JP4141716B2 - Television monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improvement of a network camera having a motion detect function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the conventional technology, a network camera having a motion detector function has a function of automatically uploading an image to an external web site by having a function of transmitting an image to an arbitrary place at a specified time. Or, even when a network camera having a motion detector function is combined with a pan / tilt head, one of the following two types of operations is performed.
[0003]
(1) The signal generated by the motion detector function (hereinafter referred to as the trigger signal) and the pan head preset function work together to operate the zoom ratio, focus value, pan / tilt coordinates, recording part operation mode, etc. To do.
[0004]
(2) The zoom ratio, focus value, pan / tilt coordinates, operation mode of the recording portion, etc. operate in conjunction with the network camera and the pan / tilt head function under the control of the www browser.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described prior art, a network camera having a motion detector function can automatically upload an image to an external web site by having a function of transmitting an image to an arbitrary place at a specified time, thereby monitoring. The state of is not changed.
[0006]
Also, when the trigger signal of (1) above and the pan head preset function are linked to operate the zoom ratio, focus value, pan / tilt coordinates, operation mode of the recording portion, etc., from the above (2) www browser Similarly, when the network camera and pan head function are linked by controlling the zoom ratio, focus value, pan / tilt coordinates, operation mode of the recording part, etc., for each camera and pan head, Although the operation modes of the cameras are changed as described above, not all the connected cameras are directed toward the object captured by the trigger signal, or all the cameras are not following the object.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to generate each operation mode signal when a certain network camera detects a trigger signal, distribute each operation mode signal to each connected network camera, and obtain an initial value of the operation mode. It is to realize a television monitoring system characterized in that each camera has a function of automatically operating in synchronization by calculating and setting, determining an operation algorithm and executing the algorithm.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention has a plurality of imaging devices in a television monitoring system, and compares at least a plurality of images obtained by imaging with the imaging devices. When a change occurs in an image picked up by any one of the image pickup devices, a trigger signal is generated according to the change, and an operation mode according to the operation mode of the image pickup device at the time of generation of the trigger signal A signal is generated and the operation mode signal is output from the imaging apparatus to an external imaging apparatus, and the imaging apparatus that has received the operation mode signal determines an operation mode related to the received operation mode signal; Each imaging apparatus performs an imaging operation in the determined operation mode.
[0009]
Further, the present invention provides a lens iris value, a zoom ratio, and a focus value at the time when the operation mode signal is generated in the imaging apparatus, and a light control mode, a pan / tilt coordinate position of a pan / tilt head, It may be generated from at least one of the recording operation mode of the recording unit and the data attribute mode during the recognition operation of the image recognition unit.
[0010]
The present invention further includes means for calculating an operation algorithm of the imaging apparatus according to the determined operation mode, and the iris control, zoom ratio control, and focus of the imaging apparatus are calculated according to the calculated operation algorithm. Performs value control, light control mode selection, and pan / tilt coordinate control.
[0011]
Further, the present invention provides a predetermined value selection related to each control set in advance according to the calculated operation algorithm, for example, an operation mode of a recording portion or an operation mode of data that is image recognition (or image processing). It is also possible to select and operate the start position and end position, the value indicating whether or not to execute the auto pan operation, auto tilt operation, and preset operation, and the number of times of execution.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a block configuration example of the television camera of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a detailed block configuration example of the CPU 14. In this embodiment, the camera 30 is a camera that generates a trigger signal and an operation mode signal, and the camera 31 is a camera that receives the trigger signal and the operation mode signal and operates according to an operation algorithm.
[0013]
In FIG. 1, light that has passed through a zoom lens 1 is converted into a video signal by a solid-state imaging device (CCD) 2 and then input to an A / D converter 3 where it is converted from an analog video signal to a digital video signal. The video signal output from the A / D converter 3 is input to a digital signal processor (DSP) 4 and signal processing such as color separation, white balance control, contour correction, and gamma correction according to the input video signal. Is given. The video signal output from the DSP 4 is input to the memory 5, subjected to frame conversion and adjustment of the transfer data amount, and then output to the CODEC 6. The CODEC 6 converts the input video signal into JPEG data and outputs it to the memory 7. The memory 7 delivers the JPEG data to the subsequent CPU 8 while adjusting the timing and data amount of the input JPEG data.
[0014]
The CPU 8 converts the received JPEG data into a TCP / IP (packet) signal by the encoder / decoder unit 9 in the CPU 8 and outputs the TCP / IP (packet) signal to the Ethernet controller 10. This controller 10 conforms to IEEE 802.3. The data is converted and output to the Ethernet driver 11. The driver 11 converts the video signal into an Ethernet packet signal and transmits the signal to the server 13 through the Ethernet line 12.
[0015]
Next, the DSP 4 detects the luminance in the screen imaged by the solid-state imaging device 2 when performing the white balance control described above. This brightness detection data is
As shown in FIG. 2, the trigger signal generator 15 in the CPU 14 reads the luminance detection data in field units and compares it with the previous field. As shown in FIG. When the difference exceeds the set value, the trigger signal generator 15 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal output from the trigger signal generator 15 is input to the operation mode signal generator 16 in the CPU 14. The operation mode signal generator 16 includes data such as the network camera iris, zoom ratio, focus value, light control mode, pan / tilt coordinates, operation mode of the recording portion, and the operation mode of the data being image recognized (or image processed). After reading the setting value of each operation mode at the moment when the trigger signal is generated, from the control unit 17 (within the CPU 14) having the setting value, the operation mode signal of each parameter is generated.
[0016]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the pan-head CPU 18 receives the pan-tilt coordinates at the moment when the trigger signal is generated in the operation mode signal generator 16 in the CPU 14 from the pan controller 19 and the tilt controller 20, and receives the data. The data is output to the control unit 17 of the CPU 14.
[0017]
The operation mode signal generated in this way is output to the encoder / decoder unit 9 of the network camera 30 and converted into a TCP / IP (packet) signal so as to be superimposed on the JPEG data. The signal is output to the controller 10 and the signal is transmitted to the server 13 and further to the camera 31 as described above.
[0018]
Here, the camera 31 receives the operation mode signal distributed from the camera 30 by the driver 11 connected to the tepy 12 like the camera 30, though not shown, through the Ethernet line 12. The driver 11 converts the packet signal for Ethernet into data conforming to IEEE 802.3, and outputs the data to the Ethernet controller 10. The controller 10 converts the data from the driver 11 into a TCP / IP (packet) signal and outputs it to the encoder / decoder unit 9 in the CPU 8.
[0019]
The encoder / decoder unit 9 extracts an operation mode signal from the TCP / IP (packet) signal and outputs it to the decoding circuit 21 for the operation mode signal in the CPU 14.
[0020]
The decode circuit 21 decodes a signal indicating an operation for each parameter, and outputs the decoded operation mode signal to the operation algorithm unit 22 (in the CPU 14).
[0021]
The operation algorithm unit 22 receives the operation mode signal of each parameter from the decode circuit 21 by the difference comparator 23, and sets the operation mode signal of each parameter received from the decode circuit 21 and the data of each operation mode in the control unit 17. And the difference is output to the operation algorithm determination circuit unit 24.
[0022]
Here, as examples of setting values of the operation algorithm, zoom ratios: values set at either the tele end or the wide end, intermediate pan coordinates: 0 degrees, 60 degrees, 120 degrees,. . . The value to be set to any of 360 degrees, and if there is a recording part in the network camera, the value to set the memory write start / end point, memory read start / end point, and the network camera If there is a part that has been image-recognized (or image-processed), the image data itself, data of the outer part of the object being image-recognized, data of the color part of the object being image-recognized, etc. .
[0023]
Examples of the operation algorithm include auto pan, auto tilt, preset, or a combination mode such as auto pan N times + auto tilt M times (N ≧ M).
[0024]
The operation algorithm determination circuit unit 24 determines a setting value and an operation algorithm as an operation algorithm by using the setting value of the operation mode of each parameter set in the table data unit 25 and the difference input with the operation algorithm. And output to the control unit 17.
[0025]
On the other hand, although not shown, the CPU 18 of the camera platform 33 uses the pan controller 19 and the tilt controller when the trigger signal is input to the operation mode signal generator 16 in the CPU 14. 20, and the data is output to the control unit 17 before the control unit 17 sends the data to the difference comparator 23.
[0026]
The set values of the data for each operation mode input from the control unit 17 of the CPU 14 to the differential comparator 23 are also input to the set value store unit 26, and the data set upon determination by the operation algorithm determination circuit unit 24 and Data indicating when the operation is completed or when an interrupt process is input from the server 13 is received from the control unit 17 and the original set value is output to the control unit 17.
[0027]
As a result, the camera 31 performs operations such as increasing the zoom ratio from tele to wide, shifting the pan / tilt coordinates 20 degrees to the right, and 10 degrees downward, opening the iris one time, or setting the focus to infinity. Thus, the camera 31 (or a plurality of cameras other than the camera 31 (not shown)) is automatically operated in synchronization with the operation of the camera 30 without a command from the server, in order to capture the subject that has generated the trigger signal. To do.
[0028]
When the operation block of the camera 30 or the camera 31 includes a storage element such as a memory or a part that performs image recognition (or image processing), the encoder / decoder unit 9 operates from a TCP / IP (packet) signal. Not only the mode signal but also JPEG data may be extracted and sent back to each block.
[0029]
As described above, the setting values and operation algorithms of the trigger signal and operation mode signal can be set in various ways according to the configuration blocks in the network camera other than the above example.
[0030]
Next, the operation when the present invention is used in a system for monitoring the appearance of a person entering a room will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state of a room in which one embodiment of the present invention is installed. The entrance door 41 provided on the right side of the figure is opened, and the person 40 is about to enter the room through the entrance. In this room, imaging devices 30, 31, and 32 for configuring the monitoring system of the present invention are installed and connected to the server 13.
[0031]
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the person 40 is first imaged by the imaging device 30 in the approach state shown in FIG. For this reason, the video imaged by the imaging device 30 is as shown in FIG. Here, although not shown in the figure, the image of the person 40 before the person 40 enters does not exist and the image shown in (a) of FIG. Due to these differences, the imaging device 30 generates a trigger signal. Then, in response to the trigger signal, when a predetermined operation mode signal is sent from the imaging device 30 to the imaging device 31 via the server 13, the imaging device 31 takes the imaging from the state indicated by the dotted line. By controlling the pan / tilt head 33 of the apparatus 31, the imaging direction is controlled to be changed in the direction indicated by the solid line. By doing so, an image as shown in (b) of FIG. From this image, a captured image from the side of the person 40 is obtained.
[0032]
As described above, since the image capturing apparatus 30 and the image capturing apparatus 31 can capture an image of the person 40 in common and immediately capture an image, it becomes possible to more closely monitor an object to be monitored.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when a network camera detects a trigger signal, each operation mode signal is generated, and each operation mode signal is distributed to each connected network camera. A TV having a function of calculating and setting an initial value of a mode, determining an operation algorithm, executing the algorithm, and automatically operating each camera in synchronization without a command from the server. John monitoring system can be realized. This makes it possible for all the connected cameras to face the direction of the object captured by the trigger signal, or for all the cameras to follow the object.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a television monitoring system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed block configuration example of a CPU 14 of the television monitoring system of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a room in which a television monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.
4 is a plan view of the room in FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image in which a person 40 is captured.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Zoom lens,
2: Solid-state image sensor (CCD),
3: A / D converter,
4: Digital signal processor (DSP),
5: Memory
6: CODEC,
7: Memory,
8: CPU,
9: Encoder / decoder part
10: Ethernet controller,
11: Ethernet driver,
12: Ethernet line,
13: server,
14: CPU,
15: Trigger signal generator,
16: Operation mode signal generator,
17: Control part,
18: CPU,
19: Pan controller
20: Tilt controller,
21: Operation mode signal decoding circuit,
22: Operation algorithm part,
23: differential comparator,
24: Judgment circuit unit,
25: Table data part,
26: Set value store section.

Claims (1)

It is assumed that a change has occurred in an image captured by at least one of the plurality of imaging devices by having a plurality of imaging devices and comparing the plurality of images obtained by imaging with the imaging device. A trigger signal corresponding to the change is generated, an operation mode signal corresponding to the operation mode of the imaging device at the time of generation of the trigger signal is generated, and the operation mode is transferred from the imaging device to an external imaging device. A television monitoring system in which an imaging device that outputs a signal and receives the operation mode signal determines an operation mode related to the received operation mode signal, and each imaging device performs an imaging operation in the determined operation mode Because
The television monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the operation mode signal is generated from an iris value of a lens in order to capture an image of the subject at the time when the trigger signal is generated in the imaging device .

Images