JP2007306485A - Shop monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitoring system which detects a person who looks like a fraud for preventing or assisting finding of injustice. <P>SOLUTION: The system comprises: a gate monitoring camera 1 which images a person who enters a shop and acquires a face image information; a face image database 2 storing the face image information of a plurality of persons; a face image collating means 5 which refers a face image information stored in the face image database 2 and collates it with the face image information acquired by the gate monitoring camera 1, for extracting a matched face image information; and a monitor control means 4 which reports the fact that there is a face image information that has been matched and extracted by the face image collating means 5 to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-store monitoring system, and more particularly, to a monitoring system capable of detecting or detecting a person who seems to be a cheating person such as shoplifting, setting a benchmark, and assisting or preventing the discovery of a cheating act.

  Shoplifting crimes are highly addictive crimes, and it is said that they tend to repeat crimes by visiting stores where shoplifting has been done many times. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a surveillance camera is installed in a store and an image taken by a security worker with a camera is monitored in a security room. In addition, this captured video is recorded and submitted as evidence of shoplifting crimes.

  However, the shopkeeper may not be able to find a shoplifting action depending on the level of experience of the security staff simply by visually monitoring the in-store video captured by the camera. In particular, when it is doubtful whether shoplifting has been performed, the person needs to be careful when he / she visits the store next time, but when a security officer other than the security officer is in charge, he / she cannot be more careful than necessary.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an in-store monitoring system capable of detecting or detecting a person who seems to be a cheating agent such as shoplifting and assisting or preventing the discovery of the cheating act.

In order to achieve the above object, an in-store monitoring system according to the present invention includes a face image acquiring means for capturing face image information by capturing a person entering a store and a face image storing face image information of a plurality of persons. Storage means; face image matching means for extracting face image information that matches the face image information acquired by the face image acquisition detection means by referring to the face image information stored in the face image storage means; And a monitoring control means for alerting the outside to the outside when there is face image information matched and extracted by the face image collating means.

In the in-store monitoring system of the present invention, it is preferable that the face image acquisition means is provided in the store so as to image the entrance of the store.

Further, the in-store monitoring system of the present invention comprises a plurality of in-store monitoring cameras for imaging the inside of the store and camera control means for controlling these in-store monitoring cameras, wherein the monitoring control means is matched and extracted by the face image matching means. More preferably, the camera control means is instructed to image a person having a different face.

Further, in the in-store monitoring system of the present invention, it is more preferable that the monitoring control unit instructs the camera control unit to set and follow a benchmark for a person having a face that is matched and extracted by the face image matching unit. .

In the in-store monitoring system of the present invention, the in-store monitoring system has alarm means for alarming that the store clerk or the in-store broadcasting system is abnormal. If there is, it is more preferable to output the fact to the alarm means.

In the in-store monitoring system of the present invention, it is more preferable that the monitoring control unit further includes an external input unit that allows an operator to input that a specific person is a target person.

In the in-store monitoring system of the present invention, when the external input means inputs that a specific person is a target person, the monitoring control means uses the face image information detected by the face image detecting means as the face information. More preferably, it is stored in the image storage means.

  In the present invention, it is possible to obtain a relatively large amount of face photographs that are highly suspected of fraud such as shoplifting, that face photographs are extremely reliable as a means for identifying personal information, and face image matching can be accurately performed in a short time. Focusing on what can be done, the face image information of the target person, such as a person who seems to be a fraudster, is accumulated, and the face image of the visitor is collated by the face image acquisition means provided at the entrance of the store Check whether there is a match with the accumulated face image information.

When a face that matches the face image information in the accumulated data is detected, the person is determined as the target person, and the site of the fraudulent act is acquired as evidence using the in-store monitoring camera and the store clerk. Also, if such a person visits the store, contact the store clerk or the in-store broadcasting system, for example, “Now, a security officer is placed in the store as a shoplifting prevention week. If you see a suspicious person, You can prevent shoplifting crimes by broadcasting in-store broadcasting.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The in-store monitoring system according to the present example captures a person entering the store from the store entrance (the main entrance or all entrances when there are a plurality of entrances), and acquires a face image (face image acquisition). Means) 1. The entrance monitoring camera 1 recognizes all persons entering the store, acquires the face images and temporarily stores them, and then sends them to the face image matching means 2. The entrance monitoring camera 1 can be composed of a CCD camera or the like.

The in-store monitoring system according to this example includes a face image database (face image storage means) 2 that stores face image information of a specific target person. In this face image database 2, for example, face image information of a person who has been engaged in cheating such as shoplifting in this store in the past or a person who has been engaged in cheating in another store is accumulated. Also, if possible, acquiring a facial image of a person who is highly suspected of being a fraudulent person from the police authorities and storing it in the facial image storage means will increase the fraud prevention rate. The face image database 2 can be composed of various storage media such as a hard disk.

If there is no face image information of a person who has been cheating in the past and should be stored in the face image database 2, personal information that can identify the cheating person other than the face image, such as name and human phase In the case where the person knows, when the person visits the store, it cannot be dealt with only by using the face image database 2 described above. For this reason, this example has an input keyboard (external input means) 3 that allows a store clerk or the like to manually input to the in-store monitoring system when it is determined that the person has visited the store. Information input from the input keyboard 3 is sent to the monitoring control means 4 described later.

In the monitoring system of this example, the face image information detected by the entrance monitoring camera 1 and the face image information stored in the face image database 2 are collated, and a face to be extracted is checked by checking whether there is a match. An image matching unit 5 is included. The face image collating means 5 can be constituted by an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU or MPU, a ROM in which a program for sending calculation commands is stored, a RAM for temporarily storing calculation results, and the like. When the face image information detected by the entrance monitoring camera 1 matches the fingerprint information stored in the face image database 2, the face image matching means 5 of this example sends a message to that effect to the monitoring control means 4.

On the other hand, in-store monitoring cameras 6 that capture images of people who visit the store are installed at appropriate locations in stores other than the entrance. It is desirable to provide a plurality of in-store monitoring cameras 6 when one in-store monitoring camera 6 cannot capture all the persons in the store.

The in-store monitoring camera 6 collects, edits, records, and the like of imaging data by the in-store monitoring camera control means 7 and controls the movement of the imaging angle of the in-store monitoring camera 6. In particular, when there is a command from the monitoring control means 4 to the target person, the in-store monitoring camera control means 7 sets a benchmark for the target person in the imaged data from the corresponding in-store monitoring camera 6, and the target person moves within the store. Then, the in-store surveillance camera 6 follows the camera while changing the imaging angle.

The in-store broadcasting system 8 is a system that broadcasts a predetermined guide in the store, and the store clerk of the guide can input it with a microphone, or can automatically broadcast the predetermined guide according to a command from the monitoring control means 4. .

Further, the in-store monitoring system of the present example has an alarm device (alarm means) 9 for notifying the store clerk and security staff who perform in-store monitoring and services. The alarm device 9 is not particularly limited as long as it is a means that can notify a store clerk or security staff of the occurrence of an abnormality without being noticed by the target person. For example, an alarm lamp installed at a location that can be seen only by a store clerk or a security worker, a voice alarm device by wireless communication, and the like can be given.

When the supervisory control means 4 according to this example receives the visit information of the target person from the face image collating means 5 or the input keyboard 3, it instructs the in-store monitoring camera control means 7 to image the target person and follow it. Then, the alarm device 9 is activated to inform the store clerk and security staff of the visit of the target person. In addition to or in addition to this, the monitoring control means 4 according to the present example, when receiving the store visit information of the target person from the face image matching means 5 or the input keyboard 3, gives a broadcast command to the in-store broadcasting system 8. Even if you send a broadcast in the store, for example, “We are now placing security personnel in the store as a week for strengthening shoplifting prevention. Good. Thereby, the occurrence of shoplifting crimes can be suppressed.

When there is no record in the face image database 2 such as when input from the input keyboard 3, this is newly stored.

Next, an example of the monitoring procedure will be described.

First, every time a customer enters the store from the entrance of the store, the entrance monitoring camera 1 acquires the face images of those customers and sends them to the face image matching means 5. Upon receiving this face image information, the face image collating means 5 collates each time whether or not the face image information matches the face image information stored in the face image database 2, and returns if it does not match. . On the other hand, when the face image matches, the fact that it matches is sent to the monitoring control means 4.

In response to this, the monitoring control means 4 issues an instruction to the in-store monitoring camera control means 7 to take an image of the customer with the in-store monitoring camera 6, and the customer in the captured image data, ie, A benchmark is set for a target person who is highly likely to perform fraud, and when the target person moves in the store, the in-store monitoring camera 6 follows and commands to constantly image the action of the target person. In addition, an image captured by the in-store monitoring camera 6 is recorded so as to prove fraud such as shoplifting.

In addition, the supervisory control means 4 instructs the in-store broadcasting system 8 to broadcast the above-mentioned guidance that is fraudulent, and activates an alarm device 9 to monitor a store, a security worker, a store clerk, etc. Contact

As described above, when the in-store monitoring system of this example is used, it is possible to acquire a fraudulent site that has not been suppressed in the past by using face image data, and it is possible to obtain credible evidence of fraud. In addition, if a suspicious person visits a store, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an illegal act by playing a broadcast etc.

  The embodiment described above is described in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not described in order to limit the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, it is also within the scope of the present invention to configure a part of the monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 via an information communication network such as the Internet, which is suitable when a plurality of stores are monitored by a common system. For example, when the face image matching means 5 and the face image storage means 2 shown in the figure are constructed by a server such as a provider and other components are installed in a store, the entrance monitoring camera 1 and the face image matching means 5, between the face image matching means 5 and the monitoring control means 4, and between the monitoring control means 4 and the face image storage means 2 may be configured by an information communication network such as the Internet. When only the face image storage means 2 is constructed by the provider's server, the Internet between the face image storage means 4 and the face image matching means 5 and between the face image storage means 2 and the monitoring control means 4 What is necessary is just to comprise by information communication networks, such as.

It is a block diagram which shows the in-store monitoring system which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Entrance monitoring camera (face image acquisition means)
2. Face image database (face image storage means)
3. Input keyboard (external input means)
4. Monitoring control means 5 ... Face image matching means 6 ... In-store monitoring camera 7 ... In-store monitoring camera control means 8 ... In-store broadcasting system 9 ... Alarm device (alarm means)

Claims (7)

Face image acquisition means for capturing face image information by imaging a person entering the store, face image storage means for storing face image information of a plurality of persons, and face image information stored in the face image storage means. There were face image collating means for collating face image information acquired by the face image acquisition detecting means for reference and extracting matched face image information, and face image information matched and extracted by the face image collating means. An in-store monitoring system comprising: a monitoring control means for alerting the outside to the outside. The in-store monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the face image acquisition unit is provided in the store so as to image the entrance of the store. A plurality of in-store monitoring cameras for imaging the inside of the store, and camera control means for controlling these in-store monitoring cameras,
The in-store monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring control unit instructs the camera control unit to image a person having a face that has been matched and extracted by the face image matching unit. 4. The in-store monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the monitoring control means instructs the camera control means to set and follow a person with a face having a face extracted and matched by the face image matching means. An alarm means for warning that the store clerk or the in-store broadcasting system is abnormal, and the monitoring control means, when there is a face image that is matched and extracted by the face image matching means, The in-store monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the in-store monitoring system outputs to the means. The in-store monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an external input unit that allows an operator to input that the specific person is a target person. When it is input from the external input means that a specific person is a target person, the monitoring control means causes the face image storage means to store the face image information detected by the face image detection means. The in-store monitoring system according to claim 6.

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