JP2005253025A - Remote surveillance apparatus and display system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that in a conventional surveillance system utilizing a mobile communication information terminal, a surveillance apparatus installed at a facility is operated by the mobile communication information terminal to acquire an image and display the latest image on the mobile communication information terminal, and when an abnormality occurs, it is notified to the owner of the facility by e.g., transmitting the image to the mobile communication information terminal, but to overcome the situation wherein decision cannot be made only from the latest image, stored information is required. <P>SOLUTION: In this remote surveillance apparatus, the image shot and stored by the surveillance apparatus disposed at any location in the facility can be retrieved and viewed on the mobile communication information terminal. Thus, the images shot at fixed time intervals are stored for each customer in an exclusive server installed outside the facility, and the mobile communication information terminal is connected to the contents of the exclusive server. When a change is detected, this change is received in real time by means of an E-mail so that it can be recognized according to sentence and image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a system for remotely monitoring a facility, and more particularly, to a technology related to a system for monitoring a predetermined facility using a portable communication information terminal.

Conventionally, in a monitoring system using a portable communication information terminal as in Patent Document 1 below, a portable communication information terminal operates a monitoring device installed in a facility to acquire a video, and the latest image is displayed in the portable communication information terminal. In the case of an abnormality, an image is transmitted to the portable communication information terminal to notify the facility owner of the abnormality.
JP2002-15390

In the case of a conventional monitoring system, only the latest image is seen, and the previous image is not saved. Various effects obtained by accumulating a plurality of images within at least 24 hours and searching and browsing can be expected.
In the present invention, when a change occurs in the shooting range outside the facility, various mobile communication information terminals including a mobile phone can be used to recognize the change at a distant place, and a search function is used. Thus, by comparing with the previous image, that is, with the past image, it is possible to confirm that there is no problem in the normal state, and the state before the change occurs in the abnormal state by the image.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is capable of searching and browsing an image taken by a monitoring device arranged at an arbitrary place in a facility on a portable communication information terminal, and a change. When detected, the remote monitoring device is characterized in that the photographed image is received in real time by e-mail and can be recognized by the text and the image.

As described above, it is easy to monitor with the monitoring system installed in the customer's facility with the mobile communication information terminal without being restricted by time and place. In addition, in the event of an abnormality, the contents of the change can be judged accurately with text and images. I can do it.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a remote monitoring device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Basically, in normal photographing, the operation is performed along the flow of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In the case of the PC camera 1 in FIG. 1, it is of a specification that is connected to a personal computer by a USB connector, and one PC camera 1 is used for one control device 2. In the case of FIG. 2, up to four CCD cameras 16 are connected to the camera switch, and are connected to the control device 2 via the still image conversion device 15. The abnormality detection device 4 is connected to each camera by a signal cable 11, and when the abnormality detection device 4 detects any abnormality, the abnormality detection device 4 automatically switches to the camera and sends a signal instructing the control device to shoot. I can do it. In the captured image data, a symbol indicating “normally captured image”, a symbol for distinguishing between a computer image and a mobile communication information terminal image, a customer number, a date of shooting, and a time are listed. A file name is assigned. This image data is temporarily stored in the internal storage device of the control device 2. After connecting to the public telephone line and transmitting the image to the dedicated server, the previously stored image data is deleted. Accordingly, even if the monitoring device is damaged or stolen, the image data is stored in the dedicated server 6 for a certain period, so that the information can be protected.

In the case of abnormal shooting, when the abnormality detection device 4 in FIG. 1 is switched on, for example, by opening or closing a door, or when a human sensor or the like sends a signal, the PC camera 1 or the CCD camera 16 in FIG. To do. A file name is created for the captured image data in the same manner as described above. The “normal image” is distinguished from the “normal image” by a symbol indicating “abnormal image”. At the same time, the fact that there has been a change by the abnormality detection device 4 is transmitted to the e-mail address that can be used by the mobile communication information terminal 8 with a photographed image attached.

The size of an image that can be displayed differs depending on the type of the mobile communication information terminal 8, and the mobile communication information terminal 8 has a size that is about 1/10 of the image size that can be displayed on a personal computer. Therefore, two image sizes are displayed, one displayed on a personal computer and one displayed on the portable communication information terminal 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the image connected to the public telephone line 5 and transmitted to the dedicated server 6 is collated with the customer number described in the file name and the customer data registered in the dedicated server 6 in advance. Stored in a folder. A number is assigned to each monitoring device in advance for each customer. The purpose is to prevent leakage of information to third parties and collective customer management. The login ID and password can be arbitrarily given by the customer at the time of registration, so that personal information can be protected so that the administrator cannot browse the information. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the customer can open the image selection screen, FIG. 8, by inputting the login ID and the password.
When the screen is selected, an operation screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, and past images can be displayed by specifying the date and time.

Depending on the type of mobile communication information terminal 8 or the manufacturer, the displayable size of the image differs, and it is possible to determine the type of device when it is connected to the dedicated server 6 and send data of an appropriate image size. .

In display and search browsing, the latest image is displayed first when the customer opens the dedicated content with the browsing-only URL. When the date and time is designated and searched, the image can be displayed, and the images before and after that can be displayed continuously. The image is stored for a maximum of 48 hours, and when the time exceeds 48 hours, the data for 24 hours or earlier is deleted at once to prevent the server capacity from overflowing.

Newly registered customer information is registered in a dedicated server. The contents of registration are a customer number, a login ID, a personal identification number, a customer name, and an e-mail address. After registration, it can be managed by adding whether or not the billing is not received and whether or not the monitoring system can be used. Access to customer registration data is protected by an administrator-specific login ID and password. In addition, by providing a unique firewall above the server, unauthorized access is prevented and information on the dedicated server is protected.

As shown in FIG. 3, the CCD camera 16 can automatically switch and photograph up to four CCD cameras at regular time intervals by the camera switcher 14. The CCD camera 16 is connected by a coaxial cable 17 and has a maximum of 100 meters. Since the camera can be used at a certain length, the camera can be installed in a facility having a large area or outdoors. In addition, by using a special CCD camera, it is possible to shoot even in places where there is no illumination device and there is no illumination, and it can be installed outdoors by using an underwater camera, drip-proof camera, etc. Can monitor garages, gardens, doorways, entrances, construction sites, etc. In stores, etc., in addition to preventing shoplifting during business, it is preferable to use it for intruder monitoring after closing at night.

In FIG. 2, a camera image can be displayed by branching from the camera switch 14 to a video input terminal of a general viewing television or the like using a video cable 18, so that even when a customer is in the facility, A TV can also be used for the monitoring screen.

When a camera is installed for a handicapped person or a person who needs care, and the person operates the abnormality detection device 4 instead of a doorbell, the state can be photographed and sent to a remote customer or manager.

It can be used not only as a monitoring device but also as a presentation tool. For example, it is a method of introducing daily products in front of a camera at a food store. If a store-specific content for display on the mobile communication information terminal 8 is created, it is possible to deliver unsold items and specials information to customers in real time without going to the storefront. Since it is possible to read not only products but also handwritten characters on a small screen of a portable communication information terminal, it is also effective as a real-time advertisement for a store.

This monitoring system requires a data communication line that can be connected at all times, but in some cases, it can be connected to the server even with a specific power-saving communication device, so it can be used outdoors or in places where communication lines cannot be drawn. Is possible. However, since this system is a precision machine when used outdoors, it is indispensable to store the control device, camera switch, etc. in a strong waterproof case.

Basic configuration diagram of the present invention Configuration diagram when using the CCD camera of the present invention Operation flowchart of the present invention Flow chart showing the flow from the monitoring device to the server Flow chart for browsing images on a server with a customer mobile communication information terminal Alarm flow chart Login screen Screen selection screen Operation screen

Explanation of symbols

1. PC camera 2. Control device Broadband modem 4. 4. Abnormality detection device 5. Public telephone line and internet network Dedicated server 7. Customer-owned PC
8). 8. Customer-owned mobile communication information terminal Mobile communication information terminal base station 10. USB cable11. Signal cable 12. Communication cable 13. Communication line 14. Camera switcher 15. Still image conversion device 16. CCD camera 17. Coaxial cable 18. Video cable 19. Mail server 20. TV for general viewing

Claims (4)

A conversion device that converts video from a plurality of cameras arranged at arbitrary positions in a facility into a still image, an anomaly detection device that detects any change in the shooting range, a camera switching device, and a control device that receives data And a dedicated server that accepts data from the control device, and a monitoring system that searches for and displays images by connecting still images stored in the dedicated server to an always-connected data communication line. A step of automatically assigning a file name composed of a number representing a symbol and a customer number, a date, and a time given in advance to the control device, a step of photographing every predetermined time, and photographing by a signal from the abnormality detection device To notify the e-mail of the customer's mobile communication information terminal of the image, and to search and display the image stored in the dedicated server on the mobile communication information terminal Step a remote monitoring method having the steps of simultaneously remove the accumulated images in a storage device within a predetermined time after another predetermined time, a feature having a step of collectively managing customer data. The monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein when a manual detection device is connected, it can be used as means for notifying a change from a normal state by sending a mail to a mail address designated in advance. The remote monitoring method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein information is provided to an unspecified number of mobile communication information terminal users by changing the subject of the camera to another information and displaying an image on a predetermined content of the mobile communication information terminal. . At the same time that the control device always judges the video from the camera and recognizes that there is a change, images are taken at that moment, and the images taken at the customer's mobile communication information terminal are stored in the dedicated server The remote monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein the remote monitoring method is transmitted by attaching to an e-mail.

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