JP2007036787A - Network monitoring camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network monitoring camera system with reduced load for movement detection processing. <P>SOLUTION: A network camera 11 is equipped with a thumbnail generation part 103b which generates a thumbnail, by generating a reduced image from a main image and then compressing it and a thumbnail addition part 103c, which adds the thumbnail to compressed data of the main image, and a monitor terminal 13, is equipped with a separation part 204a which separates the thumbnail and compressed data from received data, a thumbnail expansion part 204b which expands the thumbnail; a movement detection part 204c which performs movement detection by comparing a frame of the reduced image and outputs a trigger signal, when a movement is detected; an MJPEG expansion part 204d which expands the compressed data into the main image, only when the trigger signal arrives; and a display I/F part 205 which displays the reduced image when no movement is detected and displays the main image, when movement is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a network monitoring camera system, and more particularly to a network monitoring camera system that compresses image data of a network camera for each frame and transmits it over a network and decompresses and displays the compressed data at a monitoring terminal that has received the compressed data.

  In a surveillance camera system comprising at least one surveillance camera and a surveillance terminal equipped with a recording unit, the imaging data recording method is switched from intermittent recording to continuous recording by detecting the movement of an intruder or the like. In addition, a monitoring camera system that can monitor an abnormality to be monitored in detail by switching the data compression rate of imaging data from a high compression rate to a low compression rate is generally known (for example, patents). (Ref. 1 and 2).

  In such a conventional surveillance camera system, as a method for detecting the motion of the subject of the surveillance camera, a method using a motion detection sensor or a method for detecting a motion in an image captured by the surveillance camera is representative. is there.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of networks, it is possible to connect one or more surveillance cameras and surveillance terminals via the network, and compress the image data captured by the surveillance cameras and transmit them to the surveillance terminals. A network surveillance camera system has also been used (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

More specifically, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707 provides sensor means such as a motion detection sensor for detecting the movement of the monitoring target on the camera side that outputs the compressed image data (for example, using the JPEG method). The alarm based on the motion detection of the means and the compressed data from the camera are transmitted to the monitoring device on the center side via the digital communication line, and the compression rate of the data compression processing is changed when the monitoring device receives the alarm A network surveillance camera system that controls the above is disclosed.
JP-A-6-165181 JP-A-11-18076 JP 2001-333416 A

  By the way, in a network surveillance camera system, it is common to install a necessary number of surveillance cameras according to the scale of surveillance sites and the degree of reliability of surveillance. Here, the drawback of providing a motion detection sensor on the monitoring camera side is the difficulty in installing the sensor as described in Patent Document 1. In addition, since it is necessary to support at least one surveillance camera for each sensor, the cost of equipment and installation is particularly high when the scale of the surveillance site is large or when high reliability of surveillance is required. Has the disadvantage of becoming.

  In addition, regarding a method for detecting motion in a video imaged by a monitoring camera, in order to execute a process for detecting motion in real time at the monitoring terminal for each of image data transmitted from a plurality of monitoring cameras to the monitoring terminal at the same time. It is necessary to have the processing capacity corresponding to it. In particular, the processing capability required for the monitoring terminal increases in proportion to the number of monitoring cameras that can simultaneously transmit. In addition, when the image data transmitted from the monitoring camera is compressed data, it is necessary to execute a data decompression process at the monitoring terminal to decode the monitoring image, so that the processing load is further increased.

  Here, the motion JPEG (hereinafter referred to as MJPEG) method is used as the data compression method, and the motion in the video expanded on the monitoring terminal side is detected to change the data compression frame rate on the monitoring camera side. An example of a possible network surveillance camera system will be shown to explain the conventional method more specifically. First, FIG. 5 shows an example of an overall configuration diagram of a conventional network monitoring camera system. As shown in the figure, the network monitoring camera system 5 has a configuration in which a network camera 51 and a monitoring terminal 53 are connected via a network 52, and a monitor 54 for displaying a monitoring video is connected to the monitoring terminal 53. It is what has. One or more network cameras 51 are connected to the network 52, but only one is shown in the figure.

  The network camera 51 is installed such that an optical system 501 including an imaging lens is directed in a direction in which a monitoring target (subject) can be imaged. Then, a light beam from the subject is imaged on the imaging unit 502 through the optical system 501 and subjected to photoelectric conversion, and is supplied to the MJPEG encoder unit 503 as, for example, Y / Cb / Cr color difference data for each frame.

  The MJPEG encoder unit 503 compresses the color difference data received for each frame at a data compression rate or a frame rate specified by the control unit 507 while using the memory unit 504 as a buffer. In 505, the data is formed into an IP (Internet Protocol) packet and output to the network 52 through the network I / F unit 506.

  Then, the compressed data IP packet output to the network 52 is received by the monitoring terminal 53. The monitoring terminal 53 includes at least a network I / F unit (not shown), an MJPEG decoder unit, and a motion detection unit. First, the network I / F unit extracts the compressed data from the IP packet of the incoming compressed data and supplies it to the MJPEG decoder unit. The MJPEG decoder unit decompresses the supplied compressed data and supplies the decompressed data to the motion detection unit, and the motion detection unit executes a motion detection process based on comparison between adjacent frames of luminance components.

  When a motion is detected by the motion detector, the monitoring terminal 53 transmits an instruction command for increasing the data compression frame rate to the corresponding monitoring camera 51 in an IP packet. The monitoring camera 51 receives the IP packet of the instruction command from the monitoring terminal 53, extracts the instruction command, and supplies the instruction command to the control unit 507. Next, the control unit 507 that has received the instruction command instructs the MJPEG encoder unit 503 to change the frame rate.

  By the way, the monitoring terminal 53 can be configured by a general personal computer (hereinafter, PC). In this general PC, the MJPEG compressed data is simultaneously decoded at 30 fps (frame per second) of VGA (640 × 480 pixels) size and the number of compressed data that can be subjected to motion detection processing is determined by the CPU (Central Processing). It is at most about 3 to 4 depending on the limit of the processing capacity of (Unit).

  Therefore, when the monitoring terminal 53 is configured by a general PC and the number of monitoring cameras 51 installed at the monitoring site exceeds 3 to 4, the monitoring terminal 53 compresses the compressed data to a VGA size of 30 fps. Since the number of surveillance cameras that can decode and detect motion at the same time is limited to 3-4 cameras, even if there is motion in the subject, such as when there is an intruder at the surveillance site, There is a problem that the surveillance video may not be captured at a VGA size of 30 fps, that is, a full frame.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is not necessary to use external sensor means such as a motion detection sensor as means for detecting the motion of a subject, and motion detection processing of decoded video of compressed data is conventionally performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a network surveillance camera system that can easily execute the data load at the same time to easily increase the number of compressed data that can be motion-detected.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
One or more network cameras (11) that digitally process the captured data for each frame and sequentially output the compressed frame data to the network (12), and the output compressed frame data are sequentially input and decompressed. In a network surveillance camera system (1) comprising a monitoring terminal (13) for displaying an expanded video on a monitor (14),
The network camera
Reduction filter means (105) for reducing the imaging data for each frame and sequentially generating reduced images;
Thumbnail generation means (103b) for sequentially generating thumbnails by compressing the generated reduced image;
Thumbnail addition means (103c) for associating and adding the generated thumbnail to the compressed frame data;
Network output means (106, 107) for sequentially outputting the compressed frame data to which the thumbnail is added to the network;
The monitoring terminal is
Network receiving means (201, 202) for sequentially receiving compressed frame data to which the thumbnails are added via the network;
Separating means (204a) for separating the thumbnail and the compressed frame data from the received data;
Thumbnail expansion means (204b) for expanding the separated thumbnail into a reduced image;
Motion detection means (204c) for performing motion detection by frame comparison of the decompressed at least two reduced images and outputting a trigger signal when motion is detected;
Frame decompression means (204d) for decompressing the compressed frame data separated by the separation means into a frame image only when the trigger signal is received;
When no motion is detected by the motion detection means, the reduced image expanded by the thumbnail expansion means is displayed on the monitor, and when the motion is detected, the frame image expanded by the frame expansion means is displayed on the monitor. Display I / F means (205) for
The network surveillance camera system characterized by comprising each of the above.

  According to the present invention, the network camera compresses the reduced image generated from each frame of the imaging data to generate a thumbnail, and associates the compressed frame data with the thumbnail for network transmission. Only the thumbnails obtained by reception are decompressed and displayed on the monitor as a monitoring video while detecting motion, and the compressed frame data associated with the motion is detected and displayed only when motion is detected. With this configuration, the processing load on the monitoring terminal can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, and it is possible to exhibit a motion detection capability that is higher than the conventional one. Therefore, the number of connected network cameras that can be monitored simultaneously can be easily expanded more than before.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration block diagram of a network monitoring camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration block diagram of a monitoring terminal in the network monitoring camera system.

  First, according to the system configuration block diagram of FIG. 1, the network monitoring camera system 1 includes a network camera 11 and a monitoring terminal 13 connected to each other via a network 12. The monitoring terminal 13 displays a monitoring image. The monitor 14 is connected. Note that one or more network cameras 11 are connected to the network 12, but only one is shown in the figure.

  The network camera 11 is installed such that the optical system 101 including the imaging lens is directed in a direction in which a monitoring target (subject) can be imaged. Then, the light flux from the subject is imaged on the imaging unit 102 through the optical system 101 and subjected to photoelectric conversion, formatted into Y / Cb / Cr color difference data for each frame, and supplied to the MJPEG encoder unit 103.

  The MJPEG encoder unit 103 includes an MJPEG compression unit 103a, a thumbnail generation unit 103b, and a thumbnail addition unit 103c. Among them, the MJPEG compression unit 103 a stores the color difference data for each frame supplied from the imaging unit 102 in the memory unit 104, and stores one frame based on the data compression rate, the frame rate, and the image size specified by the control unit 108. It has a function of JPEG compression for each (main image).

  In this embodiment, the image size of the main image is VGA size and the frame rate is 30 fps.

  At the same time as the JPEG compression processing of the color difference data in the MJPEG compression unit 103a, the thumbnail generation unit 103b reads out the color difference data for one frame stored in the memory unit 104, supplies it to the reduction filter unit 105, and 1/4 to 1 A reduction image is generated at a reduction rate designated by the control unit 108 among the reduction rates of / 16, and a thumbnail is generated by executing JPEG compression processing of the reduced image.

  For example, when a VGA-sized main image is reduced at a reduction ratio of 1/4, a reduced image of QQVGA (160 × 120 pixels) size is generated and JPEG compression processing is executed.

  The thumbnail adding unit 103c has a function of sequentially adding thumbnails corresponding to JPEG data as the main image in accordance with the frame rate specified by the control unit 108. Specifically, a process of embedding a corresponding thumbnail in the JPEG header portion of the JPEG data of the main image is executed.

  The JPEG data after thumbnail addition (JPEG data with thumbnail) sequentially output from the thumbnail adding unit 103 c is composed of IP packets by the network control unit 106 and output to the network 12 through the network I / F unit 107.

  Then, the IP packet of the JPEG data with thumbnail output to the network 12 is received by the monitoring terminal 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring terminal 13 receives the IP packet of JPEG data with thumbnails at the network I / F unit 201 and then extracts the JPEG data with thumbnails at the network control unit 202. The extracted JPEG data with thumbnail is recorded in the recording unit 203 and supplied to the MJPEG decoder unit 204.

  The recording unit 203 records JPEG data with thumbnails extracted by the network control unit 106, and also includes the entire monitoring terminal 13, particularly the network control unit 202, the MJPEG decoder unit 204, and a display I / F unit 205 described later. It is a recording means in which control software for control is recorded, and a recording medium of a gigabyte class or higher such as a hard disk or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) is used.

  The MJPEG decoder unit 204 includes a separation unit 204a, a thumbnail expansion unit 204b, a motion detection unit 204c, and an MJPEG expansion unit 204d. Among them, the separation unit 204a has a function of separating JPEG data with thumbnails sequentially supplied from the network control unit 202 into thumbnails and JPEG data of the main image.

  The thumbnails separated by the separation unit 204a are sequentially supplied to the thumbnail decompression unit 204b, and decompression processing by the JPEG method is executed to decode the reduced image. For example, when a reduced image of QQVGA size is generated by the reduction filter unit 105 of the network camera 11, the reduced image decoded by the thumbnail expansion unit 204b of the monitoring terminal 13 also has the QQVGA size.

  The reduced images decoded by the thumbnail expansion unit 204b are sequentially supplied to the motion detection unit 204c. The motion detection unit 204 c calculates the difference in data from the adjacent frame before or after the supplied reduced image and supplies the reduced image itself to the display I / F unit 205.

  Regarding the calculation of the data difference between adjacent frames, specifically, the difference between the average values of the luminance data in units of subdivided blocks (for example, 16 × 16 pixels) of each frame between the adjacent frames is calculated. If there are more blocks than the threshold that the difference value has in advance, it is determined that “motion has been detected”, and if the difference value is less than or equal to the threshold, When the number of large blocks is less than or equal to the predetermined number, it is determined that “no motion is detected”.

  At this time, the motion detector 204c outputs a trigger signal to the MJPEG decompressor 204d only when motion is detected.

  The motion detection method in the motion detection unit 204c is not limited to the above method, and may be processed by a known motion detection method.

  The JPEG data of the main image separated and output by the separation unit 204a is sequentially supplied to the MJPEG decompression unit 204d. The MJPEG decompression unit 204d executes decompression processing on the sequentially supplied main image JPEG data only when a trigger signal is input from the motion detection unit 204c, and outputs the decoded main image to the display I / F unit 205. Is done.

  The display I / F unit 205 normally operates to output the decoded reduced image supplied from the motion detection unit 204c to the monitor 14, and the decoded main image is supplied from the MJPEG expansion unit 204d. When it is done, it operates so that the decoded main image is output to the monitor 14 instead of the reduced image.

  For example, even when all the luminance components are compared between temporally frames of a VGA size image, the motion detection process in the video is performed between frames of a reduced image obtained by reducing the image size to 1/4 to 1/16 size. Even when the comparison is made, there is no significant difference in the performance of motion detection.

  In addition, since the processing load for JPEG data expansion processing increases in proportion to the increase in image size, the load for the expansion processing of the monitoring terminal 13 is about 1/4 when the image data amount becomes 1/4 of the conventional one. To be reduced.

  The embodiment according to the present invention is configured by paying attention to this point. That is, as described above, for example, the network camera 11 generates a thumbnail by JPEG compression of a QQVGA size reduced image (1/4 size) generated from a VGA size main image, and the JPEG data and thumbnail of the main image. The monitoring terminal 13 normally displays only the received thumbnails on the monitor 14 as the monitoring video while detecting the motion while decompressing the data, and is associated only when the motion is detected. By controlling to expand and display the JPEG image of the main image, the processing load on the monitoring terminal 13 can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional case.

  In particular, in the past, a VGA-size monitoring video image that was MJPEG compressed at 30 fps was able to detect only about 3 to 4 motions at the same time. However, according to the present embodiment, the motion detection capability is about 4 to 16 times that of the conventional video. It becomes possible.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, FIG. 3 shows an example of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the network camera 11 in the network monitoring camera system 1. The network camera 11 is initialized by the control unit 108 when the power is turned on (step S301). This initialization process includes setting of the main image size, data compression rate, frame rate, and reduction rate for the MJPEG encoder unit 103.

  Each setting value used for the initialization process may be network-controlled by the monitoring terminal 13.

  When the initialization process is completed and imaging is started, the imaging unit 102 photoelectrically converts the light beam incident via the optical system 101 and converts the format into Y / Cb / Cr color difference data for each frame. Output (step S302).

  Then, the MJPEG compression unit 103a to which the color difference data of one frame is supplied stores the color difference data in the memory unit 104 and performs JPEG based on the main image size, the data compression rate, and the frame rate set by the control unit 108. Data compression processing by the method is executed. At the same time, the thumbnail generation unit 103 b reads out the color difference data for one frame stored in the memory unit 104 and supplies it to the reduction filter unit 105, and generates a reduced image at a reduction rate set by the control unit 108. Then, the thumbnail generation unit 103b generates a thumbnail by JPEG compression of the reduced image (step S303).

  Next, the thumbnail adding unit 103c associates the JPEG data of the main image supplied from the MJPEG compression unit 103a with the thumbnail generated by the thumbnail generation unit 103b (step S304). Specifically, a thumbnail is inserted into the JPEG header portion of the JPEG data of the main image.

  The JPEG data and thumbnails of the main image associated with the thumbnail adding unit 103c, that is, the JPEG data with thumbnails are converted into IP packets by the network control unit 106 (step S305), and then output to the network 12 through the network I / F unit 107. (Step S306).

  And each process of step S302-S306 is continued until a series of imaging is complete | finished (step S307).

  Next, FIG. 4 shows an example of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the monitoring terminal 13 in the network monitoring camera system 1. When the power is turned on, the monitoring terminal 13 is initialized by a control unit (not shown) (step S401). This initialization processing includes, in particular, initialization processing of the network control unit 202, the MJPEG decoder unit 204, and the display I / F unit 205, and sets the IP packet transmitted from the network camera 11 to be receivable. To do.

  After the initialization process is completed, the monitoring terminal 13 waits for reception of an IP packet of JPEG data with thumbnails transmitted from the network camera 11 (step S402). When the monitoring terminal 13 receives the IP packet of JPEG data with thumbnails by the network I / F unit 201, the network control unit 202 extracts the JPEG data with thumbnails from the IP packets (step S403) and records it in the recording unit 203 (step S403). It is supplied to the separation unit 204a together with step S404).

  The separation unit 204a separates the JPEG data of the main image and the thumbnail associated therewith from the supplied JPEG data with thumbnail (step S405).

  The thumbnails separated and output by the separation unit 204a are decompressed in the JPEG format by the thumbnail decompression unit 204b (step S406), and then the motion detection processing by comparison between frames before or after in time is performed by the motion detection unit 204c. It is executed (step S407).

  If no motion is detected by the motion detection unit 204c, the reduced image decoded by the thumbnail expansion unit 204b is supplied to the display I / F unit 205, and is output and displayed on the monitor 14 (step S409).

  On the other hand, when motion is detected by the motion detector 204c, the motion detector 204c outputs a trigger signal to the MJPEG decompressor 204d. Then, the MJPEG decompression unit 204d starts decompression processing on the JPEG data of the main image separated and output by the separation unit 204a based on the incoming trigger signal (step S410).

  The main image decoded by the MJPEG decompression unit 204d is supplied to the display I / F unit 205, switched from the reduced image displayed in step S409, and output to the monitor 14 (step S411).

  The display of the main image in step S411 may be a pop-up display in addition to the switching display from the reduced image display.

  Then, the display process on the monitor 14 via the display I / F unit 205 is continuously executed until the reception of the IP packet is completed (step S412).

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the network camera 11 generates a thumbnail by JPEG compression of a QQVGA size reduced image (1/4 size) generated from a VGA size main image, for example, Then, it is transmitted over the network as JPEG data with thumbnails in which the JPEG data of the main image is associated with the thumbnails. The monitoring terminal 13 normally displays only the received thumbnails on the monitor 14 as a monitoring video while performing JPEG decompression and motion detection, and the associated JPEG image of the main image is only detected when motion detection is performed. Control to expand and display.

  As a result, the processing load on the monitoring terminal 13 can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Specifically, in the past, monitoring video of VGA size that was MJPEG-compressed at 30 fps could only detect about 3 to 4 at the same time. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to exhibit a motion detection capability of about 4 to 16 times that of the conventional art. Therefore, the number of connected network cameras 11 that can be monitored simultaneously can be expanded to about 4 to 16 times as much as the prior art below the bandwidth limit of the network 12.

  In the present embodiment, the generation of the reduced image from the main image in the reduction filter unit 105 has been described as a process of reducing the entire one screen to ¼ to 1/16. Instead of the reduction process, a desired screen area to be monitored may be cut out and a thumbnail may be generated by JPEG compression of only that area.

  Further, in order to further reduce the processing load on the monitoring terminal 13, the reduced image may be directly used as a thumbnail without JPEG compression.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the MJPEG method has been described as an example of the main image compression method. However, the present invention is not limited to this compression method, and the inventive idea of the present invention is not limited to this compression method, and other methods that perform data compression in units of frames. It can be achieved.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a network monitoring camera system in which imaging data of a monitoring camera is compressed by the MJPEG method and transmitted over a network, and the compressed data is decompressed and displayed by a monitoring terminal that has received the compressed data.

It is a system configuration block diagram of a network surveillance camera system which is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of a monitoring terminal in a network monitoring camera system that is an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the network camera in the network surveillance camera system which is embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the monitoring terminal in the network monitoring camera system which is embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the whole block diagram of the conventional network surveillance camera system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network surveillance camera system 11 Network camera 12 Network 13 Monitoring terminal 14 Monitor 101 Optical system 102 Imaging part 103 MJPEG encoder part 103a MJPEG compression part 103b Thumbnail generation part 103c Thumbnail addition part 104 Memory part 105 Reduction filter part 106,202 Network control part 107, 201 Network I / F unit 108 Control unit 203 Recording unit 204 MJPEG decoder unit 204a Separating unit 204b Thumbnail decompression unit 204c Motion detection unit 204d MJPEG decompression unit 205 Display I / F unit

Claims (1)

One or more network cameras that digitally compress the captured data frame by frame and output the compressed frame data to the network in sequence, and display the decompressed video that has been expanded by sequentially inputting the output compressed frame data A network monitoring camera system comprising:
The network camera
Reduction filter means for reducing the imaging data for each frame and sequentially generating reduced images;
Thumbnail generation means for sequentially generating thumbnails by compressing the generated reduced image;
Thumbnail addition means for associating and adding the generated thumbnail to the compressed frame data;
Network output means for sequentially outputting the compressed frame data to which the thumbnail is added to the network;
The monitoring terminal is
Network receiving means for sequentially receiving the compressed frame data to which the thumbnails are added via the network;
Separating means for separating the thumbnail and the compressed frame data from the received data;
Thumbnail decompression means for decompressing the separated thumbnail reduced image;
Motion detection means for performing motion detection by frame comparison of the decompressed at least two reduced images and outputting a trigger signal when motion is detected;
Frame decompression means for decompressing the compressed frame data separated by the separation means into a frame image only when the trigger signal is received;
When no motion is detected by the motion detection means, the reduced image expanded by the thumbnail expansion means is displayed on the monitor, and when the motion is detected, the frame image expanded by the frame expansion means is displayed on the monitor. Display I / F means,
A network surveillance camera system comprising:

Images