JP2006080716A - Monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly reliable monitoring system capable of being easily constructed. <P>SOLUTION: The monitoring system using a network camera which distributes photographed image information onto a network comprises: the network camera which is installed in a monitoring place and distributes the photographed image information onto the network; a computer which is an image display device for displaying the image information; a DHCP server; and an image recorder directly connected to the network camera for storing and preserving the image information and making the image information be transmitted directly from the network camera or transmitting the preserved image information in the case that the image information is requested from a computer through the network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring system using a network camera that distributes photographed image information and the like over a network, and more particularly to a monitoring system that can be easily constructed and has high reliability.

  Prior art documents related to a surveillance system using a network camera that distributes image information and the like taken on a network to the network include the following.

JP 2000-083241 A JP 2000-244914 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-223689 JP 2004-080560 A JP 2004-096201 A JP 2004-172780 A

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of such a conventional monitoring system. In FIG. 11, 1, 2 and 3 are network cameras that are network devices that are installed at each monitoring location and distribute image information etc. taken on the network, 4 is a hub, and 5 is a collection of image information etc. distributed on the network. An image recording apparatus for recording in storage means such as a hard disk, 6 is a computer that is an image display apparatus for displaying distributed image information, and 100 is a general-purpose network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

  The network cameras 1, 2 and 3 are connected to the hub 4 respectively, and the image recording device 5 is also connected to the hub 4. The hub 4 is connected to the network 100 and the computer 6 is connected to the network 100.

  Here, the operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 14, FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the network cameras 1 to 3, FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image recording apparatus 5, FIGS. 14 and 16 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the flow of image information, etc. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the computer 6.

  In “S001” in FIG. 12, the network camera (for example, the operation will be described below with attention paid to the network camera 1) captures an image of the installed monitoring place.

  Further, in “S002” in FIG. 12, the network camera 1 determines whether or not there is a request for image data from another network device of the image recording device 5 or the computer 6, and if it is determined that there is a request for image data In FIG. 12, in “S003”, the network camera 1 appropriately performs image processing such as compressing the image data, and then sends the image data to the requested network device via the network 100, the hub 4 or the like. And deliver.

  In “S101” in FIG. 13, the image recording apparatus 5 requests image data from the network camera 1 via the hub 4 and the like, and waits until receiving the image data in “S102” in FIG.

  If it is determined that the image data is received in “S102” in FIG. 13, the image recording device 5 stores the received image data in the storage means in “S103” in FIG.

  For example, as indicated by “SD01” in FIG. 14, when the image recording apparatus 5 receives image data from the network camera 1 via the hub 4, the image recording apparatus 5 stores the received image data in the storage means and saves it.

  Incidentally, when there is a request for image data from another network device of the computer 6, the image recording device 5 connects the network 100, the hub 4, etc. to the network device that has requested the stored image data. To deliver through.

  On the other hand, in “S201” in FIG. 15, the computer 6 determines whether or not to acquire image data directly from the network camera 1, and if it is determined to acquire image data directly from the network camera 1, FIG. In the middle “S202”, the computer 6 requests image data from the network camera 1 via the network 100 and the hub 4, and waits until receiving the image data in “S203” in FIG.

  If it is determined that the image data is not directly acquired from the network camera 1 in “S201” in FIG. 15, the computer 6 sends the image recording device 5 to the image recording apparatus 5 via the network 100 and the hub 4 in “S204” in FIG. On the other hand, it requests image data and waits until image data is received in “S203” in FIG.

  If “S203” in FIG. 15 determines that the image data has been received from the network camera 1 or the image recording device 5, the computer 6 displays the received image data on the display means in “S205” in FIG. Display.

  For example, when image data is received from the network camera 1 via the hub 4 and the network 100 as indicated by “SD11” in FIG. 16, the received image data is displayed on the display means.

  Further, for example, when image data is received from the image recording apparatus 5 via the hub 4 and the network 100 as indicated by “SD12” in FIG. 16, the received image data is displayed on the display means.

  As a result, the network camera is installed at each monitoring location and the image information taken is distributed on the network, and the image recording device 6 stores and saves the image information, and the computer 6 as the image display device directly images from the network camera. A monitoring system can be constructed by acquiring data or acquiring and displaying image data stored from the image recording device 6.

  However, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 11, it is necessary to separately install the hub 4, and it is necessary to separately prepare a power supply device that supplies power to each of the network cameras 1 to 3, and the system construction is complicated. There was a problem that said.

  In addition, it is necessary to set the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses of the network cameras 1 to 3 and the IP address of the image recording apparatus 5 at the time of system construction, and there is a problem that the system construction is complicated. It was.

  Further, there is a problem that if the network cameras 1 to 3 and the image recording apparatus 5 which are network devices are not connected to the network, the program change or setting change cannot be performed, and the maintainability of the monitoring system is poor.

Further, since the storage means such as the hard disk of the image recording apparatus 5 is normally supplied with power at all times, there are problems such as power consumption and a problem that the life of the storage means such as the hard disk is shortened and reliability is lowered. It was.
Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to realize a monitoring system that can be easily constructed and has high reliability.

In order to achieve such a problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is:
In a surveillance system using a network camera that distributes captured image information over a network,
A network camera that is installed at a monitoring location and delivers image information taken on the network, a computer that is an image display device that displays the image information, a DHCP server, and the network camera are directly connected and the image information is An image recording apparatus that stores and saves the image information directly from the network camera when the computer requests the image information via the network, or transmits the stored image information; Since a hub is unnecessary, a monitoring system can be easily constructed.

The invention according to claim 2
In the monitoring system according to claim 1,
The image recording apparatus is
A communication unit that is directly connected to the network camera and performs communication via the network, a storage unit that stores and saves the image information, and controls the entire image recording apparatus and the image from the computer via the network. When there is a request for information, the network camera directly transmits the image information, or the control means for transmitting the image information stored in the storage means eliminates the need for a hub. Therefore, it is possible to easily construct a monitoring system.

The invention described in claim 3
In the monitoring system which is the invention according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus is
By providing power supply means for supplying power to the network camera directly connected to the communication means, power is supplied from the image recording device to the network camera, so a monitoring system can be easily constructed. become.

The invention according to claim 4
In the monitoring system which is the invention according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus is
When the network camera is connected to the communication means, the MAC address and port number of the network camera are acquired, and the port number and MAC address are combined with the IP address acquired by the network camera from the DHCP server. By storing and storing in the means, the setting of the IP address is also set by the image recording apparatus, so that a monitoring system can be easily constructed.

The invention according to claim 5
In the monitoring system which is the invention according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus is
By providing power supply control means for supplying power when storage storage in the storage means is required, power supply of storage means such as a hard disk is made only when storage storage is required, thus reducing power consumption As a result, the life of the storage means such as a hard disk is prolonged and the reliability is improved.

The invention described in claim 6
In the monitoring system which is the invention according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus is
Second storage means for storing a program;
An external storage medium connection means for writing and reading information to and from the connected external storage medium;
Switch means for instructing execution of processing,
Determining whether or not an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means when it is determined that execution of a writing process is instructed by an operation of the switch means;
When it is determined that an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means, information in the external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection means is read and sequentially written to the second storage means As a result, it is possible to change / read programs, change / read settings, and the like of network devices without connecting to the network, thereby improving maintainability.

The invention described in claim 7
In the monitoring system which is the invention according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus is
Second storage means for storing a program;
An external storage medium connection means for writing and reading information to and from the connected external storage medium;
Switch means for instructing execution of processing,
Determining whether or not an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means when an instruction to execute a read process is given by operating the switch means;
When it is determined that an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means, the information of the second storage means is read and sequentially written into the external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection means As a result, it is possible to change the program and read out the network device and change and read out the setting of the network device without connecting to the network.

The invention described in claim 8
In the monitoring system which is the invention according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus is
An ID device,
By making the state accessible via the network, it becomes possible to recognize the device (image recording apparatus) at the application level.

The present invention has the following effects.
According to the first, second, third, and fourth aspects of the present invention, the network camera is installed at each monitoring place and directly connected to the image recording apparatus, and the image recording apparatus stores and saves image information and the like. Since a computer acquires image data directly from a network camera, or acquires and displays image data stored from an image recording device, a hub is unnecessary, so a monitoring system can be easily constructed. become. In addition, since power is supplied from the image recording apparatus to the network camera and the IP address setting is also set by the image recording apparatus, the system can be constructed more easily.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the power supply of the storage means such as the hard disk of the image recording apparatus is performed only when the storage and storage are necessary, the power consumption is reduced and the life of the storage means such as the hard disk is shortened. Longer and more reliable.

  According to the sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, the control means is connected to the external storage medium connecting means when the reading process or the execution of the reading process is instructed by the operation of the switch means. By reading the information in the external storage medium and sequentially writing it in the second storage means, or by reading the information in the second storage means and sequentially writing it in the external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection means, Program change / reading, setting change / reading, etc. of the network device can be performed without connecting to the network, thereby improving maintainability.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, an ID device such as a dip switch or a rotary switch is added to the image recording layer device so that the image recording layer device can be referred to via the network. It becomes possible to recognize.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a monitoring system according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 1, 2, 3 and 6 are assigned the same reference numerals as in FIG. 11, and 7 is connected to a plurality of network cameras to collect distributed image information and record it in a storage means such as a hard disk. An image recording apparatus 8 is a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol: a protocol that dynamically assigns an IP address to a device on the network; hereinafter simply referred to as DHCP) server 101 is a general-purpose network such as a LAN or the Internet. Further, the network cameras 1 to 3 have a DHCP client function.

  The network cameras 1, 2 and 3 are connected to the image recording apparatus 7, the image recording apparatus 7 is connected to the network 101, and the computer 6 is connected to the network 101. The DHCP server 8 is also connected to the network 101.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of the image recording apparatus 7. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 9 has a plurality of ports, and a network interface or other communication means for directly communicating with the network camera and communicating via the network, and 10 is a power supply for supplying power to the network camera connected to the port. Means 11, a control means such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), 12 a storage means such as a hard disk, and 13 an external storage for writing and reading information to an external storage medium such as a connected USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. Medium connection means, 14 is switch means composed of a plurality of keys for instructing execution of processing such as writing processing and reading processing, 15 is storage means such as flash memory in which programs are stored, and 16 is storage means 12 It is a power supply control means which controls supply of the electric power to. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 constitute the image recording apparatus 7.

  The input / output of the communication unit 9 is connected to the control unit 11 and the output of the power supply unit 10 is connected to the communication unit 9. Inputs and outputs of the storage unit 12 and the external storage medium connection unit 13 are connected to the control unit 11, and an output of the switch unit 14 is connected to the control unit 11.

  The input / output of the storage means 15 is connected to the control means 11, and the output of the power supply control means 16 is connected to the control input terminal of the storage means 12. The control signal of the control means 11 is connected to the power supply means 10 and the power supply control means 16.

  Further, a network camera as indicated by “CM21” in FIG. 2 and a network indicated by “NT21” in FIG. 2 are connected to each port of the communication means 9.

  Here, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. 3, 5, 9 and 10 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the image recording apparatus 7, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operations of the network cameras 1 to 3, and FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the computer.

  In “S301” in FIG. 3, the image recording device 7 (specifically, the control unit 11) determines whether or not a network camera such as “CM21” in FIG. If it is determined that the network camera is connected, the image recording apparatus 7 (specifically, the control unit 11) controls the power supply unit 10 via the communication unit 9 in “S302” in FIG. To supply power to the connected network camera.

  At this time, the network camera acquires an IP address from the DHCP server 8 and sets the acquired IP address in the network camera.

  For example, as shown by “RQ31” in FIG. 4, the network camera 1 requests the DHCP server 8 to obtain an IP address via the image recording device 7 and the network 101, and the IP as shown by “AQ31” in FIG. Get the address.

  Then, in “S303” in FIG. 3, the image recording device 7 (specifically, the control means 11) obtains the MAC address (Media Access Control Address) of the network camera and the port number to which the network camera is connected. get.

  For example, information such as the MAC address is acquired from the network camera 1 connected to the communication unit 9 as indicated by “SD31” in FIG.

  Finally, in “S304” in FIG. 3, the image recording apparatus 7 (specifically, the control unit 11) stores the port number and MAC address together with the IP address acquired from the DHCP server 8 by the network camera 12 Manage by storing and storing in

  In “S401” in FIG. 5, the network camera (for example, the operation will be described below focusing on the network camera 1) captures an image of the installed monitoring place.

  Further, in “S402” in FIG. 5, the network camera 1 determines whether there is a request for image data from the image recording apparatus 7 or another network device of the computer 6, and if it is determined that there is a request for image data In step S403 in FIG. 5, the network camera 1 appropriately performs image processing such as compressing image data, and then transmits the image data to the requested network device such as the network 101, the image recording device 7, and the like. To deliver through.

  In “S501” in FIG. 6, the image recording device 7 (specifically, the control unit 11) requests image data from the network camera 1 directly connected to the communication unit 9, and in “S502” in FIG. Wait until data is received.

  When it is determined that the image data is received in “S502” in FIG. 6, the image recording apparatus 7 supplies the power of the storage unit 12 (hard disk or the like) in “S503” in FIG. And the image data received in “S504” in FIG. 6 is stored in the storage means 12 and saved.

  Then, in “S505” in FIG. 6, the image recording apparatus 7 stops supplying power to the storage unit 12 (hard disk or the like) and stops the storage unit 12 (hard disk or the like).

  For example, as shown by “SD 31” in FIG. 4, when the image recording apparatus 7 receives image data from the network camera 1 directly connected to the communication means 9, the image recording apparatus 7 operates the storage means 12 (hard disk or the like). The received image data is stored and stored in the storage means 12 (hard disk or the like), and then the storage means 12 (hard disk or the like) is stopped.

  Specifically, the control unit 11 controls the power supply control unit 16 to control the supply of power to the storage unit 12 (hard disk or the like), and operates or stops the storage unit 12 (hard disk or the like).

  On the other hand, in “S601” in FIG. 7, the computer 6 determines whether or not to acquire image data directly from the network camera 1, and if it is determined to acquire image data directly from the network camera 1, FIG. In the middle “S602”, the computer 6 requests image data from the network camera 1 via the network 101 and the image recording apparatus 7, and waits until the image data is received in “S603” in FIG.

  If it is determined in “S601” in FIG. 7 that the image data is not directly acquired from the network camera 1, the computer 6 sends an image to the image recording apparatus 7 via the network 101 in “S604” in FIG. While requesting data, the computer 6 waits until image data is received in “S603” in FIG.

  When it is determined in “S603” in FIG. 7 that image data has been received from the network camera 1 or the image recording device 7, the computer 6 displays the received image data on the display means in “S605” in FIG. Display.

  For example, when image data is received from the network camera 1 or the image recording device 7 via the network 101 as indicated by “SD41” in FIG. 8, the computer 6 displays the received image data on the display means. .

  As a result, a network camera is installed at each monitoring location and directly connected to the image recording device 7, and the image recording device 7 stores and saves image information and the like, and the computer 6 as an image display device acquires image data directly from the network camera. Alternatively, by acquiring and displaying the image data stored from the image recording device 7, a hub is not necessary, so that a monitoring system can be easily constructed. In addition, since power is supplied to the network camera from the image recording device 7 and the IP address is set by the image recording device 7, the system can be constructed more easily.

  Furthermore, since the power supply of the storage means 12 such as the hard disk of the image recording apparatus 7 is performed only when storage and storage are necessary, the power consumption is reduced, the life of the storage means 12 such as the hard disk is prolonged, and the reliability is improved. To do.

  In addition, a program and setting information writing process for the image recording apparatus 7 will be described. In “S701” in FIG. 9, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the execution of the writing process is instructed by the operation of the switch unit 14, and if it is determined that the execution of the writing process is instructed, FIG. In middle “S 702”, the control unit 11 determines whether or not an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection unit 13.

  If it is determined that the external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means 13, the control means 11 is connected to the external storage medium connection means 13 in “S 703” in FIG. 9. The information is read out and written sequentially into the storage means 15 such as a flash memory.

  Then, in “S704” in FIG. 9, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the writing process from the external storage medium to the storage unit 15 is completed, and if it is determined that the writing process is not completed, FIG. Returning to the step “S703”, if it is determined that the writing process has been completed, the process returns to the step “S701” in FIG.

  On the other hand, in “S801” in FIG. 10, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the execution of the reading process is instructed by the operation of the switch unit 14, and if it is determined that the execution of the reading process is instructed, In “S802” in FIG. 10, the control unit 11 determines whether or not an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection unit 13.

  If it is determined that the external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means 13, the control means 11 reads the information in the storage means 15 in "S803" in FIG. Are sequentially written in the external storage medium connected to the.

  Then, in “S804” in FIG. 10, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the reading process from the storage unit 15 to the external storage medium is completed, and if it is determined that the reading process is not completed, FIG. Returning to the middle “S803” step, if it is determined that the reading process is completed, the process returns to the “S801” step in FIG.

  As a result, when the control unit 11 is instructed to perform the read process or the read process by operating the switch unit 13, the control unit 11 reads the information in the external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection unit 14. A program for a network device without being connected to the network 101 by sequentially writing to the storage means 15 or reading information from the storage means 15 and sequentially writing it into an external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection means 10 Change / read, setting change / read, etc. are possible, improving maintainability.

  Note that an ID device such as a dip switch or a rotary switch may be added to the image recording layer device 7 so that it can be referred to via the network 101. In this case, the device (image recording apparatus) can be recognized at the application level.

  As a network system that can use the image recording apparatus 7 of the present invention, not only a monitoring system using a network camera but also various types of information such as image information, audio information, measurement information, and observation information are distributed over the network. The present invention can be applied to a network system using network equipment.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is described that the execution of the writing process or the execution of the reading process is instructed by the operation of the switch means 14, but a command (specific key operation) or the like is input from the switch means. Even if an execution instruction is given, a “write process switch” or a “read process switch” may be simply provided as the switch means 14 and the execution instruction may be given by pressing the switch.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the external storage medium connecting means 13 describes that information is written to and read from an external storage medium such as a USB memory. However, as an external storage medium capable of writing and reading information, May be not only a USB memory but also a memory card (such as an SD (Secure Digital) card or a CF (Compact Flash) card), a flexible disk, or a hard disk.

1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of a monitoring system according to the present invention. It is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of an image recording apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an image recording device. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of a network camera. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an image recording device. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of image information etc. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of a computer. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of image information etc. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an image recording device. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an image recording device. It is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional monitoring system. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of a network camera. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an image recording device. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of image information etc. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of a computer. It is explanatory drawing explaining the flow of image information etc.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3 Network camera 4 Hub 5, 7 Image recording device 6 Computer 8 DHCP server 9 Communication means 10 Power supply means 11 Control means 12, 15 Storage means 13 External storage medium connection means 14 Switch means 16 Power supply control means 100, 101 network

Claims (8)

In a surveillance system using a network camera that distributes captured image information over a network,
A network camera that distributes image information that is set up at the surveillance location and is taken over the network;
A computer which is an image display device for displaying the image information;
A DHCP server;
The network camera is directly connected and the image information is stored and saved, and when the image information is requested from the computer via the network, the image information is transmitted directly from the network camera, or saved. A monitoring system comprising: an image recording apparatus that transmits the image information. The image recording apparatus is
A communication unit that is directly connected to the network camera and performs communication via the network;
Storage means for storing and storing the image information;
The entire image recording apparatus is controlled, and when the image information is requested from the computer via the network, the image information is directly transmitted from the network camera, or the image stored in the storage means 2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising control means for transmitting information. The image recording apparatus is
The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising power supply means for supplying power to the network camera directly connected to the communication means. The image recording apparatus is
When the network camera is connected to the communication means, the MAC address and port number of the network camera are acquired, and the port number and MAC address are combined with the IP address acquired by the network camera from the DHCP server. 3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring system is stored and saved in said means. The image recording apparatus is
3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising power control means for supplying power when storage and storage in the storage means is necessary. The image recording apparatus is
Second storage means for storing a program;
An external storage medium connection means for writing and reading information to and from the connected external storage medium;
Switch means for instructing execution of processing,
Determining whether or not an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means when it is determined that execution of a writing process is instructed by an operation of the switch means;
When it is determined that an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means, information in the external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection means is read and sequentially written to the second storage means The recording apparatus according to claim 2. The image recording apparatus is
Second storage means for storing a program;
An external storage medium connection means for writing and reading information to and from the connected external storage medium;
Switch means for instructing execution of processing,
Determining whether or not an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means when an instruction to execute a read process is given by operating the switch means;
When it is determined that an external storage medium is connected to the external storage medium connection means, the information of the second storage means is read and sequentially written into the external storage medium connected to the external storage medium connection means The recording apparatus according to claim 2. The image recording apparatus is
An ID device,
The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recording apparatus is in a state where it can be referred to via the network.

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