JP4893359B2 - Video recording control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a video recording technique for receiving and recording video transmitted through a network, and more particularly to a video recording control system for controlling operations such as reception and recording of video transmitted through a network.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a video recording control system using a video recording apparatus that records video with a surveillance camera for the purpose of maintenance and security. A video recording apparatus used for this video recording control system is required to always operate to record video. Therefore, it is important to prepare a countermeasure when the video recording apparatus cannot record video due to a failure or the like.

  For example, when a video recording device fails, a countermeasure can be considered for promptly repairing or replacing the failed video recording device by notifying a predetermined central management center of the failure. .

  Also, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, a backup video recording device is prepared separately from the video recording device that is normally operating, and when a failure of the video recording device is detected, the backup video is recorded. A technique for recording a video by operating a recording apparatus is disclosed.

  The storage location of video data recorded by the video recording device (recording medium such as a recording tape or hard disk) is a finite resource, and when the recordable capacity of the recording medium decreases due to the recording of video data The video recording apparatus responds by performing processing such as stopping the recording operation or overwriting new information over old information.

In Patent Document 2 below, a plurality of monitoring control target facilities each having a control device to be operated and an instrumentation device for detecting the state of the control target are connected to the Internet line, and through the Internet line, In addition, a monitoring control system for performing remote monitoring and remote operation of each device of these monitoring control target facilities in a service center is disclosed.
JP-A-11-79621 (FIG. 1, paragraph 0012) JP 2004-199211 (FIG. 1)

  However, if a method for notifying a predetermined central management center of a failure or stopping the recording operation when the recordable capacity of the recording medium is reduced is used, a video recording device or a recording medium is used. The video recording cannot be performed until the repair or replacement of the video is performed and the recording of the video data by the video recording apparatus is resumed, so that the requirement of always recording the video is not satisfied.

  On the other hand, the method of operating the backup video recording device when a failure of the video recording device is detected or the method of overwriting old information with new information can record video without interrupting video recording. Is possible. However, it is inefficient to install a backup video recording apparatus that operates only when some failure occurs as a backup. Further, in a large-scale system in which a plurality of video recording apparatuses (for example, several tens) are required to be installed, it is necessary to prepare an expensive backup video recording apparatus for each of the video recording apparatuses. It will be quite expensive. In addition, when the old information is overwritten with the new information, the old information is deleted due to overwriting, and when the old information needs to be confirmed, the information has already been deleted. there is a possibility.

  Further, for example, if the monitoring control system disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 is used, remote monitoring and remote operation of a video imaging device provided in a monitoring control target facility can be performed by centralized control in a service center. It becomes possible. However, in general, the control device is highly functional and expensive, and is not necessarily suitable in terms of maintenance and cost. In addition, it is possible to perform distributed control in each monitoring control target facility without performing centralized control by the control device, but in this case, it is necessary to synchronize information between each monitoring control target facility, In the case of a large-scale system, there arises a problem that the traffic for synchronization becomes overhead.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a case where a video recording device cannot record video without providing a control device that performs centralized control (that is, when a failure occurs in the video recording device, video (E.g. when the recording device is running out of remaining capacity on the recording medium), the video recording will continue without interruption and the recorded video data will be deleted at a minimum. An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost and efficient video recording control system that can be suppressed to a low level.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a video recording control system in which a plurality of video imaging devices and a plurality of video recording devices are connected by a network,
Each of the plurality of video imaging devices is
Video imaging means;
Video transmission means for transmitting the video imaged by the video imaging means to a predetermined video recording device of the plurality of video recording devices;
Each of the plurality of video recording devices is
Video receiving means for receiving the video transmitted by a predetermined video imaging device of the plurality of video imaging devices;
Video recording means for recording the video received by the video receiving means on a recording medium;
Operation state transmitting means for transmitting notification information including predetermined information to the predetermined video recording device;
An operating state receiving means for receiving the notification information including the predetermined information from the predetermined video recording device;
At least the video imaging device set as a target for recording the video corresponding to each of a plurality of states indicated by the predetermined information included in the notification information received by the operating state receiving unit is described. Operation mode information storage means for storing a plurality of operation mode information in advance,
When the operation state receiving unit can receive the notification information periodically, the operation mode information corresponding to the predetermined information included in the received notification information is read from the operation mode information storage unit. Control is performed so as to record at least the video imaged by the video imaging device described in the operation mode information, and the operation status receiving unit is set in advance when the notification information cannot be received. An operation for reading out the predetermined operation mode information being read out from the operation mode information storage means and performing control so as to at least record the video imaged by the video imaging device described in the predetermined operation mode information Control means,
A video recording control system is provided.

  Furthermore, in the video recording control system of the present invention, the predetermined information included in the notification information is information indicating whether a video recording device that transmits the notification information is operating normally or has a failure, Alternatively, the information is preferably information indicating an event occurrence from the outside or the inside of the video recording apparatus.

  The video recording control system according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, and in addition to the system that operates normally, costs such as preparing a useless spare machine and installing a control device that performs centralized control. Even if the video recording device breaks down or the recording capacity of the recording medium becomes full and the recording becomes impossible, the recording leakage of the video data can be minimized. have.

  The first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a video recording control system provided in a three-story building. In this video recording control system, eight surveillance cameras (video imaging devices) 10 to 17 on the first floor of the building (however, only three surveillance cameras 10, 11, and 17 are shown in FIG. 1), the second floor of the building. 5 monitoring cameras 20 to 24 (however, only three monitoring cameras 20, 21, and 24 are shown in FIG. 1), and three monitoring cameras 30 to 32 on the third floor of the building, It is installed so as to image the place. Hereinafter, when all surveillance cameras are represented, they are represented as surveillance cameras 10 to 32.

  Further, a LAN (Local Area Network) 60 for connecting all the first to third floors is provided, and each of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 is connected to the LAN 60. Further, one video recording device 41 to 43 is installed on each floor of the building, and these video recording devices 41 to 43 are also connected to the LAN 60. The video recording devices 41 to 43 installed on each floor have a function of receiving and recording video captured by the monitoring cameras 10 to 32. Here, in a normal state (state of operation mode “1” described later), the video recording device 41 installed on the first floor receives and records video from the eight surveillance cameras 10 to 17, 2 The video recording device 42 installed on the floor receives and records video from the five monitoring cameras 20 to 24, and the video recording device 43 installed on the third floor has the three monitoring cameras 30 to 32. It is assumed that the video is received from and recorded.

  In the following description, the video format captured by each of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 is a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) system, and each of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 adjusts the compression rate at the time of image compression. It is assumed that a JPEG image of three levels (high, medium, and low) can be generated, but the above assumption is only an example, and the video format does not necessarily need to be in JPEG format, and is not necessarily an image. There is no need to use a video format that can change the quality of the video. Here, it is assumed that each of the video recording devices 41 to 43 has a recording capability of recording 240 JPEG images per second.

  The video recording devices 41 to 43 can notify the event in a circulating relay manner. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 1, the video recording device 41 transmits event information (described later) to the video recording device 42, and the video recording device 42 transmits event information to the video recording device 43. The video recording device 43 is configured to transmit event information to the video recording device 41. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, only three video recording devices 41 to 43 exist, but the number of video recording devices 41 to 43 can be determined by notifying an event in a circulating relay manner as described above. Even if the number increases, each of the video recording devices 41 to 43 only needs to receive the event from one video recording device 41 to 43 and transmit the event to only one video recording device 41 to 43. . It is also possible to set two sets of event information to notify each other of the event information without setting the event information notification destination to the circulation relay type. In this case, it is also possible to set a group of three or more units and notify event information by a circulation relay system between these video recording apparatuses.

  Next, functions of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 and the video recording devices 41 to 43 that are components of the video recording control system illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described.

  First, functions of the video recording devices 41 to 43 will be described. The video recording devices 41 to 43 only have to have the same function, and it is not particularly necessary to provide a special function for a specific video recording device. Here, the internal configuration of the video recording device 41 will be described on behalf of the video recording devices 41 to 43. However, other video recording devices only have to have the same function, and more special functions. You may have.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The video recording apparatus 41 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a system control unit 411, a communication processing unit 412, a video recording unit 413, a video display unit 414, an operation management unit 415, a recording capacity management unit 416, an operation mode management unit 417, An operation mode information storage unit 418, an event management unit 419, and an event correspondence table information storage unit 420 are included.

  The system control unit 411 has a function of performing main processing and control performed in the video recording device 41. The communication processing unit 412 has a communication function in the LAN 60, receives video transmitted from the monitoring cameras 10 to 32, receives event information from other predetermined video recording devices 43, and the like. A function of transmitting event information to the predetermined video recording device 42. The video received by the communication processing unit 412 is supplied to the video recording unit 413.

  The video recording unit 413 has a function of recording the video of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 received by the communication processing unit 412 on a predetermined recording medium (for example, a magnetic recording tape, an optical recording medium, or a hard disk). Yes. Note that the video recording unit 413 may record all the video received by the communication processing unit 412, but can also selectively record the video of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32.

  The video display unit 414 is a monitor that displays the video of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 received by the communication processing unit 412. In addition, when displaying the images of the plurality of monitoring cameras 10 to 32, for example, the images from all the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 may be displayed at a time using a divided screen, or for a predetermined time. The video of each of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 may be switched and displayed every time. Moreover, although all the videos received by the communication processing unit 412 may be displayed, the videos of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 can be selectively displayed.

  The operation management unit 415 has a function of constantly monitoring the operation state of each process, recording medium, hardware, and the like of the video recording device 41 and notifying the event management unit 419 of the monitoring result. Further, the recording capacity management unit 416 has a function of grasping the recordable capacity of the recording medium used for video recording performed by the video recording unit 413. For example, the recording capacity management unit 416 has a function of notifying the event management unit 419 when the recordable capacity of the recording medium becomes a predetermined amount or less.

  Further, the operation mode management unit 417 has a function of managing and reading operation mode information stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418 based on the operation mode notified from the system control unit 411. The operation mode information storage unit 418 stores a plurality of pieces of operation mode information selected in accordance with operations in the other video recording devices 42 and 43. Each of the video recording devices 41 to 43 stores different operation mode information. The operation mode information will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  Further, the event management unit 419 acquires information from the operation management unit 415, the recording capacity management unit 416, the operation mode management unit 417, and the like, and when it is determined that some error has occurred based on this information, It has a function of transmitting event information indicating the occurrence of an error to a predetermined video recording device (adjacent video recording device 42 predetermined in a circulating relay manner). The event management unit 419 refers to the event correspondence table information stored in the event correspondence table information storage unit 420 and generates event information corresponding to the error that has occurred. In addition, even if no error has occurred, the event management unit 419 can periodically transmit event information indicating that no error has occurred. The other predetermined video recording device 42 can explicitly indicate that the error has not occurred, and the other predetermined video recording device 42 can no longer receive event information indicating that no error has occurred. Furthermore, it is possible to detect the occurrence of some trouble in the video recording apparatus 41.

  Furthermore, the event correspondence table information stored in the event correspondence table information storage unit 420 is not only used when event information is transmitted to another predetermined video recording device 42 but also from other predetermined video recording devices 43. When event information is received, it is referred to in order to grasp the contents.

  Here, an example of event correspondence table information stored in the event correspondence table information storage unit 420 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of event correspondence table information held by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that, basically, the same event correspondence table information is stored in the video recording devices 41 to 43 in advance, but different event correspondence table information may be stored depending on the role of each device.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the event correspondence table information includes a correspondence relationship between the unique information included in each event information and the operating state of the video recording apparatus (ie, adjacent to the operating state of the video recording apparatus). Event information to be notified to the video recording device) and the correspondence between the unique information included in each event information and the operation mode (that is, the operation mode to be set according to the event information received from the adjacent video recording device) )have. Moreover, arbitrary additional information may be described in the event correspondence table information.

  For example, the event correspondence table information illustrated in FIG. 3 describes that the unique information of the event 1 is notified when the operation state of the video recording apparatus 41 itself is normal operation. That is, the event management unit 419 notifies event information of event 1 to a predetermined adjacent video recording device 42 based on the event correspondence table, particularly when no error has occurred in the video recording device 41 itself. To do. Further, when the event information of the event 1 is received from the adjacent predetermined video recording device 43, the video recording device 41 sets the operation mode to “1” with reference to the event correspondence table information.

  Further, for example, the event correspondence table information illustrated in FIG. 3 describes that event 2 specific information is transmitted when the operating state of the video recording apparatus 41 itself is insufficient in recording capacity. In other words, when the remaining capacity of the recording medium becomes small and the video recording device 41 itself cannot record any more, the event management unit 419 determines whether the predetermined video recording device 42 adjacent to the event management unit 419 is based on the event correspondence table. Is notified of event information of event 2. Note that, as indicated by the event correspondence table information in FIG. 3, it is also possible to include the value of the remaining capacity as additional information in the event information. When the video recording device 41 receives event information of event 2 from a predetermined video recording device 43 adjacent thereto, the video recording device 41 sets the operation mode to “2” with reference to the event correspondence table information.

  Further, for example, the event correspondence table information illustrated in FIG. 3 describes that the unique information of the event 3 is transmitted when the operation state of the video recording apparatus 41 itself is an error. In other words, the event management unit 419 determines that an event occurs when an error occurs in the hardware of the video recording device 41 itself, which is not impossible to record video but causes some trouble in operation (becomes unstable). Based on the correspondence table, event information of event 3 is notified to the adjacent predetermined video recording device 42. Note that, as indicated by the event correspondence table information in FIG. 3, it is also possible to include an error occurrence location as additional information in the event information. When the video recording device 41 receives event information of event 3 from the adjacent predetermined video recording device 43, the video recording device 41 sets the operation mode to “3” with reference to the event correspondence table information.

  Further, for example, as shown in the event correspondence table information of FIG. 3, when an alarm is received from the monitoring cameras 10 to 32, the event information of the event 4 is used as the event information of the event 4. 42 can also be notified. At this time, it is also possible to add the identification information (camera number) of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 as the alarm transmission source to the event information.

  Further, for example, as shown in the event correspondence table information of FIG. 3, when the video recording device 41 becomes unable to receive event information from the predetermined video recording device 43 adjacent thereto, Similarly, it is determined that recording of video is impossible with the adjacent predetermined video recording device 43, and the operation mode is set to “2”.

  Next, functions of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 will be described. In addition, all the monitoring cameras 10-32 should just be provided with the same function, and it is not necessary to provide a special function especially in a specific monitoring camera. Here, the internal configuration of the surveillance camera 10 will be described on behalf of the surveillance cameras 10 to 32, but the other surveillance cameras only have to have the same function, and further have a special function. It may be.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the monitoring camera of the video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The surveillance camera 10 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a video imaging unit 100, an encoder 101, and a video transmission unit 102.

  The video imaging unit 100 has a function of imaging video, and includes a camera for imaging a predetermined place, a converter that converts an optical signal captured by the camera into an electrical signal, and the like. The encoder 101 has a function of encoding the video imaged by the video imaging unit 100 into a predetermined video format (for example, JPEG format).

  In addition, the video transmission unit 102 converts a video encoded by the encoder 101 into a format that can be transmitted through the LAN 60 (for example, a packetizing function), and converts the packetized video into a predetermined format via the LAN 60. It has a function to send to the destination. For example, information instructed by the video recording devices 41 to 43 is set in the video transmission destination, the quality of the video to be transmitted, and the number of video transmissions per unit time.

  The monitoring cameras 10 to 32 may be of a type that transmits video to an instructed transmission destination, or may be of a type that transmits video with the other party requesting the video as the transmission destination. The monitoring cameras 10 to 32 may transmit the video to the video recording devices 41 to 43 by unicast or by multicast. In addition, when transmitting by multicast, the video recording apparatuses 41-43 need to perform the pre-processing which joins the multicast group of each monitoring camera 10-32 which should receive an image | video.

  Next, processing performed in the video recording devices 41 to 43 of the video recording control system in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The processing performed by the video recording devices 41 to 43 is processing when the video recording device transmits event information to another predetermined video recording device, and when event information is received from another predetermined video recording device. These processes are roughly divided into two processes.

  Hereinafter, processing of the video recording devices 41 to 43 will be described. Here, the processing in the video recording device 41 will be described on behalf of the video recording devices 41 to 43, but the same processing is also performed in the other video recording devices 42 and 43.

  As described above, when the event information is notified by the circulation relay system, the video recording device 41 receives the event information from the video recording device 43. The video recording device 43 periodically transmits event information of event 1 indicating normal operation. When the video recording device 41 receives event information of event 1 from the video recording device 43, the operation mode management unit 417 refers to the operation mode information stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418, and the event 1 The system control unit 411 is notified of the operation mode “1” corresponding to. The system control unit 411 reads out the operation mode information of the normal operation mode “1” for recording the video of the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 from the operation mode information storage unit 418 and performs the operation related to the operation mode “1”. Note that if the same event information is continuously received, the operation mode is not changed. Therefore, the operation mode management unit 417 of the video recording apparatus 41 particularly refers to the operation mode information and the system control unit 411. It is not necessary to notify the unique information of the event.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the operation mode information of the operation mode “1” held by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The operation mode information of the operation mode “1” illustrated in FIG. 5 includes the quality of each monitoring camera 10 to 17 (the quality of captured images), the number of transmissions (the number of transmissions per unit time (for example, 1 second)). ), The number of recordings in the video recording device 41 (the number of recordings by the video recording device 41 per unit time (for example, 1 second)), the necessity of video recording in the video recording device 41 (in FIG. 5, ○ is required, × is not ), Whether or not video display is required in the video recording device 41 (in FIG. 5, ○ is required and × is not required).

  The video recording device 41 refers to, for example, the row of the monitoring camera 10 and instructs the monitoring camera 10 to transmit 30 high-quality videos per second, and receives the video received from the monitoring camera 10 for 1 second. 30 sheets are recorded per hit and displayed on the display screen. Note that the video recording device 41 refers to all the rows (rows of the monitoring cameras 10 to 17) and similarly instructs the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 and records and displays the video.

  Further, it is assumed that the recording capacity is insufficient in the video recording device 43 and the video recording device 43 has transmitted event information of event 2 indicating that the recording capacity is insufficient. In this case, the operation mode management unit 417 of the video recording device 41 that has received the event information of the event 2 refers to the operation mode information stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418, and the operation mode “ 2 ”to the system control unit 411. The system control unit 411 reads the operation mode information of the operation mode “2” from the operation mode information storage unit 418, and performs an operation related to the operation mode “2”.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of operation mode information of the operation mode “2” held by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The operation mode information of the operation mode “2” illustrated in FIG. 6 includes the quality of each surveillance camera 10 to 17 and 30 to 32 (quality of captured images) and the number of transmissions (unit time (for example, 1 second)). The number of images to be recorded in the video recording device 41 (number of images to be recorded per unit time (for example, 1 second)), the necessity of video recording in the video recording device 41 (circle in FIG. 6 is required) , ×), and the necessity of video display in the video recording device 41 (in FIG. 6, ○ is required, × is not).

  The biggest difference between the operation mode information of the operation mode “1” and the operation mode information of the operation mode “2” is that the images of the monitoring cameras 30 to 32 recorded by the video recording device 43 in the operation mode “2”. Is recorded by the video recording device 41. That is, the event information of event 2 is information notifying that video recording is impossible in the video recording device 43, and by receiving the event information of event 2, the video recording device 41 is transmitted by the video recording device 43. There is a need to supplement the video recording that was done.

  In the event information of event 2, in order to keep the total number of recordings to the upper limit number of recordings (240 pieces per second) that can be recorded by the video recording device 41, the number of recordings of each monitoring camera 10-17, 30-32 is Each is set to 20 sheets per second.

  The video recording device 41 refers to, for example, the row of the monitoring camera 30 and instructs the monitoring camera 30 to transmit 30 medium-quality videos per second, and receives the video received from the monitoring camera 30 for 1 second. 20 sheets per hit are recorded and displayed on the display screen. The video recording device 41 refers to all the rows (rows of the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 and 30 to 32), and similarly instructs the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 and 30 to 32 to record and display the video. Do.

  Also, assume that an error occurs in the hardware in the video recording device 43 and the video recording device 43 is in an unstable state, and the video recording device 43 transmits event information of event 3 indicating the occurrence of the error. In this case, the operation mode management unit 417 of the video recording apparatus 41 that has received the event information of the event 3 refers to the operation mode information stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418, and the operation mode “ 3 ”to the system control unit 411. The system control unit 411 reads the operation mode information of the operation mode “3” from the operation mode information storage unit 418, and performs an operation related to the operation mode “3”.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the operation mode information of the operation mode “3” held by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system in the first embodiment of the present invention. The operation mode information of the operation mode “3” illustrated in FIG. 7 includes the quality of each monitoring camera 10 to 17 and 30 to 32 (quality of captured images) and the number of transmissions (unit time (for example, 1 second)). The number of recorded images in the video recording device 41 (the number of images recorded by the video recording device 41 per unit time (for example, 1 second)), the necessity of video recording in the video recording device 41 (circle in FIG. 7 is required) , ×), and the necessity of video display in the video recording device 41 (in FIG. 7, “◯” is required and “×” is not required).

  The biggest difference between the operation mode information of the operation mode “2” and the operation mode information of the operation mode “3” is the setting of the number of recordings. In the operation mode “2”, video recording cannot be performed in the video recording device 43, so that the video recording device 41 needs to completely replace the video recording. On the other hand, in the operation mode “3”, the video recording in the video recording device 43 becomes unstable, but the recording is not completely impossible. Therefore, in the operation mode “3”, the video recording device 41 records 10 images per second by the monitoring cameras 30 to 32 just in case and records the total number of recordings at the upper limit that the video recording device 41 can record. In order to suppress the number of sheets (240 sheets per second), the number of recordings of each monitoring camera 10 to 17 is 25 sheets per second.

  Further, it is assumed that the video recording device 41 cannot receive event information of event 1 that should be periodically received from the video recording device 43. In this case, the operation mode management unit 417 of the video recording apparatus 41 that can no longer receive the event information refers to the operation mode information stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418 and corresponds to the video without an event. The system control unit 411 is notified of an operation mode “2” that is regarded as being impossible to record video due to a failure in the recording device 43. The system control unit 411 reads the operation mode information of the operation mode “2” from the operation mode information storage unit 418 and performs the operation related to the operation mode “2” in the same manner as when the event information of the event 2 is received. Do.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a video recording device is configured to monitor another video recording device in a cyclic relay manner, and the first video recording When a failure occurs in the second video recording device to be monitored by the device, the operation is performed by shifting to a preset operation mode when the failure occurs, while the first video recording device itself has a failure. In the case of occurrence, efficient video recording control can be performed without providing a control device that performs centralized control by notifying the third video recording device that monitors the first video recording device that the failure has occurred. Realized video recording that enables video recording to continue without interruption even when a failure occurs in the video recording device and minimizes deletion of recorded video data Control system low cost and efficiency It is possible to realize in.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment of the present invention described above, each video recording device holds in advance operation mode information describing an operation when a failure occurs in the video recording device to be monitored. It is also possible to acquire an operation mode from the video recording apparatus to be monitored, and to determine an optimum operation when a failure occurs according to the operation mode. Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the operation mode is acquired from the video recording apparatus to be monitored, and the optimum operation when a failure occurs is determined according to the operation mode.

  The main components of the video recording devices 41 to 43 are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention, but are largely different from the first embodiment of the present invention. In addition to the event information, the operation mode information is notified between 41-43. Thereby, the video recording control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention flexibly copes with an unexpected failure as compared with the video recording control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It has the effect of being able to.

  For example, the system control unit 411 of the video recording device 41 transmits the operation mode of the video recording device 41 to the video recording device 42 whose monitoring target is the video recording device 41 with respect to the operation mode management unit 417 at startup. Instruct. The operation mode management unit 417 notifies the video recording device 42 of the operation mode via the communication processing unit 412. The operation mode management unit 417 waits for a response indicating that it has been normally received from the video recording device 42 when notifying the video recording device 42 of the operation mode. It is desirable to repeatedly perform the process of notifying the operation mode every predetermined time until a response indicating that it has been received is received. When any change occurs in the operation mode of the video recording device 41, it is desirable that the operation mode of the video recording device 41 held by the video recording device 42 is updated in synchronization.

  On the other hand, when the operation mode management unit 417 receives the operation mode from the video recording device 43 to be monitored by the video recording device 41, the operation mode management unit 417 stores the operation mode in the operation mode information storage unit 418 and also the communication processing unit. A response indicating normal reception is returned to the video recording apparatus 43 via 412.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of operation mode information of the video recording device 43 held by the video recording device 41 of the video recording control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In a normal state where no failure has occurred, as described above, the video recording device 43 installed on the third floor is configured to receive and record video from the three monitoring cameras 30 to 32. . Therefore, in a normal state, the video recording device 43 operates in an operation mode in which video is recorded and displayed from the three monitoring cameras 30 to 32 as shown in FIG.

  Here, it is assumed that the video recording device 41 has received event information of event 2 indicating that the recording capacity is insufficient from the video recording device 43. At this time, the system control unit 411 of the video recording apparatus 41 inquires of the operation mode management unit 417 about the optimum operation mode, and the operation mode management unit 417 is stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418. A new operation mode is determined based on the operation mode of the video recording device 43 and the operation mode of the video recording device 41 itself. By this processing, the operation mode management unit 417 is in addition to the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 in which the video recording device 41 is recording video, and the monitoring cameras 30 to 32 in which the video recording device 43 is recording video. As a result, for example, the operation mode shown in FIG. 8 is added to the operation mode shown in FIG. 5 to determine the operation mode shown in FIG. . Note that the video recording apparatus 41 can determine a new operation mode and respond flexibly to other event information as well.

  The video recording devices 41 to 43 may, for example, make the number of recordings (recording rate) per second of all the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 constant when determining a new operation mode, Recording rates may be allocated according to importance. For example, as shown in the operation mode illustrated in FIG. 6, the video recording device 41 does not make the recording rate of all the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 constant, and the monitoring camera 10 set to high quality. , 12, 13, 15, 16, 31 is determined to have a high importance, and the monitoring cameras 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 31 are set to a recording rate of 30 sheets per second, and the monitoring cameras 11, 14, 17, 30 and 32 may have a recording rate of 10 sheets per second. It is also possible to reduce the video quality of some or all of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 so that all the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 can be recorded at a recording rate of 30 sheets per second. Further, for example, only important video images of the monitoring cameras 10 to 32 may be recorded. That is, for example, only the monitoring cameras 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 set to high quality and all the monitoring cameras 30 to 32 on which the video recording device 43 recorded video are recorded at 30 frames per second. Alternatively, it may be determined to stop the video recording by the monitoring cameras 11, 14, and 17.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a video recording device that monitors another video recording device in a circulating relay manner and monitors the video recording device, When the second video recording device that is the monitoring target of the first video recording device is configured to acquire the operation mode information indicating the operation mode of the video recording device that is the monitoring target, A new operation mode is determined based on the operation mode of the second video recording apparatus that was operating before the occurrence of the failure, and the first video recording apparatus is operated while shifting to the new operation mode. When a failure occurs in itself, the third video recording device that monitors the first video recording device is notified of the occurrence of the failure, so that it is efficient without providing a control device that performs centralized control. Realizing video recording control, video recording device Low cost and efficient video recording control system that enables video recording to continue without interruption even when a failure occurs, and to minimize the deletion of recorded video data Can be realized.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first and second embodiments of the present invention described above, the change of the operation mode when a failure has occurred mainly in the video recording apparatus has been described. However, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the failure has been described. A description will be given of the change of the operation mode when no occurrence occurs. In addition, as an example of such a case, for example, when a person enters the building, the operation mode is changed and a higher quality image than usual is recorded so that a detailed image can be recorded. Conceivable. In the following, the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly based on the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention, but the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. It is also applicable to.

  The third embodiment of the present invention will also be described with reference to the video recording control system shown in FIG. Here, in the video recording control system shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the monitoring camera 11 is installed at the entrance of the building. At this time, for example, when the video recording device 41 receives an alarm signal for notifying that an intrusion of a person has been detected from the monitoring camera 11 on the first floor, the video imaged by all the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 on the first floor, for example. Change the quality to high quality.

  That is, when the event management unit 419 of the video recording device 41 receives an alarm signal from the monitoring camera 11 via the communication processing unit 412, the event management unit 419 refers to the event correspondence table as illustrated in FIG. The system control unit 411 is notified that switching to “4” has occurred. The system control unit 411 inquires of the operation mode management unit 417 about the operation mode corresponding to the operation mode “4”. The operation mode management unit 417 receives, from the operation mode information storage unit 418, operation mode information corresponding to the operation mode “4” when an intrusion is detected (operation mode information “operation mode“ 4 operation mode information shown in FIG. 11 ”). ]) To the system control unit 411.

  The monitoring camera 11 is provided with a function capable of detecting a human intrusion such as a motion detection function or a sensor input port, and is configured to send an alarm signal to the video recording device 41 when a human intrusion is detected. However, the function (detection device) for detecting the intrusion of a person may be provided as a device different from the monitoring camera 11 or may be provided in the video recording device 41.

  The event correspondence table stored in the operation mode information storage unit 418 of the video recording device 41 has, for example, a structure and information as illustrated in FIG. In the normal state, the operation mode of the video recording device 41 is set to the operation mode “1” illustrated in FIG. 10 based on the event 1 of the event correspondence table illustrated in FIG.

  The operation mode information of the operation mode “1” illustrated in FIG. 10 includes the quality of each surveillance camera 10 to 17 (quality of captured images), the number of transmissions (the number of transmissions per unit time (for example, 1 second)). ), The number of recordings in the video recording device 41 (the number of recordings by the video recording device 41 per unit time (for example, 1 second)), the necessity of video recording in the video recording device 41 (in FIG. 9, ○ is required, × is not ), Whether or not video display is required in the video recording device 41 (in FIG. 5, ○ is required and × is not required). Note that the video recording device 41 normally operates in accordance with this operation mode “1” unless a special state occurs.

  On the other hand, when an intrusion of a person is detected by the monitoring camera and an alarm signal is received from the monitoring camera 11, the video recording device 41 detects that event 4 in the event correspondence table shown in FIG. 9 has occurred. Then, the operation mode is changed to the operation mode “4” shown in FIG.

  The operation mode information table of the operation mode “4” illustrated in FIG. 11 has the same configuration as that of FIG. When the video recording device 41 is set to the operation mode “4”, images captured by all the monitoring cameras 10 to 17 are set to high quality so that a detailed image can be captured, and the number of transmitted images In addition, the maximum number of recordings is set to 30 per second, and all video images are displayed and recorded.

  Furthermore, the video recording device 41 issues an event indicating that an alarm signal has been received from the monitoring camera 11 to the video recording device 42 via the communication processing unit 412. The video recording device 42 that has received this event from the video recording device 41 changes the setting so that a detailed image can be recorded also in the surveillance cameras 20 to 24 to prepare for an abnormal situation in which a human intrusion is detected. In the video recording device 42, as in the above-described operation of the video recording device 41, the event correspondence table is referred to when an event occurs and the operation mode is changed to an appropriate operation mode.

  For example, the video recording device 42 holds an event correspondence table as shown in FIG. In a normal state, the operation mode of the video recording device 42 is set to the operation mode “1” illustrated in FIG. 13 based on the event 1 of the event correspondence table illustrated in FIG.

  The operation mode information of the operation mode “1” illustrated in FIG. 13 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 10 described above, and the video recording device 42 normally performs this operation unless it is in a special state. The operation is performed according to the mode “1”. Here, the second floor managed by the video recording device 42 is a place where there is usually almost no traffic, and the operation mode “1” is set to enable efficient imaging for a long time. In particular, regarding the surveillance camera 23, video transmission, recording, and display are not normally performed.

  On the other hand, when the notification of the occurrence of event 4 is received from the video recording device 41, the video recording device 42 detects that event 4 in the event correspondence table shown in FIG. 12 has occurred, and sets the operation mode. The operation mode is changed to “4” shown in FIG.

  The operation mode information table of the operation mode “4” illustrated in FIG. 14 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 10 described above, but similarly to the operation mode “4” of the video recording device 41 described above. In order to be able to capture detailed images, the images captured by all the monitoring cameras 20 to 24 are set to high quality, the number of transmissions and the number of recordings are set to a maximum of 30 per second, and all Video display and recording are also performed.

  Here, as an example of the event, an alarm signal transmitted when a person intrusion is detected by the monitoring camera 11 is cited, but the event that triggers the change of the operation mode is limited to this. It is not something. As an example of other events, for example, as described in the event correspondence table shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 12, when the recording capacity is insufficient, an error occurs, or any other arbitrary The case where an alarm signal in which any abnormality is detected in the surveillance camera is transmitted. It is desirable that the video recording devices 41 and 42 hold operation mode information corresponding to each event and can perform an operation suitable for each event.

  Further, here, the event occurrence is only notified from the video recording device 41 to the video recording device 42, but further from the video recording device 41 or the video recording device 42 to another video recording device (for example, video recording device 43). By notifying, it is possible to prepare for event occurrence matters (detection of human intrusion) at other locations. It is also possible to notify the occurrence of an event to any other device via other notification means such as mail or voice.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, efficient video recording control is realized without providing a control device that performs centralized control of the entire video recording control system. Corresponding to the occurrence of an event, video data can be recorded efficiently.

  Note that the surveillance camera in the first to third embodiments of the present invention described above can be realized by a general-purpose network camera. The video recording apparatus according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention described above is a general-purpose network video recorder (DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) recorder or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recorder connected to a network), It can be realized by a general-purpose computer such as a PC.

  The first to third embodiments of the present invention have been described on the assumption that the video format is the JPEG system. However, the video format is not particularly limited. For example, MPEG (Moving Picture) Experts Group) method and H.264. It is also possible to use the H.264 system or the like. In particular, the MPEG system and the H.264 standard. In the case of the H.264 system, instead of performing the above-described allocation operation of the video recording apparatus based on the transmission rate (number of transmission bits per second) instead of the number of transmissions per second, or reducing the number of transmissions and video quality. In addition, it is desirable to reduce the video information transmitted from the surveillance camera by reducing the transmission rate.

  In addition, the video recording apparatus not only records and displays received video data, but also has a function of transmitting video data to a network so that video can be monitored in another place by remote operation. Good.

  The present invention realizes efficient video recording control without providing a control device that performs centralized control, and even when a failure occurs in the video recording device, video recording is continuously performed without interruption. In addition, the video recording control system capable of minimizing the deletion of recorded video data can be realized at low cost and efficiently. The present invention can be applied to video recording technology and network control technology for controlling operations such as reception, recording, and display.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the event corresponding table information hold | maintained by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the surveillance camera of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of operation mode "1" currently hold | maintained with the video recording device of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of operation mode "2" currently hold | maintained with the video recording device of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of operation mode "3" currently hold | maintained by the video recording device of the video recording control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of the other predetermined video recording apparatus hold | maintained by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the event corresponding table hold | maintained by the video recording apparatus of the video recording control system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of operation mode "1" currently hold | maintained by the video recording device of the video recording control system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of operation mode "4" currently hold | maintained by the video recording device of the video recording control system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the event corresponding table hold | maintained by another video recording device of the video recording control system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of the operation mode "1" currently hold | maintained by another video recording device of the video recording control system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation mode information of operation mode "4" currently hold | maintained by another video recording device of the video recording control system in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10-17, 20-24, 30-32 Surveillance camera (video imaging device)
41-43 Video recording device 60 LAN
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Video imaging part 101 Encoder 102 Video transmission part 411 System control part 412 Communication processing part 413 Video recording part 414 Video display part 415 Operation management part 416 Recording capacity management part 417 Operation mode management part 418 Operation mode information storage part 419 Event management part 420 Event correspondence table information storage unit

Claims (2)

A video recording control system in which a plurality of video imaging devices and a plurality of video recording devices are connected by a network,
Each of the plurality of video imaging devices is
Video imaging means;
Video transmission means for transmitting the video imaged by the video imaging means to a predetermined video recording device of the plurality of video recording devices;
Each of the plurality of video recording devices is
Video receiving means for receiving the video transmitted by a predetermined video imaging device of the plurality of video imaging devices;
Video recording means for recording the video received by the video receiving means on a recording medium;
Operation state transmitting means for transmitting notification information including predetermined information to the predetermined video recording device;
An operating state receiving means for receiving the notification information including the predetermined information from the predetermined video recording device;
At least the video imaging device set as a target for recording the video corresponding to each of a plurality of states indicated by the predetermined information included in the notification information received by the operating state receiving unit is described. Operation mode information storage means for storing a plurality of operation mode information in advance,
When the operation state receiving unit can receive the notification information periodically, the operation mode information corresponding to the predetermined information included in the received notification information is read from the operation mode information storage unit. Control is performed so as to record at least the video imaged by the video imaging device described in the operation mode information, and the operation status receiving unit is set in advance when the notification information cannot be received. An operation for reading out the predetermined operation mode information being read out from the operation mode information storage means and performing control so as to at least record the video imaged by the video imaging device described in the predetermined operation mode information Control means,
A video recording control system. The predetermined information included in the notification information is information indicating whether a video recording apparatus that transmits the notification information is operating normally or has a failure, or from outside or from inside the video recording apparatus The video recording control system according to claim 1, which is information indicating occurrence of an event.

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