JP5107946B2 - Control program and monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control program and a monitor device, and more particularly, to a monitor device for displaying images taken by a plurality of cameras connected to a network such as a LAN on a monitor screen and an improvement of the control program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a monitoring system that displays images taken by a plurality of cameras connected to a network such as a LAN simultaneously on a monitor screen is known. Video signals from cameras on the network, so-called network cameras, are received by a monitor device called a PC (personal computer) or a viewer and displayed as a moving image. In such a monitor device, an operation of selecting a desired camera from a plurality of cameras connected to the network, instructing transmission of the video, and displaying the received video from the camera in a predetermined display area in the monitor screen Is done.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for displaying a desired video by causing an operator to select a camera on which a video is to be displayed on the screen and further specifying a display area. In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a network connection with a camera is instructed by dragging and dropping an icon in a screen corresponding to a camera on the network to a desired display area, and a desired video is displayed. The The drag-and-drop operation is a series of operations including a drag operation for moving the mouse while maintaining a state where the click button of the mouse is depressed, and a drop operation for releasing the click button at a desired position. In such a monitor device, since the click button must be pressed until the display area for displaying the video of the camera is selected by the drop operation after the camera is selected by the click operation, the operability is not good. There was a problem. The mouse pointer displayed on the screen moves from the position where the icon was displayed in association with the camera when the mouse is moved, so which camera is selected during the drag operation. There was also a problem that it was difficult to identify.

JP 2007-53568 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a monitor device that improves operability when a camera connected to a network is selected and a display area in a monitor screen is designated to display an image. The purpose is to provide the control program. In particular, a monitor that can improve the operability when selecting an object corresponding to each of a plurality of cameras connected to the network and then specifying the display area in the monitor screen to display the video shot by the camera. An object is to provide an apparatus. It is another object of the present invention to provide a monitor device that makes it easy to identify which camera is being selected from when an object is selected until a display area is designated.

The control program according to the first invention, the object display means for displaying the objects, each two or more cameras connected to the network corresponding to the monitor screen, for displaying the camera image at a position spaced apart from the object Display area display means for displaying two or more display areas on the monitor screen , pointing input means for detecting a move operation and a click operation, and a pointer on the monitor screen are moved based on the move operation. A pointer control unit; an object selection unit that selects the object based on a first click operation; and a camera corresponding to the selected object in response to selection of the object by the object selection unit. Transmission requester that sends a video transmission request When, the response to selection of an object by the object selection means, to display the join line connecting the object and the pointer has been selected, the pointing input means after selection of the object to display the coupling line of the second The combined line display means that continues until the click operation is detected, and the second click operation when any of the two or more display areas is selected by the second click operation after the object is selected. based on a display area selected, a camera allocation means for associating the camera corresponding to the selected object, when the association by the camera assignment means, a camera that is associated with the display area that is the selected video from, to function as a camera image display means for displaying the selected display area It is a program for.

Objects In this control program, and select the object that corresponds to the camera on the network based on the first click operation to select the display area based on the second click operation after selecting the object, the selected Association with the camera corresponding to is performed. According to such a configuration, there is no need to keep pressing a click button or the like between the selection of the object and the selection of the display area. Therefore, compared to the case where the same operation is performed by the drag and drop operation, Operability can be improved. In addition, since a connecting line connecting the object selected by the click operation and the pointer on the monitor screen is displayed, which camera is selected from the time the object is selected until the display area is selected. Can be easily identified. Furthermore, since the object selection operation is executed based on the first click operation and the video transmission is instructed to the camera, compared to the one instructing the network connection with the camera by the drag and drop operation, It is possible to shorten the time from selection of the display area to display of the video shot by the camera in the display area.

In the control program according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the object selecting means selects a position on the monitor screen other than the two or more display areas after the object is selected by a second click operation. In this case, the selection state of the object is canceled based on the second click operation, and the transmission request means sends the transmission request to the camera that has transmitted the transmission request when the selection state of the object is canceled. , Configured to instruct to stop video transmission .

According to such a configuration, when a click operation is performed after selecting an object, if the pointer is located outside the display area, the selection state of the object is canceled, so by performing a click operation outside the display area, Camera selection can be canceled.

In addition to the above configuration, the control program according to the third aspect of the present invention is configured such that the coupled line display means erases the coupled line based on a second click operation after the object is selected. According to such a configuration, since the display area is selected and the connecting line is erased based on the second click operation after selecting the object, it is easy to recognize that the display area selection operation has been executed. can do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitor device for displaying an object image corresponding to two or more cameras connected to a network on a monitor screen, and for displaying a camera image at a position separated from the object. Display area display means for displaying two or more display areas on the monitor screen , pointing input means for detecting a move operation and a click operation, and a pointer on the monitor screen are moved based on the move operation. A pointer control unit; an object selection unit that selects the object based on a first click operation; and a camera corresponding to the selected object in response to selection of the object by the object selection unit. Transmission request means for sending a video transmission request , In response to selection of an object by the object selecting means, displaying the join line connecting the object and the pointer has been selected, clicking the pointing input means after selection of the object to display the coupling line of the second The combination line display means that continues until an operation is detected, and when any of the two or more display areas is selected by the second click operation after the object is selected , the second click operation is performed. based on a display area selected, a camera allocation means for associating the camera corresponding to the selected object, when the association by the camera allocation means, from a camera associated with a display area that is the selected of constituting the image, and a camera image display means for displaying the selected display area That.

  According to the monitor device and the control program thereof according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to keep pressing the click button or the like from the selection of the object to the selection of the display area, the same operation is performed by the drag and drop operation. The operability can be improved as compared with those. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability when selecting an object corresponding to each of a plurality of cameras connected to the network and designating a display area in the monitor screen to display an image shot by the camera. In addition, since a connecting line connecting the object selected by the click operation and the pointer on the monitor screen is displayed, which camera is selected from the time the object is selected until the display area is selected. Can be easily identified.

1 is a system diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a monitoring system including a monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the monitoring system 100 in FIG. 1, illustrating an example of a functional configuration in the PC 30. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation at the time of displaying a camera video in the PC 30 in FIG. 2, and shows a monitor screen 110 that displays a live video from the camera 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation at the time of displaying a camera image on the PC 30 in FIG. 2, and illustrates a state when a camera 10 and a display area 111 are selected. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an operation at the time of displaying a camera image in the PC 30 in FIG. 2, and shows a state after the display area 111 is selected. It is the figure which showed an example of the operation | movement at the time of the display of the camera image | video in PC30 of FIG. 2, and the mode at the time of switching a screen display to the enlarged display by 1 screen is shown. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation at the time of displaying a camera image in the PC 30 of FIG. 2.

<Monitoring system>
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a monitoring system including a monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The monitoring system 100 includes a plurality of cameras 10 connected to the LAN 20, a PC 30, a viewer 40 including a receiver device 41 and a display device 42.

  A LAN (local area network) 20 is a communication network that transmits control signals and video signals between the camera 10, a monitor device such as the PC 30 and the viewer 40, and a recording device. The camera 10 is a connectable imaging device on the LAN 20 and has a function of transmitting an image obtained by photographing a subject in the monitoring area.

  The receiver device 41 is a receiving device that receives a video signal from the camera 10 via the LAN 20, decodes received data, and outputs the decoded data to the display device 42.

  The PC (personal computer) 30 is an information processing terminal having a display 31, a keyboard 32, and a mouse 33, and receives a video signal from the camera 10 via the LAN 20 and displays it on the monitor screen of the display 31, or It has a function to record as needed.

  The mouse 33 is a pointing input unit that is used when selecting the camera 10 on which an image is to be displayed or designating a display area in the monitor screen. In the mouse 33, a two-dimensional movement operation for moving the mouse 33 along a plane and a click operation for pressing and releasing the click button are detected, and a detection signal is output to the PC main body.

  The pointing input means may be other than the mouse 33 as long as it can detect a two-dimensional movement operation and a click operation. The present invention includes a touch pad that detects a click operation. When the touch pad is used as a pointing input unit, a movement operation is detected by sliding a finger on the pad surface, and a click operation is detected by tapping (tapping) the pad surface.

  Alternatively, a pen tablet using a combination of a pen-type input device for indicating a position on the screen and a plate-shaped detection device for detecting an operation position may be used as the pointing input means.

<Monitor device>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the monitoring system 100 in FIG. 1, and illustrates an example of a functional configuration in the PC 30. In addition to the display 31 and the mouse 33, the PC 30 includes a network I / F 101, a camera management unit 102, an object display unit 103, a camera connection information storage unit 104, a pointer control unit 105a, a pointer display unit 105b, A monitor screen control unit 106, a coupled line display unit 107a, a transmission request unit 107b, a camera allocation information storage unit 108, and a camera video display unit 109 are configured.

  The network I / F 101 is a communication control unit that connects to the LAN 20 and transmits a control signal to the camera 10 on the LAN 20 or receives a video signal from the camera 10. The received image data is output to the camera video display unit 109.

  The camera management unit 102 scans a device on the LAN 20 and performs an operation of identifying a camera capable of transmitting video from the network-connected cameras 10 and managing the identification information, shooting information, and the like as camera connection information. ing.

  The camera connection information storage unit 104 holds, as camera connection information, identification information and shooting information of the camera 10 capable of transmitting video.

  The object display unit 103 performs an operation of displaying on the monitor screen of the display 31 objects corresponding to the plurality of cameras 10 capable of transmitting video, based on the scan result by the camera management unit 102.

  The object is a display object displayed in association with the camera 10 on the LAN 20, and for example, an icon represented by a graphic such as a camera, a predetermined character string, or a symbol is used.

  The pointer display unit 105b performs an operation of displaying a mouse pointer on the monitor screen. The mouse pointer is an icon for indicating a position in the monitor screen, and moves according to the amount of movement of the mouse 33.

  The pointer control unit 105 a controls the pointer display unit 105 b based on the detection signal of the movement operation from the mouse 33 and performs an operation of moving the mouse pointer on the monitor screen according to the movement amount of the mouse 33.

  The monitor screen control unit 106 includes an object selection unit 106a and a camera allocation unit 106b, and performs display control of the monitor screen based on the detection signal from the mouse 33 and the position information of the mouse pointer.

  The object selection unit 106a performs an operation of selecting an object based on a click operation by the operator. Specifically, an operation of detecting a click operation by the operator based on a detection signal from the mouse 33 and selecting any object on which the mouse pointer is positioned at the time of the click operation is performed.

  The connecting line display unit 107a performs an operation of displaying a connecting line that connects the object selected by the object selecting unit 106a and the mouse pointer in order to easily identify which camera 10 is being selected. .

  The object in the selected state is displayed in focus in a display manner different from that of the object in the non-selected state. For example, the object is highlighted and the camera 10 corresponding to the object is designated as a display target.

  The camera allocation unit 106b selects one of a plurality of display areas on the monitor screen based on the click operation after the object is selected, and associates the camera allocation information with the camera corresponding to the selected object. The operation to generate is performed. Specifically, based on a detection signal from the mouse 33, a click operation performed after the object is selected is detected, and an operation for selecting any display area where the mouse pointer is located at the time of the click operation is performed. Is called.

  The camera allocation information storage unit 108 stores the camera allocation information generated by the camera allocation unit 106b. The camera video display unit 109 controls the display 31 based on the camera allocation information in the camera allocation information storage unit 108, and displays an image captured by the camera 10 corresponding to the selected object in the display area. Is going. For example, live video from the camera 10 is displayed as a moving image.

  The transmission requesting unit 107b performs a response to the camera 10 based on the object selection result in order to shorten the time from when the display area selection operation is performed until the video captured by the camera 10 is actually displayed. To instruct the video transmission. Specifically, when an object selection operation is executed by the object selection unit 106a, a transmission request signal is sent to the camera 10 via the network I / F 101.

  The camera video display unit 109 performs an operation of displaying the video from the associated camera 10 in the display area based on the selection result of the display area. Specifically, when the camera allocation unit 106b selects a display area and associates it with the camera 10, an operation is performed to display the video from the camera 10 associated with the selected display area in the display area. .

  This allows the camera 10 corresponding to the object selected by the first click operation to be instructed to be transmitted before the click operation is performed again. The time until the camera image is displayed in the display area can be shortened.

  In the coupled line display unit 107a, an operation for erasing the coupled line in the monitor screen is performed based on a click operation after selecting an object in order to make the operator recognize that the selection operation of the display area has been performed.

  Further, the object selection unit 106b performs an operation of canceling the selected state of the object when the mouse pointer is positioned outside the display area when the object is selected and clicked.

  The transmission request unit 107b instructs the camera to stop video transmission when the object selection state is canceled. Thus, when the click operation is performed after selecting the object, if the mouse pointer is located outside the display area, the selection state of the object is canceled. Can be canceled.

<Monitor screen>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation at the time of displaying the camera video on the PC 30 in FIG. 2, and shows a monitor screen 110 that displays a live video taken by the camera 10 on the LAN 20. The monitor screen 110 is a monitoring screen for simultaneously displaying videos taken by a plurality of cameras 10 on the LAN 20.

  On the monitor screen 110, four display areas 111 for displaying live video and input boxes 113 and 114 for designating enlarged display or quad-division display are arranged. Five corresponding objects 115, an object 116 representing a predetermined setting group, and a mouse pointer 117 are displayed.

  The display area 111 is configured by equally dividing a rectangular area into four blocks arranged in 2 rows and 2 columns. In this example, each display area 111 is indicated by a rectangular frame represented by a broken line, and the upper left display area is selected by default. The display area in the selected state is displayed in focus by a rectangular frame 112 represented by a solid line.

  The input box 113 is an input field for designating enlarged display on one screen, and by inputting a check mark, a live video in the display area during focus display can be enlarged and displayed.

  The input box 114 is an input field for designating four-division display with four screens. These input boxes 113 and 114 can be selected by moving the mouse pointer 117 and performing a click operation. In this example, the quadrant display is selected.

  Each object 115 is a camera 10 that exists on the LAN 20, is displayed in association with the camera 10 that can transmit video, and is arranged in a tree form as a lower hierarchy of the object “network camera”. Here, it is possible to connect to five cameras 10 on the LAN 20, and the objects 115 are arranged in association with these cameras 10.

  In this PC 30, when a desired object 115 is selected and the display area 111 is designated, a video shot by a camera corresponding to the object is displayed, and videos of a plurality of cameras 10 on the LAN 20 are displayed on the monitor screen 110. It can be displayed simultaneously.

  The object 116 is an object that is selected when displaying images from a plurality of cameras 10 in a batch by specifying in advance an area allocation indicating which camera 10 is to be displayed in which display area 111. In this example, four objects “View1” to “View4” are arranged as a lower hierarchy of the object “setting group”.

  The object “View1” is associated with the upper left display area 111, and “View2” is associated with the upper right display area. Also, “View 3” is associated with the lower left display area, and “View 4” is associated with the lower right display area. The camera 10 on the LAN 20 can be arbitrarily assigned to each view, and the identification information of the camera 10, for example, the camera name is displayed on the view to which the camera 10 is assigned.

  The mouse pointer 117 is an icon that moves in the monitor screen 110 in accordance with the movement operation of the mouse 33. In this example, the mouse pointer 117 is represented by an arrow.

  The object 115 can be selected by operating the click button of the mouse 33, that is, performing a click operation with the mouse pointer 117 positioned. When any object 115 is selected by the click operation, the selected object 115 is displayed in focus, and the branch line from the object “network camera” is switched from the broken line display to the solid line display.

  The display area 111 can be selected by clicking with the mouse pointer 117 positioned in the area, and the camera 10 on the LAN 20 can be selected by selecting the display area 111 after selecting the object 115. Can be associated with the display area 111.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of the operation when the camera image is displayed on the PC 30 in FIG. 2. FIG. 4A shows the operation when the camera 10 on the LAN 20 is selected. A state is shown, and FIG. 4B shows a state when the display area 111 is selected.

  The object 115 can be selected by clicking with the mouse pointer 117 positioned. Further, the selected object 115 is displayed in focus, the branch line from the object “network camera” is switched from the broken line display to the solid line display, and a connecting line 120 connecting the selected object 115 and the mouse pointer 117 is displayed. Is displayed.

  The connecting line 120 is a display object for guiding the operator to which object 115 is selected and where the video of the camera 10 corresponding to the selected object is to be displayed. In this example, the connecting line 120 is represented by a broken line, that is, a discontinuous straight line, and the object “camera 2” and the mouse pointer 117 are linked by the connecting line 120.

  The connecting line 120 connecting the selected object 115 and the mouse pointer 117 may be represented by a solid line, that is, a continuous line or a curved line, in addition to the broken line. The display area 111 can be selected by clicking with the mouse pointer 117 positioned within the area.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operation at the time of displaying the camera video in the PC 30 of FIG. 2, and shows a state after the display area 111 is selected. When any display area 111 is selected by a click operation performed after the object 115 is selected, the camera 10 corresponding to the selected object 115 and the selected display area 111 are associated with each other, and The captured live video is displayed in the display area.

  In this example, the lower right display area 111 is selected as the display area of the object “camera 2”, and the captured image of “camera 2” is displayed. FIG. 5 shows an example in which an in-store video is displayed when “Camera 2” is installed in a convenience store.

  The connecting line 120 connecting the selected object 115 and the mouse pointer 117 is not displayed when the display area 111 is selected by a click operation.

  Further, the selection state of the object 115 is canceled by operating the escape key or by clicking the mouse pointer 117 when the mouse pointer 117 is located outside the display area 111, and cancels the selection of the camera 10. May be. At this time, the camera 10 to be displayed may be changed by clicking the object 115 different from the object 115 being selected.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation at the time of displaying the camera video in the PC 30 of FIG. 2, and shows a state in which the screen display is switched to the enlarged display by one screen. If a check mark is input in the input box 114 and enlargement display by one screen is selected, the display mode of the monitor screen 110 is switched from the 4-split display mode to the enlargement display mode.

  In this enlarged display mode, the live video from the selected camera 10 is enlarged and displayed in the area indicated by the rectangular frame 121 represented by the solid line.

  Steps S101 to S111 in FIG. 7 are flowcharts showing an example of the operation at the time of displaying the camera video in the PC 30 in FIG. First, when detecting a click operation by the operator based on the detection signal from the mouse 33, the object selection unit 106a selects the object 115 based on the click operation (steps S101 and S102).

  At this time, video transmission is instructed to the camera 10 corresponding to the selected object 115, a transmission request is transmitted by the network I / F 101, and a connection line 120 connecting the selected object 115 and the mouse pointer 117. Is displayed in the monitor screen 110 (steps S103 and S104).

  Next, when the pointer control unit 105a detects a movement operation by the operator based on the detection signal from the mouse 33, the pointer control unit 105a moves the mouse pointer 117 within the monitor screen 110 based on the movement operation (steps S105 and S106).

  Next, when the camera allocation unit 106b detects a click operation again based on the detection signal from the mouse 33 (step S107), the camera allocation unit 106b selects the display area 111 based on the click operation and corresponds to the object 115 being selected. The live video shot by the camera 10 is displayed (steps S108 to S110).

  If the display area 111 is selected after the object 115 is selected, the bond line display unit 107 a erases the bond line 120. Further, after the object 115 is selected, the object selection unit 106a cancels the selected state of the object 115 when the mouse pointer 117 is clicked with the mouse pointer 117 positioned outside the display area 111 (steps S108 and S111). . At this time, if the selected state of the object 115 is canceled, the transmission request unit 107b instructs the camera 10 to stop video transmission.

  According to the present embodiment, there is no need to keep pressing a click button or the like between the selection of the object 115 and the selection of the display area 111, so that a similar operation is performed by a drag and drop operation. The operability can be improved. Further, since the connecting line 120 that connects the object 115 selected by the click operation and the mouse pointer 117 displayed on the monitor screen 110 is displayed, the time from when the object 115 is selected until the display area 111 is selected. , Which camera 10 is being selected can be easily identified.

  Further, since the display area 111 is selected and the connecting line 120 is erased based on the click operation after selecting the object 115, it can be easily recognized that the selection operation of the display area 111 has been executed.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the selection operation of the object 115 is executed by a click operation and the connecting line 120 that connects the selected object 115 and the mouse pointer 117 is displayed has been described. The invention is not limited to this. For example, when the display area 111 is selected by a click operation performed after the selection of the object 115, the connecting line 120 is waved for a certain period after the click operation, or the display mode is different from that before the click operation. Anyway. With this configuration, the operator can easily recognize whether the selection operation of the display area 111 has been executed or whether the selection state of the object has been released.

  In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the camera 10 is instructed to transmit video during the first click operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention includes an instruction that instructs the camera 10 to transmit a video when a display area is selected by the second click operation, not at the first click operation. That is, when a display area is selected based on a click operation after an object is selected, a video transmission request signal may be sent to the camera 10 based on the selection result of the display area. .

10 Camera 20 LAN
30 PC
31 Display 32 Keyboard 33 Mouse 40 Viewer 41 Receiver Device 42 Display Device 100 Monitoring System 101 Network I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Camera management part 103 Object display part 104 Camera connection information storage part 105a Pointer control part 105b Pointer display part 106 Monitor screen control part 106a Object selection part 106b Camera allocation part 107a Bonding line display part 107b Transmission request part 108 Camera allocation information storage part 109 Camera image display unit 110 Monitor screen 111 Display area 115 Object 117 Mouse pointer 120 Bonding line

Claims (4)

And object display means for displaying on the monitor screen objects, each two or more cameras connected to the network corresponding,
Display area display means for displaying on the monitor screen two or more display areas for displaying a camera image at a position separated from the object;
Pointing input means for detecting a movement operation and a click operation;
Pointer control means for moving a pointer on the monitor screen based on the moving operation;
Object selection means for selecting the object based on a first click operation;
In response to the selection of the object by the object selection means, a transmission request means for sending a transmission request for video of the camera to the camera corresponding to the selected object;
In response to the selection of the object by the object selection means, a connecting line connecting the selected object and the pointer is displayed, and the pointing input means performs the second click operation after the selection of the object. A coupled line display means that continues until it is detected;
When one of the two or more display areas is selected by the second click operation after the object is selected, the selected display area and the selected display area are selected based on the second click operation. Camera allocating means for associating a camera corresponding to the selected object ;
A control program for causing an image from a camera associated with the selected display area to function as a camera image display unit for displaying the image in the selected display area when the association is performed by the camera allocation unit . The object selecting means, when a position on the monitor screen other than the two or more display areas is selected by a second click operation after the object is selected , based on the second click operation, Cancel the selected state of the above object ,
The control program according to claim 1, wherein the transmission request unit instructs the camera that has transmitted the transmission request to stop video transmission when the selection state of the object is cancelled . 2. The control program according to claim 1, wherein the connection line display unit erases the connection line based on a second click operation after the object is selected. And object display means for displaying on the monitor screen objects, each two or more cameras connected to the network corresponding,
Display area display means for displaying on the monitor screen two or more display areas for displaying a camera image at a position separated from the object;
Pointing input means for detecting a movement operation and a click operation;
Pointer control means for moving a pointer on the monitor screen based on the moving operation;
Object selection means for selecting the object based on a first click operation;
In response to the selection of the object by the object selection means, a transmission request means for sending a transmission request for video of the camera to the camera corresponding to the selected object;
In response to the selection of the object by the object selection means, a connecting line connecting the selected object and the pointer is displayed, and the pointing input means performs the second click operation after the selection of the object. A coupled line display means that continues until it is detected;
When one of the two or more display areas is selected by the second click operation after the object is selected, the selected display area and the selected display area are selected based on the second click operation. Camera allocating means for associating a camera corresponding to the selected object ;
And a camera image display means for displaying an image from a camera associated with the selected display area in the selected display area at the time of association by the camera allocating means. apparatus.