JP4549144B2 - Video switching device, image processing device, video recording device, image processing system, and video recording system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a video switching device, an image processing device, a video recording device, an image processing system, and a video recording system that switch a plurality of input video data and output them to the outside.

  Conventionally, a video deck or a time-lapse video deck has been used as a video recording device for video surveillance. In the case of video surveillance, it is necessary to record a large number of camera videos, but the VCR has only one video input terminal. For this reason, a video switching device called a frame switcher is used to switch video signals from a plurality of cameras in time and convert them into a single video signal before inputting it to a video deck and storing it. With this recording method using a frame switcher, it was possible to switch and record video signals from a plurality of cameras on one video tape one after another.

  Recently, digital video recording devices such as DVD video recording devices and hard disk video recording devices have been used in the field of video surveillance due to the digitization of video equipment. Unlike video decks that record only one video signal, digital video recording devices are mainly equipped with a built-in frame switcher function. That is, the digital video recording apparatus has an analog video input terminal connected to a plurality of cameras, internally performs frame switching of the video signal, converts it into one video signal, and after digital compression, it is stored in a hard disk (HDD) or the like. Record.

  Furthermore, the movement to add an image processing function to a digital video recording apparatus for monitoring is spreading. Initially, image processing was performed to select a video to be recorded in order to make up for a small capacity DVD or hard disk. For example, it is possible to reduce the recording amount effectively by performing image processing on the input video, discriminating between a scene with motion and a scene without motion, and recording only the scene with motion (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2).

  However, recently, since the capacity of recording media such as hard disks has increased, image processing has been performed in order to search for target videos from a large number of recorded videos rather than reducing the recording volume. It is coming. For example, a skin color area is searched from an input image, an index is created by regarding it as a person, and used as a mark when searching for a person in a recorded image later (see Patent Document 3).

  As described above, as the capacity of the recording medium increases, the amount of recorded video is increasing. Image processing is also complicated in order to efficiently search for a target video from a large number of recorded videos. In the above-described image processing example, not only searching for the skin color area but also searching for patterns such as eyes and nose increases the possibility that it is a person, making it easier to search for a person later. Therefore, more complicated image processing is expected in the future.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a 4-input type video recording apparatus. In this video recording apparatus 100, image processing units 103a to 103d are provided for each input video. This video recording apparatus requires the same number of image processing units as the number of inputs, which increases the circuit scale and makes it complicated. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a 4-input type video recording apparatus. The video recording apparatus 200 performs image processing on the video output from the frame switcher 201, and a plurality of input videos are converted into a single video by the frame switcher 201, recorded after being compressed. The Since only one image processing unit is required, the circuit is simplified. However, this video recording apparatus has a limitation that only the recorded video can be processed. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the video recording apparatus. In this video recording apparatus, since the frame switcher 401 connected to the image compression unit 404 and the frame switcher 402 connected to the image processing unit 403 are provided in parallel, there is a limitation that only recorded video can be processed. Canceled. The frame switchers 201, 401, and 402 have the same circuit configuration as the frame switcher 101.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the frame switcher 101. A plurality of videos input from the video input ports 621, 622, 623, and 624 are transferred to temporary buffers 651, 652, 653, and 654, respectively. The data stored in the temporary buffers 651 to 654 is stored in the frame buffer 503 by the bus control unit 605. The video data stored in the frame buffer 503 is temporarily stored in the temporary buffer 606 in accordance with an instruction from a control unit (not shown), and then synchronized with the timing of the synchronization signal from the video synchronization unit 608. Is output from.

  Since the conventional frame switcher converts a plurality of videos into one video, its output has only information for one video. For example, in the case of a 15-input frame switcher, each input video occupies 1/15 of the output video. Specifically, in the case of NTSC of about 30 frames per second, each input video is thinned out to 2 frames per second, and then a total of 30 frames of video is output.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of video data transfer operation in a conventional frame switcher. FIG. 12 shows a case where video frames 501 a to 501 d are extracted from the video of the cameras A to D input to the digital video input ports 621 to 624 of the frame switcher 101 and are output from the digital video output port 607. Yes. When outputting, it is necessary to rearrange the frames in order to convert them into one video, and the video frames wait until they are output. This waiting causes a delay. The input video frame 501a is output as an output video frame 502a without delay, while the input video frame 501b is output as an output video frame 502b with a delay time 503b. Similarly, the input video frame 501c and the input video frame 501d are output as output video frames 502c and 502d with delay times 503c and 503d, respectively.

  However, the configuration of the video processing apparatus as described above has the following problems. That is, in the video recording apparatus (see FIG. 10), the circuit configuration becomes complicated by the increase of the frame switcher. Further, as will be described later, as long as a conventional frame switcher is used, an image may be overlooked due to the limitation of the output bandwidth of the frame switcher.

  Since the conventional frame switcher outputs only the video to be recorded toward the image compression unit, for example, when the video from the three cameras 303a to 303c is recorded and the camera 303d is not recorded, the output of the frame switcher Does not include video from the camera 303d, and image processing cannot be performed. That is, whatever phenomenon occurs on the video of the camera 303d, all of them are missed.

  In addition, when focusing on one input in the frame switcher, information of 2 frames per second is insufficient video information when performing complex image processing. For example, when tracking the trajectory of a person moving in the camera field of view, it is said that about 10 frames per second is necessary for stable tracking. If there is only 2 frames per second, It is highly probable that they will not be able to catch up and will be lost on the way.

  In the frame switcher, the video frame data waits in the frame buffer 503 during the delay. Accordingly, the longer the delay time, the longer the video frame data has to wait in the frame buffer 503 for a longer period, and a larger capacity memory is required as the frame buffer. As described above, since the output band of the frame switcher is limited, in the conventional frame switcher, there is a case where an attention target such as a person is overlooked in the image processing unit.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-252536 JP 2000-115761 A JP 2000-224542 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a configuration in which a plurality of video data is switched and output to the outside, even when complex image processing is performed on an input video, the input can be performed with a simple configuration. It is an object of the present invention to provide a video switching device, an image processing device, a video recording device, an image processing system, and a video recording system that can prevent an object of interest such as a person in the video from being overlooked.

The video switching device of the present invention is a video switching device that switches a plurality of input video data and outputs the video data to the outside, and a plurality of video input means for inputting the plurality of video data respectively, and the plurality of video inputs And a plurality of input buffers for temporarily storing the input video data, a frame memory for storing video data transferred from the plurality of input buffers via an internal bus, and the internal bus. And a bus control unit that is connected to the internal bus, obtains a control right of the internal bus from the bus control unit, and enables access to the frame memory from the outside. .
As a result, even if complex image processing is performed on the input video in a configuration in which a plurality of video data is switched and output to the outside, the target object such as a person in the input video is not overlooked with a simple configuration. It becomes possible to do so.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the video switching device as described above, wherein the video buffer is connected to the internal bus and temporarily stores video data transferred from the frame memory, and the video stored in the output buffer. It is assumed that video output means for outputting data in accordance with a synchronization signal and video synchronization means for generating the synchronization signal are provided.
As a result, two types of video switching devices can be used instead, and the configuration of the video recording device can be simplified.

An image processing device according to the present invention includes any one of the video switching devices described above, a plurality of analog video signal input means for inputting a plurality of analog video signals, and the plurality of input analog video signals, respectively. Signal converting means for converting into video data, and image processing means connected to the video switching device via the external bus means for performing image processing of the video data read from the frame memory.
As a result, image processing of video data can be performed at high speed, and even if complex image processing is performed on the input video, it is possible to avoid missing an attention target such as a person in the input video. It becomes.

  As one aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus described above, the frame memory is shared as a main memory used when the image processing means performs image processing. Thereby, an increase in memory can be suppressed.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the image processing unit detects an alarm condition indicating occurrence of a state to be notified included in the video data. Thereby, it is possible to detect and output an alarm condition included in the video data during image processing.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus described above, the image processing unit extracts feature data indicating a predetermined feature included in the video data. Thereby, the feature data included in the video data can be extracted and output during image processing.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus, the image processing unit compresses the video data.

The video recording apparatus of the present invention includes the above-described video switching device, a plurality of analog video signal input means for inputting a plurality of analog video signals, and the plurality of input analog video signals to the plurality of video data, respectively. Signal converting means for converting the image data to the video switching device, and storage means for storing the output video data connected to the video switching device via the video output means.
As a result, the configuration of the video recording device can be simplified, and even if complex video processing is performed on the input video in the video recording device, the target of attention such as a person in the input video can be obtained with a simple configuration. It becomes possible not to miss.

An image processing system according to the present invention includes the above-described image processing apparatus, database means for storing feature data extracted by the image processing apparatus, and search means for searching for feature data stored in the database means. Is.
As a result, in an image processing system that stores and retrieves feature data, even if complex image processing is performed on an input video, it is possible to prevent a target of interest such as a person in the input video from being overlooked with a simple configuration. It becomes possible to.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system described above, the database unit is provided outside the image processing apparatus and connected via a network. According to another aspect of the present invention, in the image processing system described above, the database unit is provided in the image processing apparatus.

A video recording system according to the present invention includes the above-described image processing system, storage means for storing the video data, and video reading means for reading out the stored video data based on the feature data searched by the search means. And display means for displaying the read video data.
As a result, in a video recording system that accumulates and displays video data, even if complex image processing is performed on the input video, etc., it is possible to ensure that the target object such as a person in the input video is not overlooked with a simple configuration. It becomes possible to.

  According to the present invention, in a configuration in which a plurality of video data is switched and output to the outside, even if complex image processing is performed on the input video, the target of interest such as a person in the input video can be simplified. It is possible to provide a video switching device, an image processing device, a video recording device, an image processing system, and a video recording system that can be prevented from being overlooked.

  In the present embodiment, a configuration example of a video recording device used in a video monitoring system and the like, and a video switching device and an image processing device in the video recording device are shown.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a video recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The video recording apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes frame switchers 11 and 12 having a video switching device function, an image compression unit 14, a storage 15 having a storage unit function, an image processing unit 16 having a function of an image processing unit, a signal A video signal decoder 17 having a function of a conversion means and a control unit 19 are provided. The video recording apparatus 1 is provided with four analog video input terminals 18a to 18d having a function of an analog video signal input means, and four cameras 31 to 34 have respective analog video input terminals 18a to 18d. It is connected to the.

  Video signals input from the analog video input terminals 18 a to 18 d are converted into digital data by the video signal decoder 17 and then input to the frame switcher 11. The frame switcher 11 is a frame switch having a configuration similar to that shown in FIG. 11, and converts the input four pieces of video data into one piece of video data and outputs it. The converted video data is compressed by the image compression unit 14 and recorded in the storage 15.

  The video data converted into digital data by the video signal decoder 17 branches before the frame switcher 11 and is also input to the frame switcher 12. The configuration of the frame switcher 12 will be described later. An image processing unit 16 is connected to the frame switcher 12, and the image processing unit 16 acquires as much video data as necessary from the frame memory in the frame switcher 12, and performs image processing on the acquired video data. Apply.

  Here, the image processing performed by the image processing unit 16 includes alarm detection processing, feature detection processing, and image processing processing. The alarm detection process is a process of searching for an alarm condition indicating the occurrence of a state to be notified from the input video and issuing an alarm event to the control unit 19 when the alarm condition is satisfied. In the feature detection process, a feature condition indicating a predetermined feature is searched from the input video, and when the feature condition is satisfied, corresponding feature data is extracted and reported to the control unit 19. As alarm conditions and feature conditions, changes in the image on the specified area, person detection, car detection, person intrusion into the specified area, stopping, looking around, falling down, etc. For example, discovering a person with characteristics, such as clothes, belongings, appearances, leaving behind, taking away, etc. The image processing is a process for performing compression, format conversion, rate conversion, synthesis of a plurality of input videos, synthesis of images and characters, and the like. In the case of handling compression as the image processing, the frame switcher 11 and the image compression unit 14 for recording can be substituted in the configuration of the video recording apparatus in FIG. It is also possible to record in

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the frame switcher 12 in the first embodiment. The frame switcher 12 includes a memory 23 having a frame memory function, a bus control unit (bus arbiter) 25 having a bus control function, an external bus port 26 having an external bus function function, and a temporary buffer 41 having an input buffer function. , 42, 43, 44, a DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller 47 and an interrupt control unit 48 are connected via the internal bus 24, and each of the temporary buffers 41 to 44 has a video input port functioning as a video input means. 51 to 54 are connected. The video input ports 51 to 54 analyze the format of the input digital video data, and store all video data or valid video data in the temporary buffers 41 to 44. When the video data is stored in the temporary buffers 41 to 44, the DMA controller 47 is activated, acquires the control right of the internal bus 24 from the bus control unit 25, and transfers the video data to the memory 23. When the transfer of the video data is completed, the interrupt control unit 48 generates an interrupt signal outside the frame switcher 12 (image processing unit 16), and sets a transfer completion flag in the register of the external bus port 26.

  Upon receiving the interrupt signal, the image processing unit 16 accesses the external bus port 26 and requests access to the memory 23. When the external bus port 26 acquires the control right of the internal bus 24 from the bus control unit 25, the image processing unit 16 can access the memory 23 and directly reads the requested data from the memory 23. Here, the image processing unit 16 may share the memory 23 as a main memory.

  In the above embodiment, the external bus port 26 acquires the bus control right from the bus control unit 25. However, the external bus port 26 is omitted, the internal bus and the external bus are directly connected, and the image processing unit is connected to the bus. The configuration may be such that the bus control right is directly acquired from the control unit. In addition, the video input ports 51 to 54 may discard video frames every predetermined cycle in accordance with the set conditions. Further, the interrupt generation condition may be set in advance other than the transfer of the video data. The interrupt generation conditions set at this time are as follows: when video data is transferred from the video input port by the determined amount, when video data input from the video input port is transferred in the specified order, When the video data input speed from the input port exceeds the threshold, when invalid video data is detected, when valid data is found during the blank period of the video data, an external video decoder or video analysis unit (not shown) ) When there is an event input. These settings may be made through the external bus port 26.

  Here, the throughput of the frame switcher 12 of this embodiment will be considered. In the frame switcher 12, the throughput can be increased up to the slower of the speed of the internal bus or the external bus. For example, in the case of a 32-bit 40 MHz bus, the throughput is 1280 Mbps. This corresponds to about six videos. On the other hand, in the conventional frame switcher, the video format is ITU-R BT. Assuming 656, the throughput is about 216 Mbps. For this reason, in the past, the image processing unit could only receive 30 frames out of 120 frames per second for a total of four cameras, but in this embodiment, it is also possible to receive 120 frames per second as all information. It is. Thereby, it is possible to perform image processing without missing. In addition, since the throughput is increased, the size of the memory 23 can be reduced.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of video data transfer operation in the frame switcher 12 of the present embodiment. In the figure, the video frames 55a to 55d are extracted and output. As described above, the frame switcher 12 of this embodiment has a larger throughput than the conventional one, and can output four video data simultaneously. The video frames 55a to 55d input in FIG. 3 are output without waiting as the video frame group 56 on the bus. Since the waiting time is eliminated, the memory 23 can be made small as described above.

  As described above, according to the video recording apparatus of the first embodiment, the temporary buffer for output and the video synchronization circuit can be eliminated as compared with the conventional configuration. Therefore, the frame switcher can be configured with a simple circuit. Further, even when complex image processing is performed on the input video, it is possible to perform image processing without missing an object of interest such as a person in the input video.

  In the above embodiment, the input video is an analog video signal, but it may be digital video data. Examples of digital video data include digitally compressed data such as JPEG, MPEG, and wavelet compression that are input from a network interface (network IF) through a network such as IEEE 1394 or Ethernet (registered trademark). The digital compressed data may be decoded by a digital compression decoder and input to the frame switcher, or only the frame boundary information may be decoded and input to the frame switcher while being digitally compressed. This makes it possible to handle digitally compressed data transferred from the network.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a video recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  The video recording device 61 includes a video signal decoder 17, frame switchers 11 and 12, an image compression unit 14, a storage 15 and an image processing unit 16, a database 62 having the function of a database unit, and a search unit 63 having a function of a search unit. A video display unit 64 having functions of a video reading unit and a display unit, and a user interface (user IF) 65. The video recording device 61 is provided with four analog video input terminals 18a to 18d, and the four cameras 31 to 34 are connected to the respective analog video input terminals 18a to 18d.

  Feature data processed by the image processing unit 16 is registered in the database 62. When the user activates the search unit 63 via the user IF 65, the search unit 63 searches for feature data from the database 62. Based on the feature data searched by the search unit 63, the video display unit 64 reads and displays the video data stored in the storage 5 related to the feature data.

  Here, the feature data registered in the database 62 includes a camera number, a video equipment number, time information, or a frame number. As characteristic data, changes in the image of the specified area, changes in the image in the specified sequence, car detection, car size, car license plate, car color, car model, car travel route, car parking Examples include stopping, person detection, person size, person face, person clothes color, person movement path or stop, person eye movement path, person belongings, person belongings being left or removed.

  As described above, according to the video recording apparatus of the second embodiment, desired video data is retrieved from video data stored in the storage by searching using feature data obtained by image processing of video data. Can be displayed easily.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a video recording system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  This video recording system has a configuration in which a database server 75 having the function of database means is connected to a video recording device 71. The video recording device 71 includes a video signal decoder 17, frame switchers 11 and 12, an image compression unit 14, a storage 15, an image processing unit 16 and a video display unit 64, a network interface (network IF) 72, and a communication control unit 73. Is provided.

  The video recording device 71 registers the feature data processed by the image processing unit 16 in the database server 75 via the network IF 72. The user searches the feature data by operating the database server 75 via a user interface (not shown) or directly. The video recording device 71 is controlled from the database server 75, a user terminal device (not shown), or a system controller (not shown) via a network IF 72 connected to the network. The communication control unit 73 controls the video display unit 64 in accordance with an instruction from the network via the network IF 72. The video display unit 64 reads and displays video data stored in the storage 15 related to the searched feature data. Here, the feature data registered in the database server 75 is the same as the feature data registered in the database 62 in the second embodiment.

  As described above, according to the video recording system of the third embodiment, by using the feature data obtained by the image processing of the video data and searching from outside, desired video data stored in the storage can be obtained. Video data can be displayed easily.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a video recording apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first, second, and third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The video recording device 81 includes a video signal decoder 17, a frame switcher 83, an image compression unit 14, an image processing unit 16, and a storage 15. The video recording device 81 is provided with four analog video input terminals 18a to 18d, and the four cameras 31 to 34 are connected to the analog video input terminals 18a to 18d.

  Video signals input from the analog video input terminals 18 a to 18 d are converted into digital data by the video signal decoder 17 and then input to the frame switcher 83. The frame switcher 83 converts the four pieces of input video data into one piece of video data and outputs it from a video output port 86 described later. The converted video data is compressed by the image compression unit 14 and recorded in the storage 15. Further, the image processing unit 16 acquires the necessary amount of video data from the memory 23 in the frame switcher 83 via the external bus port 26 and performs image processing on the acquired video data.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the frame switcher 83 in the fourth embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for the same components as those in the first embodiment. The frame switcher 83 includes a memory 23, a bus control unit 25, an external bus port 26, input temporary buffers 41, 42, 43, 44, an output temporary buffer 85 having a function of an output buffer, a DMA controller 47, and an interrupt. The control unit 48 is connected via the internal bus 24, video input ports 51 to 54 are connected to the temporary buffers 41 to 44, respectively, and a video output port 86 having a function of video output means is connected to the temporary buffer 85. It has a connected configuration. In addition, a video synchronization unit 87 having a function of video synchronization means for generating a video output synchronization signal and outputting it to the video output port 86 is provided.

  The video input ports 51 to 54 analyze the format of the input digital video data, and store all video data or valid video data in the temporary buffers 41 to 44. When the video data is stored in the temporary buffers 41 to 44, the DMA controller 47 is activated, acquires the control right of the internal bus 24 from the bus control unit 25, and transfers the video data to the memory 23.

  When the transfer of the video data from the temporary buffers 41 to 44 to the memory 23 is completed, the interrupt control unit 48 generates an interrupt signal to the outside of the frame switcher 83 (image processing unit 16) and stores it in the register of the external bus port 26. Set the transfer completion flag. Upon receiving the interrupt signal, the image processing unit 16 accesses the external bus port 26 and requests access to the memory 23. When the external bus port 26 acquires the control right of the internal bus 24 from the bus control unit 25, the image processing unit 16 can access the memory 23 and directly reads the requested data from the memory 23.

  When the transfer of the video data from the temporary buffers 41 to 44 to the memory 23 is completed, the DMA controller 47 is activated in accordance with the timing generated by the video synchronization unit 87, and the video data on the memory 23 is transferred to the temporary buffer 85. Forward to. The video data stored in the temporary buffer 85 is output from the video output port 86 in accordance with the synchronization signal from the video synchronization unit 87. The transfer of the video data from the memory 23 to the temporary buffer 85 may be performed after the external bus port 26 releases the control right of the internal bus 24, for example.

  Thus, according to the fourth embodiment, by using the frame switcher 83, two types of frame switchers (the frame switchers 11 and 12 shown in the first embodiment of FIG. 1) can be substituted. The configuration of the video recording apparatus can be further simplified.

  The present invention has an effect that, even when performing complex image processing on an input video, etc., it is possible to prevent oversight of a target of interest such as a person in the input video with a simple configuration, The present invention is useful for a video switching device, an image processing device, a video recording device, an image processing system, a video recording system, and the like that switch a plurality of input video data and output them to the outside.

The figure which shows the structure of the video recording apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the frame switcher in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the transfer operation example of the video data in the frame switcher of this embodiment The figure which shows the structure of the video recording apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the video recording system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the video recording apparatus which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the frame switcher in 4th Embodiment The figure which shows the structural example of the 4-input type video recording apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. The figure which shows the other structural example of the 4-input type video recording apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. The figure which shows the other structural example of the video recording apparatus which concerns on a prior art example. The figure which shows the structural example of the frame switcher which concerns on a prior art example The figure which shows the example of transfer operation | movement of the video data in the conventional frame switcher

Explanation of symbols

1, 61, 71, 81 Video recording device 11, 12, 83 Frame switcher 14 Image compression unit 15 Storage 16 Image processing unit 17 Video signal decoder 19 Control unit 23 Memory (frame memory)
24 Internal Bus 25 Bus Control Unit 26 External Bus Port 31-34 Camera 41-44, 85 Temporary Buffer 47 DMA Controller 48 Interrupt Control Unit 51-54 Video Input Port 62 Database 63 Search Unit 64 Video Display Unit 65 User Interface (User IF)
72 Network interface (network IF)
73 Communication control unit 75 Database server 86 Video output port 87 Video synchronization unit

Claims (12)

A video switching device that switches a plurality of input video data and outputs the data to the outside.
A plurality of video input means for inputting the plurality of video data respectively;
A plurality of input buffers provided respectively in the plurality of video input means and temporarily storing the input video data;
A frame memory for storing video data transferred from the plurality of input buffers via an internal bus;
Bus control means for controlling the internal bus;
A video switching device comprising: external bus means connected to the internal bus, acquiring control authority for the internal bus from the bus control means, and enabling access to the frame memory from the outside. The video switching device according to claim 1,
An output buffer connected to the internal bus and temporarily storing video data transferred from the frame memory;
Video output means for outputting video data stored in the output buffer according to a synchronization signal;
A video switching device comprising video synchronization means for generating the synchronization signal. The video switching device according to claim 1 or 2,
A plurality of analog video signal input means for inputting a plurality of analog video signals respectively;
Signal converting means for converting the input plurality of analog video signals into the plurality of video data respectively;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image processing unit connected to the video switching device via the external bus unit and performing image processing of video data read from the frame memory. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The frame memory is an image processing apparatus shared as a main memory used when the image processing means performs image processing. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The image processing device detects an alarm condition indicating occurrence of a state to be notified included in the video data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The image processing device is an image processing device for extracting feature data indicating a predetermined feature included in the video data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The image processing means is an image processing device that performs compression processing of the video data. A video switching device according to claim 2,
A plurality of analog video signal input means for inputting a plurality of analog video signals respectively;
Signal converting means for converting the input plurality of analog video signals into the plurality of video data respectively;
A video recording device comprising: storage means connected to the video switching device via the video output means and for storing the output video data. An image processing apparatus according to claim 6;
Database means for storing feature data extracted by the image processing device;
An image processing system comprising: search means for searching for feature data stored in the database means. The image processing system according to claim 9,
The database means is an image processing system provided outside the image processing apparatus and connected via a network. The image processing system according to claim 9,
The database means is an image processing system provided in the image processing apparatus. An image processing system according to claim 9;
Storage means for storing the video data;
Video reading means for reading out the stored video data based on the feature data searched by the search means;
A video recording system comprising: display means for displaying the read video data.

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