JP2004120178A - Video image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video image recording apparatus which recording a video image with high image quality before and after an event change of a supervisory object for a long time without missing. <P>SOLUTION: The video image recording apparatus 3 always continues recording video data received from a camera 1 onto a pre-recording area on a hard disk unit 3b for a prescribed period, and records video image data to other area than the pre-recording area after a sensor 2 detects an event change. Since a user can set recording conditions such as a resolution and a frame rate of the recorded video data and the capacity of storage areas, the video image recording apparatus records the video image data with desired image quality and a desired recording time before and after the event change. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a video recording device that records a camera video captured for monitoring or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
This type of video recording device is mainly used for a monitoring device. The monitoring device includes, in addition to the video recording device, a sensor for detecting a change in the monitoring target and a monitoring camera for capturing an image of the monitoring target, and when the sensor detects an abnormality of the monitoring target, The video captured by the camera is recorded as data in the video recording device. The main purpose of such a monitoring device is to detect and record an event change of a monitored object, but recently, in addition to this, a device that records an image before the event change is detected is often used. In a monitoring device having such a function, a memory is provided in a video recording device in addition to a large-capacity storage device, and this is used as a ring buffer, and by continuously recording a video on the memory, a past image is recorded. Can be always held for a fixed period of time. The ring buffer means that when the data capacity exceeds the memory capacity, the data is repeatedly overwritten on the data recorded in the past, and a fixed amount of data is continuously recorded as if using a ring-shaped memory. In other words, recording of video performed before detecting an event change using such a ring buffer is called pre-recording. When the sensor detects an abnormality, the pre-recorded video data in the memory is recorded in the large-capacity storage device, and the recording of the video data starting from the change point in the large-capacity storage device is started. Thereby, the video recording device can record the video before and after the event change of the monitored object. The recorded video data is used for an investigation regarding an event change of the monitored object.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the amount of video data that can be recorded in the pre-recording before the event change is detected depends on the capacity of the memory serving as the ring buffer, so that a video for a desired time cannot be recorded in some cases. On the other hand, there is a method of adjusting the resolution, compression ratio, frame rate, etc. of the video to be recorded, and reducing the video data capacity per unit time to lengthen the time of the video to be recorded on the memory. May cause a loss of information such as a decrease in image quality of a video or a drop in a frame. Further, when an event change is detected, the video data recorded on the memory is copied or moved to a storage device such as a hard disk device, and then recording of the video data starting from the change point is started. Sometimes monitoring video could not be recorded.
[0004]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a video recording apparatus that can record a high-quality video for a long time without any loss before and after an event change of a monitored object.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a mass storage device for storing video data captured by an imaging device, and the video data and information related to the video data are recorded in the mass storage device. And a recording control unit that performs recording of video data of a predetermined capacity specified by a user on a large-capacity storage device sequentially, so that a video that goes back in the past is recorded. It is characterized by recording data.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the video recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the recording control means goes back to a past in which a point in time when the control signal is input ends in response to the control signal. The video data for the capacity and the video data for a predetermined period starting from the time point are recorded.
[0007]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the video recording apparatus according to any one of the first and second aspects, the recording condition of the video data including a frame rate is at least one on the mass storage device. And storing the video data in accordance with the recording conditions specified by a user.
[0008]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the video recording device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the recording control means stores the information related to the recorded video data in the recorded video data. And recording on the large-capacity device.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 5 is the video recording device according to claim 1, wherein the mass storage device is a hard disk device.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
｝ Configuration of monitoring device｝
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a monitoring device using a video recording device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The monitoring device includes a camera 1 (imaging device) for capturing an image of a monitoring target, a sensor 2 for detecting an event change of the monitoring target, and a camera 1 and the output video from the camera 1 connected to the sensor 2. The video recording device 3 includes an operation unit 4 for externally operating the video recording device 3, and a display device 5 connected to the video recording device 3. Further, the video recording device 3 includes a hard disk device 3b (large-capacity storage device) that stores video data captured by the camera 1 and information on the video data and its recording conditions, and writes and reads data to and from the hard disk device 3b. And a recording control unit 3a (recording control means) for controlling
[0011]
The camera 1 includes an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS, and outputs image data of a captured monitoring target. The output format is, for example, a storage format of moving image data used as standard in a computer device, such as MPEG (Motion Picture Coding Experts Group) or Motion JPEG based on JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group). It can be recorded and stored in a storage device such as a hard disk.
[0012]
The sensor 2 is installed for the purpose of detecting an event change of the monitoring target. For example, a temperature sensor that senses temperature changes, a sound sensor that senses changes in sound, an acceleration sensor that senses vibration, an infrared sensor or a laser sensor that senses the interruption of light rays or a change in distance to the monitored object, etc. Is done. All of these sensors have the function of converting event changes into electrical changes such as current and voltage values.
[0013]
The recording control unit 3a performs writing of video data input from the camera 1 to the hard disk device 3b, reading of video data from the hard disk device 3b for output to the display device 5, and the like. Further, it has a function of detecting an electrical change that occurs when the connected sensor 2 detects an event change of the monitored object. The recording control unit 3a controls the recording operation of the video data at the time of occurrence of the alarm and after the occurrence of the alarm. This operation will be described later.
[0014]
The operation unit 4 is used for selectively inputting recording conditions of video data to be recorded and stored in the video recording device 3 and performing an operation for selectively inputting video data to be displayed on the display device 5.
[0015]
The display device 5 displays an image being captured by the camera 1 via the recording control unit 3 or an image recorded in the image recording device 3.
[0016]
映像 Video recording before alarm occurrence (pre-recording)｝
Next, the operation of the monitoring device having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
[0017]
First, the camera 1 always captures an image of the monitoring target, and the video data is input to the video recording device 3. The captured video of the monitoring target is also input to the display device 5 via the recording control unit 3a of the video recording device 3, and the user can check the status of the monitoring target from the video in real time.
[0018]
In the video recording device 3, the recording control unit 3a performs pre-recording in which a predetermined time period of video data input from the camera 1 is always recorded and stored on the hard disk device 3b. More specifically, the video data input from the camera 1 is kept stored in the pre-recording area 7a secured on the hard disk device 3b, and the total capacity of the video data to be stored is equal to that of the pre-recording area 7a specified by the user. When the size reaches the size, the process of overwriting the latest video data on the top video data which is the oldest video data is repeated.
[0019]
For example, when the user specifies a pre-recording area 7a corresponding to a capacity of 50 files of video data, the recording control unit 3a adds an index number such as 0001, 0002. The video data is stored on the hard disk device 3b. Then, when the number of files to be stored reaches 50, the index numbers are added again from 0001, 0002... And the oldest file stored in the pre-recording area 7a is overwritten. Alternatively, a method of performing the same operation by including information on time in the file name instead of the index number may be used.
[0020]
As described above, by using the pre-recording area 7a of a fixed capacity of the hard disk device 3b as a ring buffer, the video recording apparatus 3 always holds the video data for a certain period going back in the past.
[0021]
The video data stored by pre-recording is managed by a file name including an index number, a shooting time, a recording time length, and the like. The management information is stored as a management file in the management information area 6 in the hard disk device 3b by the recording control unit 3a.
[0022]
The length of the retroactive period retained by pre-recording is determined by the capacity of the pre-recording area 7a specified by the user and the capacity of video data to be recorded and stored per unit time. The capacity of video data per unit time depends on the compression ratio, frame rate, resolution of video per frame, and the like. In this apparatus, the recording conditions of these video data are stored in the management information area 6. Then, the user can easily set and change the recording conditions simply by using the operation unit 4 to select a desired recording condition from a plurality of recording conditions stored in the management information area 6 in advance. It can be carried out.
[0023]
The change of the recording condition of the video data is performed by the recording control unit 3a reading the recording condition selected by the user from the management information area 6, and performing compression and conversion processing on the video data input from the camera 1 according to the read condition. Is achieved. Alternatively, the recording control unit 3a may be realized by changing settings such as imaging conditions of the camera 1 so that the video data matching the set recording conditions can be directly received from the camera 1.
[0024]
In the conventional method of using memory as a ring buffer for pre-recording, since the memory capacity is fixed, giving priority to the image quality of the recorded video, the amount of data per unit time increases. There is a problem that the time of the process is shortened. However, in the video recording device 3 using the hard disk device 3b, the capacity of the pre-recording area 7a can be changed. Therefore, by determining the recording conditions such as the compression ratio, the resolution, and the frame rate, and then determining the capacity of the pre-recording area 7a, the desired image quality and the required recording time are not affected by the amount of data per unit time. Recording can be performed. This makes it possible to perform pre-recording with higher image quality and longer time than before.
[0025]
映像 Video recording after alarm occurrence｝
When the sensor 2 detects an event change of the monitoring target, the recording control unit 3a recognizes this as a control signal, and stops the pre-recording that has been recorded and stored in the pre-recording area 7a with that moment as an alarm occurrence time. Then, the video starting from the point of occurrence of the alarm is started to be recorded and stored in an area 8 different from the pre-recording area 7a.
[0026]
Note that recording conditions such as a compression ratio, a frame rate, a resolution, and a recording time of video data at which recording is started when an alarm occurs are performed in accordance with conditions set and stored by a user in advance, similarly to pre-recording. That is, the pre-recording and the recording condition of the video data at the time of alarm occurrence can be set separately. Thus, for example, when an alarm occurs, it is possible to record a high-quality video with a higher frame rate than during pre-recording, and to record changes in the monitoring target in detail.
[0027]
After the alarm is generated, when the recording and storage of the video for a certain period set by the recording condition is completed, the recording control unit 3a sets the start and end position information of the video data recorded starting from the alarm occurrence time, and the alarm generation time. The start point and end point position information of the pre-recording data recorded as the end point is recorded on the management file in the management information area 6. Then, pre-recording is started in another area 7b on the hard disk device 3b.
[0028]
As described above, the video data is recorded according to the recording conditions stored in the management information area 6, and the information on the recorded video data is left, so that the monitoring of the monitoring target for a long time can be continued without involving the user. can do.
[0029]
Further, in the video recording device 3 of the present invention, the pre-recording area 7a, the area 8 for recording video data after an alarm is generated, and the pre-recording area 7b restarted after data recording after the alarm is generated are all on the hard disk device 3b. be independent. This eliminates the need to copy or move the pre-recorded data as in the case where conventional memory is used as a ring buffer for pre-recording, allowing continuous video data to be recorded before and after an alarm occurs. It is.
[0030]
Furthermore, in conventional pre-recording using memory, if a power failure such as a power failure occurs while copying or moving video data pre-recorded in memory to a storage device such as a hard disk, In some cases, both the data of the copy source and the copy destination are destroyed, and the video data of the monitoring target is lost. In addition, volatile memory is often used for pre-recording. In this case, even if no operation such as copying is performed, the pre-recorded video data is lost at the time of a power failure.
[0031]
However, in the present video recording device 3 in which the pre-recording is performed using the hard disk device 3b, even if a power failure such as a power failure occurs, the pre-recording data ending at that moment remains on the hard disk device 3b. This can be used as data.
[0032]
｛Record data management｝
The video data recorded and stored in the video recording device 3 can be easily referred to using the information recorded and stored in the management information area 6 as a management file. In the management information area 6, as described above, information relating to all video data stored on the hard disk device 3b, such as a file name including an index number, a photographing time, recording conditions, head position information and end point position information, is recorded. Have been. Therefore, from such information, it is possible to obtain information such as the head position of the pre-recording data, the alarm occurrence time, and the video data recorded after the alarm occurrence when the event change occurs in the monitoring target. Then, by using these pieces of information, it is possible to continuously reproduce the video data obtained by capturing the state before and after the event change of the monitoring target object on the display device 5 and perform the investigation.
[0033]
Further, since a large amount of video data can be easily managed, monitoring activity and monitoring data can be accumulated for a long period of time according to the capacity and the number of connected hard disk drives 3b.
[0034]
｛Modified example｝
In the above-described embodiment, the video recording device 3 may be configured such that the hard disk device 3b is connected to a recording control unit 3a including dedicated hardware and software for realizing the functions described above, or a computer. A configuration may be adopted in which the function of the recording control unit 3a is realized by software using a device and operated by a computer device, and a hard disk device built in or externally connected to the computer device is used as the hard disk device 3b.
[0035]
Further, the number of sensors 2 to be used is not limited to one, but may be plural.
[0036]
Further, the number of hard disk devices 3b connected to the video recording device 3 is not limited to one, but may be plural.
[0037]
The camera 1 may output video data in the NTSC (National Television System Committee) system or digital video system. In this case, the camera 1 may write the output video data to the hard disk drive 3b, such as MPEG or motion JPEG. Hardware and software for encoding into a format may be added as a device or as a function incorporated in the video recording device 3.
[0038]
Further, the detection of the event change of the monitoring target may be realized by analyzing and detecting a change in the image captured by the camera 1, not only by the sensor 2.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the video recording device has a large-capacity storage device that stores the video data captured by the imaging device, and a recording control that records the video data and information related to the video data in the large-capacity storage device. Means for continuously recording video data of a predetermined capacity designated by a user on a large-capacity storage device, whereby it is possible to record the video data of the capacity going back to the past.
[0040]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the recording control means responds to the control signal at a point in time when the control signal is input, and the video data which goes back to the past as the end point and the predetermined period as the start point By recording the video data for each minute, it is possible to record the video data before and after the generation of the control signal.
[0041]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, at least one or more recording conditions of video data including a frame rate are stored on the large-capacity storage device, and the recording control means performs the recording according to the recording conditions specified by the user. By recording the video data, it is possible to record the video data under the conditions desired by the user.
[0042]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the recording control means manages a large amount of video data by recording information on the recorded video data on the large-capacity device in association with the recorded video data. It is possible.
[0043]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by using a hard disk device in a large-capacity storage device, it is possible to record high-quality video data for a long time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a monitoring video recording device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state of data recorded on a hard disk device.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 camera 2 sensor 3a recording control unit 3b hard disk device 4 operation unit 5 display device 6 information management area 7a, 7b pre-recording area 8 normal recording area

Claims (5)

A large-capacity storage device for storing video data captured by the imaging device,
Recording control means for recording the video data and information about the video data in the mass storage device,
A video recording device comprising:
The recording control means records the video data of the capacity going back in the past by continuously recording the video data of a predetermined capacity designated by a user on the mass storage device sequentially. Video recording device. The video recording device according to claim 1,
The recording control means responds to a control signal,
The video data of the volume that goes back to the past with the time when the control signal is input as an end point,
The video data for a predetermined period starting from the time point;
A video recording device for recording a video. The video recording device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
On the mass storage device, at least one or more recording conditions for the video data specified by a user including a frame rate are stored, and the recording control means records the video data according to the recording conditions. Characteristic video recording device. The video recording device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein
The video recording device, wherein the recording control unit records information on the recorded video data on the large-capacity device in association with the recorded video data. The video recording device according to claim 1,
The mass storage device is a hard disk device.

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