JP2014030090A - Camera control device, camera control method, and camera control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera control device which can easily inform a user of absence of a camera capable of imaging a subject when an imaging instruction is given.SOLUTION: A storage section (105) stores sketch data, camera icon data, camera arrangement position data, and imageable area data. A synthesis section (106) synthesizes a camera icon. An operation section (108) allows a user to set position data. A monitoring point setting section (109) sets a monitoring point according to the position data. A camera extraction section (109) extracts a camera which can image the monitoring point. A direction calculation section (109) calculates imaging direction data. A transmission section (101) transmits the imaging direction data to the camera. A monitoring point correction section (109)

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera control device, a camera control method, and a camera control program that control the imaging direction of a camera.

  There is known a monitoring system configured to control a camera with a pan head having a pan head that changes an imaging direction by rotating (panning) in a horizontal direction so as to monitor a wide monitoring place.

  In such a monitoring system, an electronic map indicating a monitoring area is displayed on the screen, and a certain point on the electronic map is indicated to select a camera closest to the indicated position and display a captured image of the camera. There has been proposed a surveillance camera control device that controls the pan of a camera so as to capture an instructed point (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-077889 A

  Using the surveillance camera control device described in Patent Document 1, an operator uses a mouse or the like to indicate the position of a target subject on an electronic map, and uses the camera closest to the subject to target the camera. The subject can be imaged.

  However, in the conventional surveillance camera control device, no consideration is given to the case where there is no camera capable of imaging the instructed subject. For this reason, if the camera does not capture an image even if it is instructed to capture an image of an object, it is not easy to know whether it will not operate due to operation failure or device failure, or will not operate because there is no imageable camera. There was a problem.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera control device, a camera control method, and a camera control program capable of easily notifying a user that there is no camera capable of imaging a subject when a subject imaging instruction is given. is there.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following apparatus, method, and program.
1) In a camera control device that controls a camera by performing an operation on an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed, A storage for storing sketch map data (51) of the place of placement, camera icon data (52), placement position data indicating the positions of a plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras. Unit (105), a combining unit (106) for combining camera icons on the image showing the floor plan based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data, and an output unit (107) for outputting the output image combined by the combining unit And an operation unit (108) for allowing the user to set position data indicating the position on the image showing the sketch, and the position data set by the operation unit. The monitoring point can be imaged from a plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point setting unit (109) for setting the monitoring point, the monitoring point set by the monitoring point setting unit, and the imageable area data stored in the storage unit A camera extraction unit (109) that extracts a camera, a direction calculation unit (109) that calculates data indicating the direction in which the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit captures a monitoring point, as imaging direction data, and camera extraction of the imaging direction data A transmission point (101) that is transmitted to the camera extracted by the unit, and a monitoring point correction unit that uses a point in the imageable area closest to the monitoring point as a new monitoring point when the camera extraction unit cannot select a camera that can be imaged (109). A camera control device comprising:
2) In a camera control device that controls a camera by performing an operation on an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed, The storage part which memorize | stores the floor plan data of the arrange | positioned place, camera icon data, the arrangement | positioning position data which shows the position of several cameras, and the image pickup possible area | region data which shows the image pickup possible area | region of several cameras is shown, A composition unit that synthesizes a camera icon on the image based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data, an output unit that outputs an output image synthesized by the composition unit, and position data that indicates a position on the image that shows a sketch to the user An operation unit for setting a monitoring point, a monitoring point setting unit for setting a monitoring point according to position data set by the operation unit, and a monitoring point A camera extraction unit for extracting a camera capable of imaging a monitoring point from a plurality of cameras, and a camera extracted by the camera extraction unit in accordance with the monitoring point set by the camera setting unit and the imageable area data stored in the storage unit Selects a direction calculation unit that calculates data indicating the direction in which the monitoring point is imaged as imaging direction data, a transmission unit that transmits the imaging direction data to the camera that the camera extraction unit extracts, and a camera that can be imaged by the camera extraction unit A camera control device comprising: a monitoring point correction unit (109) that cancels the setting by the operation unit and rolls back the monitoring point to a state before the operation if it cannot be performed.
3) A control method in a camera control apparatus for controlling a camera by operating an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed. A storage step of storing floor plan data of a place where a plurality of cameras are arranged, camera icon data, arrangement position data indicating the positions of the plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras A composition step for compositing the camera icon on the image showing the floor plan based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data, an output step for outputting the output image synthesized in the compositing step, and an image showing the floor plan for the user An operation step for setting position data indicating the position of the position and monitoring according to the position data set in the operation step. A camera capable of imaging a monitoring point is extracted from a plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point setting step for setting the point, the monitoring point set in the monitoring point setting step, and the imageable area data stored in the storage step A camera extraction step, a direction calculation step for calculating data indicating the direction in which the camera extracted at the camera extraction unit step captures the monitoring point as imaging direction data, and the imaging direction data are transmitted to the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit And a monitoring point correcting step of setting a point in the imageable area closest to the monitoring point as a new monitoring point when the camera extracting unit cannot select a camera that can be imaged. Method.
4) A camera control program for causing a computer to realize a function of controlling a camera by manipulating an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing an imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed. The storage unit stores sketch map data of a place where a plurality of cameras are arranged, camera icon data, arrangement position data indicating the positions of the plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras. Storage function, a composition function for compositing a camera icon based on camera icon data and arrangement position data on an image showing a floor plan, an output function for outputting an output image synthesized by the compositing function, and a floor plan for the user An operation function for setting position data indicating the position on the image to be displayed, and the position data set by the operation function. A camera that can capture a monitoring point from a plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point setting function for setting the monitoring point and the monitoring point set by the monitoring point setting function and the imageable area data stored by the storage function. A camera extraction function to extract, a direction calculation function to calculate data indicating a direction in which the camera extracted by the camera extraction function captures a monitoring point as imaging direction data, and a camera from which the imaging direction data is extracted by the camera extraction function When the transmission function to transmit and the camera that can be imaged by the camera extraction function cannot be selected, the computer is realized with a monitoring point correction function that sets a point within the imageable area closest to the monitoring point as a new monitoring point. Feature camera control program.

  According to the camera control device, the camera control method, and the camera control program of the present invention, it is possible to easily notify the user that there is no camera that can image a subject when an instruction for imaging the subject is issued.

It is a block block diagram of the camera control terminal which is one Embodiment of the camera control apparatus of this invention. It is a block block diagram of the surveillance camera controlled by a camera control terminal. It is a system configuration figure of a surveillance system using a camera control terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the camera control in a camera control terminal. It is a sketch which the synthetic | combination process part of a camera control terminal synthesize | combines. It is an example of the imaging possible area | region of a surveillance camera. It is a schematic diagram explaining control by an operation icon. It is a schematic diagram explaining the control by the operation icon in 2nd Example. It is a schematic diagram explaining the control by the operation icon in 3rd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the camera control in the camera control terminal in 3rd Example.

Hereinafter, a camera control terminal which is an embodiment of a camera control device of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Camera control terminal configuration]
A camera control terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the camera control terminal 10. The camera control terminal 10 is obtained, for example, by installing application software for control in a general-purpose personal computer, and captured images of a plurality of surveillance cameras 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e described later (five in this embodiment). It is a terminal that browses and controls. Note that the plurality of monitoring cameras 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e are collectively referred to as the monitoring camera 20.

  In the camera control terminal 10, the communication processing unit 101 communicates with a monitoring camera instructed by the control unit 109 described later among the monitoring cameras 20, for example, the monitoring camera 20 a, and captured image data and zoom data transmitted from the monitoring camera 20 a. , Receive pan data. The communication processing unit 101 also transmits pan instruction data and zoom instruction data to the monitoring camera 20a. As described above, the communication processing unit 101 is an aspect of the reception unit and an aspect of the transmission unit in the present embodiment.

  The decoding processing unit 102 decodes the captured image data received by the communication processing unit 101 and compressed with a digital image in accordance with a standard such as JPEG or MPEG-4, and sends it to the output unit 107.

  The control unit 109 further includes a zoom data processing unit 103 and a pan data processing unit 104. The pan data processing unit 104 acquires pan data from the monitoring camera 20 through the communication processing unit 101 and sends the pan data to the storage unit 105. The pan data is data indicating the imaging direction of the surveillance camera 20 in the pan direction, for example, horizontal angle data. The pan data processing unit 104 also calculates pan instruction data for changing the pan direction from the input from the operation unit 108 and the data in the storage unit 105, and sends the pan instruction data to the communication processing unit 101.

  The zoom data processing unit 103 acquires zoom data from the monitoring camera 20 through the communication processing unit 101 and sends it to the storage unit 105. The zoom data is data indicating the focal length of the zoom lens 208 of the monitoring camera 20. The zoom data processing unit 103 also calculates zoom instruction data for changing the focal length of the zoom lens 208 from the input from the operation unit 108 and the data in the storage unit 105, and sends the zoom instruction data to the communication processing unit 101.

  The storage unit 105 includes a semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, and the like, and includes sketch data, camera icon data, operation icon data, camera position data and imageable area data for each of the plurality of monitoring cameras 20, Operation icon position data and direction data, which will be described later, are stored. The floor plan data is data of a floor plan showing the entire area such as a store where the monitoring camera 20 is installed and monitoring. The camera position data is data indicating the position of the monitoring camera 20, that is, coordinates on the floor plan. The imageable area data is data indicating an area that can be imaged by the monitoring camera 20 on the floor plan.

  The storage unit 105 further stores the pan data sent from the pan data processing unit 104 and the zoom data sent from the zoom data processing unit 103. The storage unit 105 provides these stored data as necessary.

  The synthesis processing unit 106 synthesizes the captured image data that has been decoded by the decoding processing unit 102, the sketch data stored in the storage unit 105, camera icon data, which will be described later, operation icon data, and the like, and outputs them. Generate image data.

  The output unit 107 outputs the output image data synthesized by the synthesis processing unit 106. Since the image display device 40 such as a liquid crystal monitor or a projector is connected to the output unit 107, the output image data output from the output unit 107 is displayed on the image display device 40.

The operation unit 108 includes a mouse, a touch panel, a keyboard, and the like, and an operator operates the operation unit 108 while viewing output image data displayed on the image display device 40 to give various instructions. For example, the operator can select or drag one point on the floor plan in the output image displayed on the image display device 40 using the operation unit 108.
[Configuration of surveillance camera]
FIG. 2 is an example of a block configuration diagram of the monitoring camera 20 controlled by the camera control terminal 10. The monitoring camera 20 in this embodiment is a network camera, and transmits a captured image via a network or changes an imaging direction according to a control signal received via the network.

  The imaging unit 201 captures a surrounding subject and sends the captured image to the compression unit 202. The compression unit 202 compresses a digital image of the image captured by the imaging unit 201 according to a standard such as JPEG (Joint Picture Expert Group) or MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) -4, and sends the compressed image to the communication unit 203.

  The pan angle sensor 206 outputs angle data in the horizontal direction of the imaging direction of the current imaging unit 201 as pan data. The zoom sensor 209 outputs data indicating the current focal length of the zoom lens 208 as zoom data.

  The communication unit 203 transmits the captured image data, pan data, and zoom data compressed by the compression unit 202 to the camera control terminal 10 in response to a request. The communication unit 203 also receives pan instruction data and zoom instruction data transmitted from the camera control terminal 10 and sends them to the control unit 204.

  The control unit 204 sends a control signal for causing the pan head drive unit 205 to pan in accordance with the pan instruction data and zoom instruction data received by the communication unit 203, and sends the zoom lens 208 to the zoom lens drive unit 207. Send a control signal to drive.

  The pan / tilt head driving unit 205 pans the imaging unit 201 in accordance with a control signal sent from the control unit 204 and changes the imaging direction.

  The zoom lens driving unit 207 changes the focal length of the zoom lens 208 by driving the zoom lens 208 according to the control signal sent from the control unit 204.

[Monitoring system configuration]
A monitoring system using the camera control terminal 10 and the monitoring camera 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The monitoring system in FIG. 3 is an example of a monitoring system that monitors the inside of a store. A plurality (five in this embodiment) of monitoring cameras 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e for monitoring the inside of the store, and zooming and panning of the monitoring camera 20, and images captured by the monitoring camera 20 Or the camera control terminal 10 for browsing the network. The camera control terminal 10 is connected to an image display device 40 such as a liquid crystal monitor or a projector that displays image data output from the camera control terminal 10.

  The monitoring camera 20 is attached to a ceiling or a high place on the wall surface so that the inside of the store can be looked at. The camera control terminal 10 may be installed in the same store as the monitoring camera 20, installed in a security room, or installed in a remote security company.

  The network 30 includes network devices such as routers and hubs. The camera control terminal 10 and the monitoring camera 20 are connected to the network 30 via a LAN (Local Area Network) cable, and the camera control terminal 10 and the monitoring camera 20 communicate with each other via the network 30. Note that the communication means between the camera control terminal 10 and the monitoring camera 20 is not limited to communication via a LAN cable, but may be other communication means such as a wireless LAN or a mobile phone line.

  FIG. 5 is an example of display of output image data generated by the synthesis processing unit 106. Camera icons 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, and 52e are combined at positions on the sketch 51 corresponding to the installation positions of the monitoring cameras 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, and 20e. The camera icons 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, and 52e have imageable areas 61a, 62b, 62c, 62d, and 62e as areas that can be captured by the corresponding monitoring cameras 20. A camera icon 52a corresponding to the monitoring camera 20a and its imageable area 61a are shown in FIG. 6a). Similarly, camera icons 52b to 52e corresponding to the monitoring cameras 20b to 20e and their imageable areas 61b to 61e are shown in FIGS. 6b) to 6e).

  The floor plan data, the camera icon data, and the operation icon data image data, the camera position data and the imageable area data for each of the plurality of monitoring cameras 20, the operation icon position data and the direction data are stored in the storage unit 105. ing. The synthesis processing unit 106 generates output image data shown in FIG. 5 based on the data stored in the storage unit 105. The composition processing unit 106 further composes operation icons. An operation icon is an object having attributes of position and direction, and for example, a character or an arrow can be used. In the present embodiment, the composition processing unit 106 looks at the character 53 as an operation icon and composes it on the outside of the drawing 51 of the initial screen, for example. An example of the character 53 is shown in FIG. The arrow 54 extending from the character 53, which is the direction in which the character 53 faces, is the character 53 direction, and the angle 55 of the arrow 54 is the character 53 angle. As shown in FIG. 5 b), the angle 55 is a positive angle in the counterclockwise direction with the horizontal direction as a reference. A point that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53 in the direction of the arrow 54 is defined as a point 56. The character 53 has a moving area 57 provided near the center and a rotating area 58 provided outside the character 53. In FIG. 5b), the movement area 57 is indicated by a vertical line, and the rotation area 58 is indicated by a horizontal line. When the movement area 57 is dragged up, down, left and right, the control unit 109 that detects this drags the composition processing section 106 to move the character up, down, left and right. When the rotation area 58 is dragged, the character moves up, down, left and right. It shall rotate without moving.

  It is also preferable that the combination processing unit 106 combines the captured images of the monitoring camera 20. In that case, the captured image of the monitoring camera 20 is received by the communication processing unit 101, decoded by the decoding processing unit, and combined with the output image data by the combining processing unit 106. As a composite mode, the captured images of all the monitoring cameras 20 may be displayed as thumbnails, or the images of the selected monitoring cameras 20 may be displayed in a large size. In the present embodiment, detailed description of the composition of the captured image is omitted.

[Camera control method by camera control terminal]
[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. It is assumed that the communication processing unit 101 transmits an instruction value for the angle in the horizontal direction as a control signal for the monitoring camera 20. The character 53 arranged outside the sketch 51 in the initial state is called a character 53x, and the character 53 that moves thereafter is called a character 53y and a character 53z. Suppose that x, y, z are attached | subjected to the code | symbol relevant to the characters 53x, 53y, 53z, respectively.

  The operator uses the operation unit 108 such as a mouse, a cross key, or a touch panel to view and drag the moving region 57x of the character 53x arranged outside the sketch to the diagram 51. Then, the control unit 109 detects that the character 53x has been operated (step S401), stores the detected drag data in the storage unit 105, and sends it to the composition processing unit 106. The composition processing unit 106 looks at the character 53x according to the drag data and moves the character 53x onto the drawing 51 to obtain the character 53y (step S402).

  When the operator drags the rotation region 58y of the character 53y using the operation unit 108, the control unit 109 detects this, stores the detected drag data in the storage unit 105, and stores it in the composition processing unit 106. send. The composition processing unit 106 rotates the character 53y to become the character 53z.

  When the operation on the character 53z is completed, the control unit 109 calculates the coordinates of the point 56z that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53z in the direction of the arrow 54z and sets it as the monitoring point 71. Further, the angle 55z of the character 53z is set as the monitoring angle 72 (step S403).

  Then, the coordinates of the monitoring point 71 and the imageable area 61 of the monitoring camera 20 stored in the storage unit 105 are collated (step S404). If there is no monitoring camera 20 that includes the coordinates of the monitoring point 71 in the imageable area 61, a warning such as “There is no camera that can image the designated location” is displayed and the process ends (step S405).

  The pan data processing unit 104 of the control unit 109 monitors the monitoring camera 20 that includes the coordinates of the monitoring point 71 in the imageable area 61 from the coordinates of the monitoring camera 20 read from the storage unit 105 and the coordinates of the monitoring point 71. 20 calculates the angle of the imaging direction for imaging the monitoring point 71 (step S406). An arrow 73 indicates the direction from the camera icon 52 to the monitoring point 71, and the angle at this time is an angle 74. When there are a plurality of monitoring cameras 20 including the coordinates of the monitoring point 71 in the imageable region 61, the angle 74 is calculated for each.

  When there are a plurality of monitoring cameras 20 that include the coordinates of the monitoring point 71 in the imageable area 61 (step S407: Yes), the control unit 109 calculates the angle of the imaging direction of each monitoring camera 20 calculated by the pan data processing unit 104. 74 is compared with the monitoring angle 72, and the monitoring camera 20 with the closest angle is selected as the monitoring camera to be operated (step S408).

  In FIG. 7, the monitoring point 71 of the character 71b is included in an imageable area 61a and an imageable area 61d. Therefore, an angle 74a of an arrow 73a indicating the direction from the camera icon 52a to the monitoring point 71 is obtained. Further, an angle 74d of an arrow 73d indicating a direction from the camera icon 52d to the monitoring point 71 is obtained. As can be seen from FIG. 7, the angle 74d is closer to the monitoring angle 72 than the angle 74a. Therefore, the control unit 109 selects the monitoring camera 20d corresponding to the camera icon 52d as the operation target camera.

  When the monitoring camera 20d is selected as the operation target monitoring camera, the control unit 109 transmits the previously calculated angle 74d from the communication processing unit 101 to the operation target monitoring camera 20d (step S409).

  As described above, the control unit 109 can function as a monitoring point setting unit that sets monitoring points according to position data and direction data. In addition, the control unit 109 can function as a camera extraction unit that extracts a camera that can capture an image of the monitoring point. Further, when there are a plurality of cameras extracted by the camera extraction unit, the control unit 109 can function as a camera selection unit that selects one camera whose imaging direction data is closest to the direction data of the operation object. Further, the control unit 109 can function as a direction calculation unit that calculates imaging direction data for imaging the monitoring point.

  The monitoring camera 20 d receives the angle 74 d by the communication unit 203 and sends it to the control unit 204. The control unit 204 sends the received angle 74d to the pan head driving unit 205 to drive the pan head. When the output of the pan angle sensor 206 matches the sent angle 74d, the instruction to the pan head drive unit 205 is stopped and the pan head is stopped. As a result, the imaging unit 201 images the monitoring point 71. Since the monitoring camera 20d compresses the image captured by the image capturing unit 201 by the compression unit 202 and transmits it from the communication unit 203, the camera control terminal 10 receives this by the communication processing unit 101 and decodes it by the decoding processing unit 102. The image is synthesized by the synthesis processing unit 106 and output from the output unit 107 to be displayed on the image display device 40.

  In this way, it is possible to display an image obtained by capturing a desired point in a direction closest to the desired direction.

The control unit 109 also calculates the distance between the monitoring camera 20 to be operated and the monitoring point 71, calculates the focal length of the zoom lens by the zoom data processing unit 103 according to the calculated distance, and sets the calculated focal length to the angle. It may be transmitted from the communication processing unit 101 together with 74d. The monitoring camera 20 that has received the instruction of the focal length is driven by the zoom lens driving unit 207 so that the output of the zoom sensor 209 coincides with the instructed focal length in the same manner as the pan head drive. Change the distance. Thus, for example, when the distance between the monitoring camera 20 and the monitoring point 71 is long, the focal length is increased, and when the distance from the monitoring point 71 is short, the focal length is shortened so that the subject is always made the same size. Now you can take an image.
[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. In the present embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be described in detail, and descriptions of points similar to the first embodiment will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, dragging is performed with a pointing device such as a mouse, a cross key, or a touch panel as another example of the operation unit 108 for instructing the position and direction in order to control the monitoring camera 20. To control the camera, the operator first selects a point 81 on the screen shown in FIG. 8 with a pointing device such as a mouse, a cross key, or a touch panel. Then, the drag is performed to move the pointing device in a desired direction while keeping the selection, and the selection is canceled at point 82. In the case of using the touch panel, a finger is brought into contact with one point on the sketch of the screen, and the long press is performed at the point 81, the finger is moved while being in contact, and the finger is released at the point 82.

  When the control unit 109 detects that the pointing device has dragged, the control unit 109 stores the coordinates of the point 81 and the coordinates of the point 82 in the storage unit 105 and sends them to the composition processing unit 106. The composition processing unit 106 composes an arrow 83 extending from the point 81 to the point 82 on the sketch 51 from the coordinates of the point 81 and the coordinates of the point 82, and outputs it from the output unit 107. Further, the control unit 109 sets the point 82 as the monitoring point 71 and the angle 84 of the arrow 83 as the monitoring angle 72. The processing after the monitoring point 71 and the monitoring angle 72 are determined is the same as that after step S404 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted.

In the first embodiment, since the camera is controlled by moving the operation icon, there is an effect that the monitoring point and the imaging direction can be intuitively grasped. However, in the second embodiment, it is not necessary to move the operation icon. Is effective. In either example, it can be easily instructed to image the subject from a desired direction.
[Third embodiment]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. This embodiment is an example of another process in the case where there is no monitoring camera 20 including the coordinates of the monitoring point 71 in the imageable area 61 in step S405 of the control method of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, differences from the first and second embodiments will be described in detail, and descriptions of points similar to those in the first and second embodiments will be omitted. In FIG. 9, the sketch is 91, the camera icon is 92 (92a, 92b), and the imageable area is 93 (93a, 93b). The camera icons 92a and 92b correspond to the monitoring cameras 20a and 20b. The characters 53 are characters 53a to 53e arranged at different positions in FIGS. 9a) to 9e), and points 56a to 56e that are a predetermined distance away from the character 53 in the direction of the characters.

  The initial state of the third embodiment is shown in FIG. 9a). In FIG. 9a), the point 56a that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53a is included in the imageable area 93b of the camera icon 92b, so that the control unit 109 according to the first embodiment monitors the surveillance camera 20b corresponding to the camera icon 92b. Select.

  Next, the operator uses the operation unit 108 such as a mouse, a cross key, or a touch panel to drag the character 53a in FIG. 9a) to the character 53b in the right direction. The control unit 109 detects that the character 53 a has been operated, stores the detected drag data in the storage unit 105, and sends the data to the composition processing unit 106. The composition processing unit 106 moves the character 53a to the character 53b according to the drag data.

  At this time, the point 56b that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53b deviates from the imageable area 93b and does not belong to any imageable area. Then, the control unit 109 of the third embodiment invalidates the drag from the character 53a to the character 53b performed immediately before, and returns the position of the character 53 to the character 53a (step S1001). That is, the control unit 109 stores the movement history of the character 53 in the storage unit 105, and when a point 56 that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53 deviates from the imageable region, the position of the character 53 is set to the position before the operation. Returning to the position, an instruction is given to the composition processing unit 106 to roll back the position of the character 53.

  As described above, when the camera extraction unit cannot select a camera that can be imaged, the control unit 109 according to the third embodiment cancels the setting by the operation unit and rolls back the monitoring point to the state before the operation. It can function as a part.

  As a result, the operator moves the character 53 once and returns to the original position, so that the operation of the operation unit 108 is accepted and the camera control terminal 10 performs the process, but the point 56 is not included in the imageable region. You can know this intuitively.

  At this point, the process does not have to be completed and the camera need not be selected, or the process returns to step S406 of the first embodiment, and the camera is selected and the angle is designated according to the position and direction of the character 53 that has been rolled back. May be.

  When no camera is selected, it can be clearly shown that there is no camera that can be imaged. When selecting a camera, it is possible to roll back the monitoring point and select a camera that can capture images in a state close to the instructed position and direction.

  In addition to returning the character 53b to the original character 53a, the control unit 109 calculates a point that is closest to the point 56 that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53 and is included in the imageable region 93 (step S1002). The character 53 may be moved so that a point 56 that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53 comes to that point (step S1002). For example, the point that is closest to the point 56b that is a predetermined distance away from the character 53b and is included in the imageable region 93 is a point 56c that is included in the imageable region 93b as shown in FIG. 9c). Therefore, the control unit 109 calculates the coordinates of the character 53c, moves the character 53b to the position of the character 53c, and moves the point 56b to the position of the point 56c. Similarly, when the character 53a is largely dragged and moved to the character 53d shown in FIG. 9d), the point 56d away from the character 53d by a predetermined distance is also out of any imageable area 93. At this time, the point closest to the point 56d and included in the imageable region 93 is a point 56e included in the imageable region 93a as shown in FIG. 9e). Therefore, the control unit 109 calculates the coordinates of the character 53e, moves the character 53d to the position of the character 53e, and moves the point 56d to the position of the point 56e.

  Thereby, the operation of the operation unit 108 is accepted, and the camera control terminal 10 performs the processing, but it can be intuitively understood that none of the points 56 are included in the imageable area 93.

  Also in the case of step S1003, it is not necessary to end the process and select a camera at that time, or return to step S406 of the first embodiment and select a camera according to the position and direction of the character 53 that has moved. You may indicate the angle.

  When no camera is selected, it can be clearly shown that there is no camera that can be imaged. When selecting a camera, it is possible to select a camera that can capture an image in the state closest to the instructed position and direction.

  The configuration of the camera control terminal in the present embodiment can be realized in hardware by a CPU, memory, or other LSI of an arbitrary computer, and is realized by a program loaded in the memory as software. Here, functional blocks realized by the cooperation are depicted. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

10 Camera control terminal 20 (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e) Surveillance camera 30 Network 40 Image display device 51 Outline drawing 52 (52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, 52e) Camera icon 61 (61a, 61b, 61c, 61d, 61e) Imageable area 101 Communication processing unit 102 Decoding processing unit 103 Zoom data processing unit 104 Pan data processing unit 105 Storage unit 106 Compositing processing unit 107 Output unit 108 Operation unit 109 Control unit

Claims (4)

In a camera control device that controls the camera by performing an operation on an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed.
Stores floor plan data of a place where the plurality of cameras are arranged, camera icon data, arrangement position data indicating the positions of the plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras. A storage unit;
A combining unit that combines the camera icon on the image showing the floor plan based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data;
An output unit that outputs an output image synthesized by the synthesis unit;
An operation unit that allows a user to set position data indicating a position on an image showing the sketch;
A monitoring point setting unit for setting a monitoring point according to the position data set by the operation unit;
A camera extraction unit for extracting a camera capable of imaging the monitoring point from the plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point set by the monitoring point setting unit and the imageable area data stored in the storage unit;
A direction calculation unit that calculates data indicating a direction in which the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit images the monitoring point as imaging direction data;
A transmission unit for transmitting the imaging direction data to the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit;
When the camera extraction unit cannot select an imageable camera, the camera control device includes a monitoring point correction unit that uses a point in the imageable region closest to the monitoring point as a new monitoring point. In a camera control device that controls the camera by performing an operation on an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed.
Stores floor plan data of a place where the plurality of cameras are arranged, camera icon data, arrangement position data indicating the positions of the plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras. A storage unit;
A combining unit that combines the camera icon on the image showing the floor plan based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data;
An output unit that outputs an output image synthesized by the synthesis unit;
An operation unit that allows a user to set position data indicating a position on an image showing the sketch;
A monitoring point setting unit for setting a monitoring point according to the position data set by the operation unit;
A camera extraction unit for extracting a camera capable of imaging the monitoring point from the plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point set by the monitoring point setting unit and the imageable area data stored in the storage unit;
A direction calculation unit that calculates data indicating a direction in which the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit images the monitoring point as imaging direction data;
A transmission unit for transmitting the imaging direction data to the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit;
A camera control device comprising: a monitoring point correction unit that cancels the setting by the operation unit and rolls back a monitoring point to a state before the operation when the camera extraction unit cannot select a camera that can be imaged. It is a control method in a camera control device that controls the camera by performing an operation on an image showing a floor plan showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is provided,
Stores floor plan data of a place where the plurality of cameras are arranged, camera icon data, arrangement position data indicating the positions of the plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating the imageable areas of the plurality of cameras. A memory step;
A synthesis step of synthesizing the camera icon on the image showing the floor plan based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data;
An output step of outputting the output image synthesized in the synthesis step;
An operation step for allowing a user to set position data indicating a position on the image indicating the sketch;
A monitoring point setting step for setting a monitoring point according to the position data set in the operation step;
A camera extraction step of extracting a camera capable of imaging the monitoring point from the plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point set in the monitoring point setting step and the imageable area data stored in the storage step;
A direction calculation step of calculating data indicating a direction in which the camera extracted in the camera extraction unit image captures the monitoring point as imaging direction data;
A transmission step of transmitting the imaging direction data to the camera extracted by the camera extraction unit;
And a monitoring point correcting step of setting, as a new monitoring point, a point in the imageable area closest to the monitoring point when the camera extracting unit cannot select a camera capable of imaging. A camera control program for causing a computer to realize a function of controlling the camera by manipulating an image showing a sketch showing a place where a plurality of cameras capable of changing the imaging direction according to received imaging direction data is installed,
Storage unit for sketch map data of a place where the plurality of cameras are arranged, camera icon data, arrangement position data indicating positions of the plurality of cameras, and imageable area data indicating imageable areas of the plurality of cameras Memory function to be stored in,
A combining function for combining the camera icon on the image showing the floor plan based on the camera icon data and the arrangement position data;
An output function for outputting an output image synthesized by the synthesis function;
An operation function that allows the user to set position data indicating a position on the image showing the sketch;
A monitoring point setting function for setting a monitoring point according to the position data set by the operation function;
A camera extraction function for extracting a camera capable of imaging the monitoring point from the plurality of cameras according to the monitoring point set by the monitoring point setting function and the imageable area data stored by the storage function;
A direction calculation function for calculating, as imaging direction data, data indicating a direction in which the camera extracted by the camera extraction function images the monitoring point;
A transmission function for transmitting the imaging direction data to the camera extracted by the camera extraction function;
When a camera capable of imaging cannot be selected by the camera extraction function, the camera realizes a monitoring point correction function for setting a point in the imageable area closest to the monitoring point as a new monitoring point. Control program.