JP2007072644A - Method for monitoring camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To pick up a detail video before and after the generation of such an abnormality as equipment destruction by an intruder. <P>SOLUTION: This method for monitoring a camera includes a process for configuring a monitor camera system where monitor cameras 100 and 101 are connected through a network to each other; a camera retrieving process for making one or a plurality of the monitor cameras retrieve a peripheral monitor camera; a network communication process for communicating with a peripheral monitor camera found out by the camera retrieval process by the monitor camera by communication equipment; and a data storage process for recording a moving image or a static image in a data storage device in the monitor camera when it is impossible to retrieve the monitor camera in the camera retrieval process. When the generation of the abnormality is detected by the monitor camera, the neighboring monitor camera is retrieved, and the moving image photographed by the found monitor camera is transmitted to an external network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera monitoring method for capturing images of an abnormality occurrence site continuously and in a timely manner and transmitting them to an external network when an abnormality occurs due to a suspicious person invading a building or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are surveillance camera systems that connect a plurality of surveillance cameras to a network and capture individual images.

  At the site where this surveillance camera system operates, a suspicious person intrudes (hereinafter referred to as an intruder), and in some cases, the intruder notices the presence of the surveillance camera and destroys the surveillance camera because of fear of the outflow of the video. Or a situation such as disconnecting a LAN (Local Area Network) cable for video communication connected to the surveillance camera may occur.

Therefore, in the past, while adopting a method of recording the video captured by the surveillance camera on the storage medium built in the surveillance camera, the captured video is transmitted to a plurality of surveillance cameras connected to the same network, and the memory built into the surveillance camera is stored. By storing it in a medium, even if one surveillance camera is destroyed, it is possible to obtain the video image of the destroyed surveillance camera from the storage medium built in the other surveillance camera ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-317172 A

  Surveillance camera systems are required to capture detailed images before and after the occurrence of an abnormality only when an abnormality such as equipment destruction by an intruder occurs.

  However, in the conventional technology, there is an insufficient response when such an abnormality occurs. For example, immediately after the intruder intrudes, the connection to the external network connected to the access point is disconnected, so that the connection to the external network is blocked, or the intruder takes all surveillance cameras, or If an intruder destroys all the surveillance cameras and the storage medium is destroyed to the extent that it cannot be recovered due to the impact, an important video cannot be obtained.

  Furthermore, when an abnormality such as destruction of a certain monitoring camera occurs, the other monitoring cameras cannot detect the abnormality, and an important image cannot be captured in more detail.

  Furthermore, when an abnormality occurs such as the monitoring object being taken out by the surveillance camera, and when the surveillance camera cannot detect the intruder, the surveillance camera cannot detect the abnormality.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera monitoring method capable of capturing detailed images before and after the occurrence of an abnormality when an abnormality such as equipment destruction by an intruder occurs.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a camera monitoring method according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an image capturing device that captures a moving image or a still image, a communication device that communicates with an external device, and storage of captured data. A plurality of monitoring cameras each including a data storage device configured to form a monitoring camera system connected to each other via a network; a camera searching step in which one or a plurality of the monitoring cameras search for surrounding monitoring cameras; and A network communication process in which the monitoring camera communicates with the surrounding monitoring camera discovered by the camera searching process by the communication device, and when the monitoring camera cannot be searched in the camera searching process, a moving image or a still image is displayed as the monitoring camera. And a data storage step for recording in the data storage device inside.

  The camera monitoring method according to claim 2 is the camera monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring camera further includes an impact detection unit that detects an external impact on the monitoring camera, and When an impact is detected by the impact detection means, the network communication step communicates a moving image and a still image captured by the monitoring camera that has detected the impact to the surrounding monitoring cameras searched by the camera search step.

  The camera monitoring method according to claim 3 is the camera monitoring method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication device includes a wired communication device and a wireless communication device, and a plurality of devices are connected by the wired communication device. In the network communication process in which the monitoring cameras communicate with each other, when a situation where communication cannot be performed due to some abnormality occurs, the network communication process is performed using the wireless communication device instead of the wired communication device.

  The camera monitoring method according to claim 4 is the camera monitoring method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when an abnormality occurs, such as when the impact detection unit detects an impact on the monitoring camera, the abnormality is detected. The surrounding surveillance cameras capture the generated video around the surveillance camera, and the surveillance cameras capture the location data and information including moving images or still images through the network communication process.

  The camera monitoring method according to claim 5 is the camera monitoring method according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the monitoring camera is a person such as an intruder by a human detection device that detects the presence of a human being. When the person is detected by the human means, the monitoring camera and the surrounding monitoring cameras receive position data and information including moving images or still images by the network communication process. Take images while communicating.

  The camera monitoring method according to claim 6 is the camera monitoring method according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein an abnormality occurrence notification is sent from the monitoring object monitored by the monitoring camera. The monitoring camera includes a monitoring object abnormality receiving step received by the communication device, and when a certain abnormality occurs in the monitoring object, the monitoring camera receives an abnormality occurrence transmission from the monitoring object.

  The camera monitoring method according to claim 7 is the camera monitoring method according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein a moving image is communicated between the monitoring camera and the surrounding monitoring cameras. Alternatively, the still image includes image data before the occurrence of abnormality in the image data recorded by the data storage step and image data that the monitoring camera in which the abnormality has occurred continues to be captured at that time.

  According to the camera monitoring method of the first aspect of the present invention, a camera searching step in which one or a plurality of monitoring cameras search for a surrounding monitoring camera, and a surrounding monitoring camera discovered by the monitoring camera in the camera searching step; Network communication process that communicates with a communication device, so even when an abnormality occurs, such as when an intruder disconnects the path to the external network, a moving image or still image before and after the occurrence of the abnormality is linked with a nearby monitoring camera. Data can be communicated to an external network, and a desired video can be prevented from being lost, and a video when an abnormality occurs can be acquired in real time. If the search fails in the camera search process, moving image or still image data can be stored in the data storage device of the surveillance camera by the data storage process.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the surveillance camera further includes impact detection means for detecting an external impact on the surveillance camera, and the impact detection means detects the impact by a network communication process when the impact detection means detects the impact. The video and still images captured by the camera are communicated to the surrounding surveillance cameras searched in the camera search process, so even if the surveillance camera is destroyed, the video or still image data captured by the surveillance camera is monitored in the surroundings. The camera can communicate with an external network.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the communication device includes a wired communication device and a wireless communication device. In a network communication process in which a plurality of surveillance cameras communicate with each other by the wired communication device, when a situation in which communication cannot be performed due to some abnormality occurs, Since the network communication process is performed using a wireless communication device instead of a communication device, communication is normally performed using a wired communication device, and communication is performed using a wireless communication device when the wired communication device cannot communicate due to an abnormality. Can do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when any abnormality occurs, such as detecting an impact on the surveillance camera by the impact detection means, the surrounding surveillance cameras take images around the surveillance camera where the abnormality has occurred, and the surveillance cameras communicate with each other in the network communication process. Because it captures images while communicating position data and information including moving images or still images, surveillance cameras communicate with each other when an intruder destroys a surveillance camera or disconnects an external network line. By cooperating with each other, it is possible to capture an image while covering the entire area.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the monitoring camera further includes human detection means for detecting a person such as an intruder by a human detection device that detects the presence of a human, and when the human detection means detects the person, Because the surveillance camera captures the location data and information including moving images or still images through the network communication process, it detects the presence of the intruder and communicates the location of the intruder as coordinate information to cooperate. This makes it possible to capture a more detailed image of the intruder.

  In claim 6, a monitoring object abnormality receiving step of receiving an abnormality occurrence notification from the monitoring object monitored by the monitoring camera by the communication device, and when any abnormality occurs in the monitoring object, the monitoring object Because the monitoring camera receives the abnormal transmission from the object, the monitoring camera receives the abnormal transmission from the monitoring object by the cooperation of the monitoring object and the monitoring camera, and transmits a detailed captured image together with the abnormality notification to the external network It becomes possible.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the moving image or the still image communicated between the monitoring camera and the surrounding monitoring cameras includes the image data before the occurrence of the abnormality in the image data recorded by the data storage process, and the monitoring camera in which the abnormality has occurred. Since it consists of image data that is continuously captured at that time, the data to be transmitted to the surrounding surveillance cameras includes images before and after the occurrence of the abnormality, and the blank time before and after the occurrence of the abnormality can be made almost zero. It is possible to obtain continuous and timely moving image data before and after the occurrence of an abnormality.

  As described above, according to the camera monitoring method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain information when an abnormality by an intruder occurs without being lost, and at the same time, it is possible to capture and obtain a more detailed image of the intruder, It becomes possible to improve security.

Hereinafter, a camera monitoring method showing an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a surveillance camera system and peripheral devices according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring camera 100 is connected to an access point 120 via a connection line 110, and a moving image captured by the monitoring camera 100 passes through the communication line 130 via the access point 120 connected via the connection line 110. Passed and sent to a server terminal 140 such as a security company connected to an external network.

  The monitoring camera 100 can communicate with the neighboring monitoring camera 101, and a network can be constructed between the monitoring cameras. Although two monitoring cameras are assumed here, a plurality of monitoring cameras may be used. In addition, the monitoring camera 100 images the monitoring object 150 or images a range other than the specific monitoring object 150.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a monitoring camera configuration according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the surveillance camera includes an image capturing device 1001 that captures a moving image, a wired communication device 1002 that communicates with an access point to communicate with an external network or output moving image data, and a plurality of monitoring devices. When the wireless communication device 1003 that performs wireless communication with the camera, the impact detection device 1004 that detects an impact on the surveillance camera, the power supply line 1005 that supplies power to the surveillance camera, and the power supply from the outside are cut off The power storage device 1006 that stores power from the power supply line 1005 and the data storage device 1007 that stores the shooting data of the surveillance camera are provided.

  Here, after the monitoring camera 100 detects an abnormality, the wired communication device 1002 searches for a nearby monitoring camera. With respect to the monitoring camera 101 discovered by the search, the monitoring camera 100 communicates the captured moving image data to the monitoring camera 101 via the wired communication device 1002. The monitoring camera 101 passes the moving image data from the monitoring camera 100 through the communication line 130 via the access point 120 connected by the connection line 110 and transmits it to the server terminal 140 together with the abnormality notification. The moving image data may be still image data.

  When power supply from the power supply line 1005 is cut off, the monitoring camera operates as long as power is supplied from the power storage device 1006. Further, when the wired communication device 1002 cannot communicate due to some abnormality, it can communicate using the wireless communication device 1003.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the monitoring method by searching for a monitoring camera in the present embodiment described above.

  First, at the impact detection step S101, the monitoring camera 100 detects the occurrence of an impact. In this case, the impact detection device 1004 detects that an impact has been applied to the camera.

  Next, in the camera search step S102, a surveillance camera in the vicinity is searched. In this case, there are means such as transmitting a broadcast packet to each monitoring camera via the wired communication device 1002 or the wireless communication device 1003, and finding the monitoring camera when there is a response.

  As a result of the camera search step S102, the success or failure of the search is determined by the camera search determination S103, and when the search is successful (when the monitoring camera 101 can be found), the moving image data of the monitoring camera 100 is obtained by the network communication step S104. To the monitoring camera 101.

  The monitoring camera 101 communicates the transmitted moving image data to an external network. If the search fails in S103, the moving image data is continuously stored in the data storage device 1007 of the monitoring camera 100 in the data storage step S105.

As described above, according to the embodiment, even when the monitoring camera 100 is destroyed, the moving image data captured by the monitoring camera 100 can be communicated to the external network by the monitoring camera 101 and communicated to the server terminal 140.
(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing moving image data communicated when an abnormality occurs according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration method of moving image data 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Note that the configuration of the monitoring camera system and peripheral devices, and the configuration of the monitoring camera are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the first embodiment, respectively.

  Here, the recording method in the data storage step S105 of the first embodiment will be described. As long as no abnormality has occurred in the surveillance camera system, it is assumed that the video captured by the surveillance camera is continuously recorded in the data storage device 1007.

  In this case, since the data storage device 1007 is a finite storage area, when recording is performed up to the end of the storage area of the data storage device 1007, the recording is resumed by returning to the beginning of the storage area. According to the above method, past data will be overwritten, but since the video with the high degree of necessity is the video immediately before the occurrence of the abnormality, even if the video while there is no abnormality is overwritten, There shall be no major obstacles.

  In this embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, when any abnormality occurs in the monitoring camera 100, the moving image data is communicated to the neighboring monitoring camera 101. The moving image data to be communicated is stored in the data storage device. It consists of moving image data recorded in 1007 for several seconds or several minutes before the occurrence of an abnormality, and moving image data that is continuously imaged when the monitoring camera 100 has an abnormality.

  As described above, the moving image data 20 communicated when an abnormality occurs, the moving image data 200 before the occurrence of the abnormality recorded in the data storage device 1007 and the monitoring camera 100 are captured at that time, as shown in FIG. And moving image data 201 that continues. A represents data in one communication in communication units.

  Further, FIG. 5 shows a method for configuring the moving image data 200. In FIG. 5, the data storage device 1007 is a recordable area from point S to point E. Here, when an abnormality occurs at point D in FIG. 5, the data storage device 1007 is traced back at a preset time T, and data from the time T1 to point D is transmitted as a moving image 200. To do.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the data to be transmitted to the nearby monitoring camera 101 includes the images before and after the occurrence of the abnormality, and the blank time before and after the occurrence of the abnormality can be substantially zero. It is possible to obtain continuous and timely moving image data before and after the occurrence of an abnormality.
(Embodiment 3)
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing information communication between monitoring cameras according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of information T1 which is communicated between monitoring cameras according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 8 is a diagram showing a surveillance camera configuration in which the human sensitive device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention is mounted. Note that the configuration of the monitoring camera system and peripheral devices, and the configuration of the monitoring camera are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the first embodiment, respectively.

  In FIG. 6, when any abnormality occurs in the monitoring camera 100, the monitoring camera 100 communicates information T <b> 1 to the neighboring monitoring camera 101 or the monitoring camera 102 through the wireless communication device 1003.

  Here, FIG. 7 shows an example of the information T1 that communicates between the monitoring cameras. The information T1 includes information transmission camera information T1a that is an information transmission source, abnormality occurrence camera information T1b, coordinate information T1c that is an imaging range of the abnormality occurrence camera, and information of the monitoring camera that the information transmission camera information T1a captures. And an imaging range T1d.

  FIG. 7A shows information T <b> 1 (a) communicated from the monitoring camera 100 to the monitoring camera 101. Here, since the information transmission source is the monitoring camera 100, 100 is input to the information transmission camera information T1a. Also, since the monitoring camera in which an abnormality has occurred is also 100, 100 is also input to the abnormality occurrence camera information T1b. Moreover, although the imaging range of the monitoring camera 100 in which an abnormality has occurred is input to the coordinate information T1c, it is set as (0, 0) to (50, 50) as an example here. Since something abnormal has occurred in the monitoring camera 100, (0, 0) to (0, 0) are input to the imaging range T1d.

  The monitoring camera 101 that has received the information of FIG. 7A can confirm the occurrence of an abnormality in the monitoring camera 100. Then, the information in FIG. 7B is communicated to the monitoring camera 102.

  Here, in order to cover the imaging range of the surveillance camera 100 in which an abnormality has occurred, the imaging range (0, 0) to (50, 50) of the surveillance camera is input to the imaging range T1d, and the surveillance camera 101 captures the imaging range. Switch the camera direction to.

  Upon receiving the information in FIG. 7B, the monitoring camera 102 recognizes that the monitoring camera 101 is imaging the imaging range of the monitoring camera 100. Since the imaging range of the monitoring camera 101 is vacant, the monitoring camera 102 captures both the imaging range of the monitoring camera 101 and the monitoring camera 102 in order to cover the range.

  In this case, a plurality of imaging ranges are imaged by a method such as the surveillance camera 102 rotating up and down, left and right and rotating.

  Information from the monitoring camera 102 is communicated to the monitoring camera 101 in which no abnormality has occurred, and the monitoring camera 101 can recognize the imaging state of the monitoring camera 102, thereby realizing a cooperative operation between the monitoring cameras. it can.

  In the above description, the method of supplementing the imaging range of the surveillance camera in which an abnormality has occurred with only one surveillance camera has been described, but a plurality of surveillance cameras may compensate.

  In addition to the above, when the human detection device 1008 is mounted on the monitoring camera as shown in FIG. 8, the human monitoring device 108 that detects the presence of a person causes the monitoring camera 101 and the monitoring camera other than the monitoring camera 100 in which an abnormality has occurred. When the intruder is detected by the human means 102, the surveillance camera 101 and the surveillance camera 102 communicate with each other in the coordinate range of the intruder to focus the camera on the intruder, or set the imaging magnification. Raising and clearing makes it possible to capture a more detailed moving image of the intruder.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, when any abnormality occurs in the monitoring camera 100, the imaging range of the monitoring camera 100 can be covered by the cooperative operation of the neighboring monitoring camera 101 or the monitoring camera 102, and the whole It is possible to compensate for the imaging range. Furthermore, when an intruder is detected, the position of the intruder can be specified and a more detailed moving image can be captured.
(Embodiment 4)
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the monitoring camera and the monitoring object according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the configuration of the monitoring camera system and peripheral devices, and the configuration of the monitoring camera are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the first embodiment, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that a transmission device 31 for transmitting an abnormality to the monitoring camera 100 when an abnormality occurs is attached to the monitoring object 150 on the inside and outside of the monitoring object 150. The monitoring object 150 and the monitoring camera 100 communicate with each other via the transmission line 40.

  The monitoring object referred to here is assumed to be a wide range of articles such as an expensive display in a museum or a car parked in a parking lot. Here, when any abnormality occurs in the monitoring object 150, the abnormality occurrence is communicated from the transmission device 40 to the monitoring camera 100 through the monitoring object abnormality reception process.

  Surveillance camera 100 captures a moving image by a method similar to any one of the first to third embodiments, and communicates to an external network.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, when the monitoring target 150 and the monitoring camera 100 can communicate with each other, when the monitoring target 150 has some abnormality, the monitoring camera 100 not only captures an image but also details. A moving image can be captured and communicated to an external network in real time. Moreover, it can implement | achieve using the existing surveillance camera, without installing a special apparatus newly.

  The camera monitoring method according to the present invention is useful in a wide range of fields, such as practical use in a research and development building of a company, an outdoor nighttime surveillance camera, and a parking lot surveillance camera.

It is a figure which shows the surveillance camera system and peripheral device structure concerning Embodiment 1, 2, 3, 4 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the surveillance camera structure concerning Embodiment 1, 2, 3, 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the monitoring method by the search of the surveillance camera concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving image data communicated at the time of abnormality generation concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure method of the moving image data concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information communication between the surveillance cameras concerning Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information T1 which communicates between the monitoring cameras concerning Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the surveillance camera structure which mounted the human sensitive device concerning Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the monitoring camera and monitoring target concerning Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Surveillance camera 110 Connection line 120 Access point 130 Communication line 140 Server terminal 1001 Image capturing device 1002 Wired communication device 1003 Wireless communication device 1004 Impact detection device 1005 Power supply line 1006 Power storage device 1007 Data storage device 1008 Human presence device

Claims (7)

A surveillance camera system in which a plurality of surveillance cameras including an image photographing device that captures a moving image or a still image, a communication device that communicates with an external device, and a data storage device that stores photographing data are connected to each other via a network Comprising the steps of:
A camera searching step in which one or a plurality of the monitoring cameras search for surrounding monitoring cameras;
A network communication step in which the monitoring camera communicates with the surrounding monitoring camera discovered by the camera search step by the communication device;
And a data storage step of recording a moving image or a still image in the data storage device inside the monitoring camera when the monitoring camera is not searchable in the camera search step.   The monitoring camera further includes impact detection means for detecting an external impact on the monitoring camera, and the monitoring camera detects the impact by the network communication step when the impact detection means detects the impact. The camera monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein a moving image and a still image captured by the camera are communicated to the surrounding monitoring cameras searched by the camera searching step.   The communication device includes a wired communication device and a wireless communication device, and in the network communication process in which a plurality of the monitoring cameras communicate with each other by the wired communication device, when a situation where communication cannot be performed due to some abnormality occurs, 3. The camera monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein the network communication step is performed using the wireless communication device instead of the communication device.   When any abnormality occurs, such as detecting an impact on the monitoring camera by the impact detection means, the surrounding monitoring cameras take images of the vicinity of the monitoring camera where the abnormality has occurred, and the monitoring cameras communicate with each other in the network communication. 4. The camera monitoring method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein image capturing is performed while communicating information including position data and a moving image or a still image.   The monitoring camera further includes human detection means for detecting a person such as an intruder by a human detection device that detects the presence of a human, and when the person is detected by the human detection means, the monitoring camera and the surroundings are monitored. The camera monitoring method according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the camera captures the position data and information including moving images or still images while communicating with each other in the network communication step.   A monitoring object abnormality receiving step of receiving an abnormality occurrence notification from the monitoring object monitored by the monitoring camera by the communication device, and when the monitoring object has some abnormality, the monitoring object 6. The camera monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring camera receives an abnormality occurrence transmission from the camera.   The moving image or still image communicated between the monitoring camera and the surrounding monitoring cameras is the image data before the occurrence of abnormality in the image data recorded by the data storage step, and the monitoring camera in which the abnormality has occurred. 7. The camera monitoring method according to claim 1, further comprising image data that is continuously captured at the time.

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