden lighting of the light source, similar to the image with appropriate exposure control when the strobe illumination is emitted from a general photographic camera. It is recorded as possessed image data.

After that, the control microcomputer 9 judges whether or not the power source is turned off (S109), and O
If it is FF, it ends, and if it is not OFF, S1
Returning to 01, the above processing is repeated.

That is, after the lighting device 4 is turned on, the control microcomputer 9 determines that the person is out of the detection area of the human body detection sensor 7 based on the output of the human body detection sensor 7 (S10).
1) or when it is determined that lighting is unnecessary (S10)
3) is a process of turning off the illumination device 4 (S201 to S205)
When the control microcomputer 9 determines that a person has entered the detection area of the human body detection sensor 7 by the output of the human body detection sensor 7 after the lighting device 4 is turned off (S101), and determines that illumination is necessary (S103). Performs the lighting process (S104 to S108) of the lighting device 4.

The human body detection sensor used in the present invention is not particularly limited in its type, and it is obvious that known means can be used, and the arrangement method also covers the field of view of the image pickup section 8. It is obvious that the arrangement method, the configuration, and the number are not limited in any way.

In addition to the above, the control microcomputer 9 or the image data recording device 3 is used as a human body detection sensor, and U
It may be possible to detect that there is no human body in the monitoring field of view based on the image data (video signal) sent via the SB / interface 15.

In this way, the image data recording device 3
However, if it detects that there is no human body in the field of view,
The result is sent to the control microcomputer 9 via the USB interface 15, and the control microcomputer 9 performs the turning-off process of the lighting device 4 according to the determination.

Further, as the means for communicating the image data from the camera section 1 to the image data recording apparatus 3, the USB interface 15 is used in this embodiment,
It is likewise clear that known communication means other than the B-interface can be used.

Further, as a method for the control microcomputer 9 or the image data recording device 3 to judge from the image data obtained from the image pickup unit 8 via the image processing unit 11 that there is no human body in the visual field of the image pickup unit 8. It is likewise clear that known means can be used.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a surveillance camera device that is inexpensive and can record an image with sufficient image quality in consideration of energy saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a surveillance camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the surveillance camera device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 camera section 2 Camera control section 3 Image data recording device 4 Lighting equipment 5 light sources 6 lighting driver 7 Human body detection sensor 8 control microcomputer 9 Imaging unit 10 Image driver 11 Video processing unit 12 Image data compression unit 13 EEPROM 14 memory 15 USB interface 16 Detection means

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A human body detection sensor for detecting the presence of a person in the monitoring field of view of an image pickup section, an illuminating device, and the human body detection sensor for detecting that a person has entered the monitoring field of view of the image pickup section. If not, the lighting device is turned off, the human body detection sensor detects that a person enters the monitoring field of view, and when the ambient brightness is less than or equal to a certain level, the lighting device. And a control means for performing an image capturing operation of the image capturing section. 2. The control means, when the human body detection sensor detects that a person has left the monitoring visual field,
The surveillance camera device according to claim 1, wherein the illumination device is turned off. 3. The surveillance camera device according to claim 1, wherein the illumination device includes a light amount adjusting unit. 4. A detection unit that detects ambient brightness based on an output from the image pickup unit, and the light amount adjustment unit of the illumination device based on the output detected by the detection unit. The surveillance camera device according to claim 3, wherein the amount of light is adjusted. 5. The light amount adjusting means adjusts the light amount of the illuminating device based on the brightness level of a video signal from the imaging unit when the illuminating device is not turned on. 4. The surveillance camera device according to 4. 6. The light amount adjusting means adjusts the light amount of the illuminating device to a preset value corresponding to the brightness level of the video signal from the image pickup section.
The described surveillance camera device. 7. A memory that stores in advance a set value for controlling the brightness level of a video signal output from the image pickup unit before the lighting device is turned on, and a human body detection sensor for storing the set value of the image pickup unit. The control means for controlling the brightness level of the video signal according to the previously stored setting value when the illuminating device is turned off by detecting that a person is out of the monitoring field of view. The described surveillance camera device. 8. The surveillance camera device according to claim 1, wherein the human body detection sensor is arranged so as to detect the entire area or a part of the visual field of the imaging unit. 9. The surveillance camera apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the human body detection sensor detects that a human body is not present in the surveillance field of view by detecting a video signal of the imaging unit.