JP5468531B2 - Video surveillance system and method of operating the system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a video monitoring system that monitors video data acquired by a camera and a method for operating the system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a video monitoring system for monitoring video data acquired by a camera used for surveillance purposes such as crime prevention is known. In such a video surveillance system, a crime prevention effect can be expected by installing a camera in the surveillance area, and when a crime occurs, the recorded video data becomes a trail.

  Patent Document 1 below describes a video monitoring system having a storage unit that stores video data input from a camera and a playback control unit that controls playback of the stored video data.

  Patent Document 2 listed below includes a system server that manages information relating to a registrant, a confirmation-side terminal that is operated by a third-party organization that is an inquiry destination of the existence of the registrant, a system server, and a confirmation side. An authentication system having a communication network connecting a terminal is described. In this authentication system, when there is a request to verify the existence of a registrant, information related to the verification request is transmitted from the system server to the confirming terminal, and response information corresponding to the verification request is sent from the confirming terminal to the system. Sent to the server. The system server authenticates the registrant based on the answer information.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-165683 JP 2006-92530 A

  The video data recorded by the conventional video surveillance system includes personal information “when, where, who did what”. There is an example in which the handling and operation of this video data is left to the administrator who manages the video surveillance system. However, in this case, since general users other than the administrator do not know how the administrator handles the video data, there is a problem that anxiety increases. For example, if a video surveillance system is installed in a condominium or office building, the residents of the apartment or the user of the office building are strongly concerned that privacy may be infringed depending on the handling of the video data. There is a possibility of embrace.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a video surveillance system and a method for operating this system that can prevent privacy infringement by a specific user who can handle video data, for example, an administrator.

  The present invention is a video recording / playback system including a video recording / playback apparatus capable of recording video data acquired by a camera and reproducing the recorded video data, and is connected to the video recording / playback apparatus via a communication line, A plurality of users each have a communication terminal, and the video recording / playback apparatus includes a user information recording unit that records information on each user, and a user who wants to operate the video recording / playback apparatus. And a transmission / reception unit that receives response information corresponding to this information from the communication terminal, and the user who wants to operate the video recording / reproducing device based on the response information. An operation permission unit that permits operation.

  The user who wishes to operate has an authentication unit that authenticates that the user is a pre-registered user based on information recorded in the user information recording unit, and the transmission / reception unit performs an operation after authentication by the authentication unit. It is possible to transmit information to the effect to other users' communication terminals.

  Further, the authentication unit authenticates that the user is registered in advance, and further, the operation item desired by the user is an operation item registered in advance based on information recorded in the user information recording unit. It can be authenticated.

  In addition, an operation history recording unit that records information related to the operation history of the video recording / playback apparatus can be provided.

  The information related to the operation history includes information related to the operation of the authentication unit, information related to the operation of the operation permission unit, information related to the video data reproduced by the user who wants to operate, or information or operation history of the user viewed by the user wishing to operate. It is preferred that it is at least one piece of information.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation method of a video surveillance system including a video recording / playback apparatus that records video data acquired by a camera and that can play back recorded video data. When a certain user wishes to operate the video recording / playback apparatus, the transmission / reception unit sends information to that effect to a communication terminal possessed by a user other than the user who desires the operation via a communication line. The communication terminal transmits response information corresponding to the information indicating that the operation is desired to the video recording / playback apparatus via the communication line, and the operation permission unit determines whether the user wishes to operate based on the response information. Permits the operation of the video recording / reproducing apparatus.

  According to the video monitoring system and the operation method of this system of the present invention, it is possible to prevent privacy infringement by a specific user who can handle video data.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the video surveillance system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of control operation of a video surveillance system.

  Embodiments of a video monitoring system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As an example, a video surveillance system that takes one building and monitors video data acquired by a camera provided in the building for surveillance purposes such as crime prevention will be described.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to this aspect, and is also applied to a video monitoring system that monitors images acquired by cameras provided in a plurality of buildings at a place away from the plurality of buildings, for example, a central monitoring center. be able to.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a video monitoring system 10 according to the present embodiment. The video monitoring system 10 includes a camera 12 that captures an area to be monitored, a video recording / playback device 16 that is connected to the camera 12 via a transmission line 14, records and plays back video data acquired by the camera 12, and a video. A communication terminal 20 is connected to the recording / reproducing apparatus 16 via a communication line 18 and is owned by a plurality of users. The user in the present embodiment is a person who uses the video surveillance system 10, an administrator who manages the video surveillance system 10, an owner of the building where the video surveillance system 10 is introduced, and a person who uses the building Including.

  Two cameras 12 are arranged in the building as shown in FIG. The number of cameras 12 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to the number of cameras 12. Further, as described above, the camera 12 may be disposed in each of a plurality of buildings.

  The monitored area captured by the camera 12 is a public area, for example, an entrance and a corridor of a condominium, a store, an office building, an elevator car, a station, or the outside thereof. The camera 12 is installed on the inner wall, the outer wall, and the ceiling of the building, and photographs the area.

  The transmission line 14 and the communication line 18 are configured by a wired system or a wireless system. Moreover, it is also possible to mix both. These lines 14 and 18 may be public lines provided for public flights or may be dedicated private lines. Moreover, it is also possible to mix both.

  The communication terminal 20 is a communication device that can communicate voice information, character information, image data information, or a combination thereof, and is, for example, a mobile phone, a PHS, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer. The communication terminal 20 and the video recording / reproducing device 16 can transmit and receive various types of information via the communication line 18.

  The video recording / reproducing device 16 is provided in a building where the camera 12 is disposed, for example, in a management room of the building. As shown in FIG. 1, one video recording / reproducing apparatus 16 of this embodiment is arranged in a building. The number of video recording / reproducing devices 16 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to the number of video recording / reproducing devices 16. Further, the video recording / reproducing device 16 may be disposed in each of a plurality of buildings, or may be disposed in the central monitoring center described above.

  The video recording / reproducing apparatus 16 includes a control unit 22, a video input unit 24, a video recording unit 26, a video output unit 28, and an operation unit 30.

  The control unit 22 controls the operation of the video recording / reproducing device 16. In one aspect, the control unit 22 is realized by cooperation of hardware resources and software, and is, for example, an electronic control unit. Specifically, the function of the control unit 22 is realized by reading a control program recorded on a recording medium into a main memory and executing it by a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control program can be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, or can be provided by communication as a data signal. However, the control unit 22 may be realized only by hardware. Further, the control unit 22 may be physically realized by one device or may be realized by a plurality of devices.

  The video input unit 24 is connected to the camera 12 via the transmission line 14 and outputs the video data input from the camera 12 to the video recording unit 26. At this time, it is preferable that the control unit 22 compresses the video data.

  The video recording unit 26 records the video data input from the video input unit 24. The video recording unit 26 outputs the recorded video data to the video output unit 28 based on an instruction from the control unit 22. At this time, when the output video data is compressed, it is preferable that the control unit 22 expands the compressed video data.

  The video output unit 28 outputs the video data to the monitor 32. The monitor 32 is provided, for example, in the same management room as the video recording / reproducing apparatus 16. The monitor 32 displays the video data on the screen as video captured by the camera 12. Although the case where the video output unit 28 outputs video data to the monitor 32 has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The video output unit 28 can also transmit the video data to the communication terminal 20 via the communication line 18. In the present embodiment, the control unit 22 can control the operation of the video recording / reproducing device 16 so that the video captured by the camera 12 is displayed on the screen of the monitor 32 in real time.

  The operation unit 30 is, for example, a mouse or a keyboard, through which information from an operator is input to the video recording / reproducing device 16 and the video recording / reproducing device 16 operates. The input information is recorded in the video recording / reproducing apparatus 16 as described later.

  In addition, the video recording / reproducing device 16 includes a transmission / reception unit 34, a user information recording unit 36, and an authentication unit 38. The transmission / reception unit 34 transmits / receives information to / from the communication terminal 20 via the communication line 18.

  The user information recording unit 36 records user information input by the operation unit 30 and the communication terminal 20. The user information includes personal information (ID) that proves the identity of the user, user password information corresponding to the personal information, and operable information indicating items that can be operated by the user corresponding to the personal information. These pieces of information are associated with each other and recorded in the user information recording unit 36 as a table.

  The authentication unit 38 is a user registered in advance by a user who desires to operate the video recording / reproducing device 16 (hereinafter referred to as “operation requesting user”) based on information recorded in the user information recording unit 36. Authenticate that. Specifically, the authentication unit 38 collates the personal information and password information recorded in the user information recording unit 36 with the personal information and password information input from the operation unit 30 or the communication terminal 20 and matches. And authenticating that the user is registered in advance. Thereby, access by persons other than those related to the system 10 is restricted. The user registered in advance is a user recorded in the user information recording unit 36.

  The authentication unit 38 authenticates that the operation item desired by the user authenticated by the above operation is an operation item registered in advance based on the information recorded in the user information recording unit 36. Specifically, the authentication unit 38 is operable information recorded in the user information recording unit 36 and is input from the operation unit 30 or the communication terminal 20 and operable information corresponding to the authenticated user's personal information. The information of the operation item desired by the authenticated operation-desiring user is collated, and if they match, the operation item registered in advance is authenticated. As a result, non-permitted operations by the user wishing to operate are restricted.

  Furthermore, the video recording / playback apparatus 16 of the present embodiment includes an operation permission unit 40 that allows a user who wants to operate the video recording / playback apparatus 16 to operate, and an operation history that records information related to the operation history of the video recording / playback apparatus 16. And a recording unit 42. The information related to the operation history is a history indicating that the video recording / reproducing device 16 has been operated and a history indicating that the video recording / reproducing device 16 has been accessed. For example, information related to the operation of the authentication unit 38 and operation of the operation permission unit 40 Information about the video data reproduced by the user who wants to operate, or information about the user viewed by the user who wants to operate.

  Before describing the function of the operation permission unit 40, first, the flow of information after authentication by the authentication unit 38 will be described. After the authentication by the authentication unit 38, the transmission / reception unit 34 transmits information indicating that an operation is desired to the communication terminal 20 of another user using, for example, an e-mail function. The information indicating that the operation is desired is information indicating that the user who desires the operation wishes to operate the video recording / reproducing apparatus 16, and the information includes information on the operation item desired by the user who desires the operation. Other users who have received this information use the respective communication terminals 20 to transmit response information to the video recording / reproducing apparatus 16. The answer information is information indicating that the operation desired by the user who wants the operation is permitted, or that the operation desired by the user is not permitted.

  The operation permission unit 40 permits the operation-desired user to operate the video recording / playback device 16 based on the answer information received from other users. Specifically, when the breakdown of the response information is information indicating that the operation is permitted by unanimous coincidence, the information indicating that the operation is permitted exceeds a predetermined number, or the information indicating that the operation is permitted When exceeding the information indicating that the permission is not permitted, the operation permission unit 40 permits the user who wants to operate to operate the video recording / reproducing device 16. These permission conditions can be arbitrarily changed.

  As described above, according to the video monitoring system 10 of the present embodiment, the operation-requesting user operates the video recording / reproducing device 16 unless the operation permission of the operation permission unit 40, in other words, the operation permission by another user is not granted. I can't. Then, among the users, a user who simply uses the building can know in advance how a specific user such as a building manager or owner intends to handle the video data. As a result, it is possible to eliminate anxiety that privacy is violated without knowing it.

  Furthermore, since the user who knows the action that the operation-desiring user intends to operate from now on has at least a part of the authority to permit the operation by the operation-requesting user, privacy is prevented from being infringed without permission. be able to.

  Next, an example of the control operation of the video monitoring system 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this operation, it is assumed that the video data acquired from the camera 12 is already recorded in the video recording unit 26.

  First, in step S <b> 101, information indicating that the user desires an operation is input from the operation unit 30 or the communication terminal 20. In step S102, the authentication unit 38 authenticates the user who wants to operate. The authentication unit 38 compares the input personal information and password information with these pieces of information in the user information recording unit 36. If the pieces of information match, the process proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, if the information does not match, the operation error is notified to the user, and this control operation ends.

  In step S103, the authentication unit 38 authenticates the operation item. The authentication unit 38 collates the input operation item information with the information in the user information recording unit 36. If the information matches, the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if the information does not match, the operation error is notified to the user, and this control operation ends.

  In step S <b> 104, the transmission / reception unit 34 transmits information indicating that a certain user desires an operation to the communication terminal 20 of another user. Specific information includes who the user is, what kind of operation the user desires, whether or not the operation is permitted, and a reply deadline.

  In step S <b> 105, the response information is transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 34 by the communication terminal 20 of another user. This information is information indicating that the operation is permitted or not permitted. In step S106, the operation permission unit 40 determines whether or not the user who wants to operate can operate based on the answer information. When the operation desired by the user is permitted, the video recording / reproducing device 16 is operated. For example, the reproduced video data is displayed on the monitor 32. Then, this control operation ends. On the other hand, when the operation of the operation requesting user is not permitted, this is notified to the operation requesting user, and this control operation ends. The series of control operations is recorded in the operation history recording unit 42.

  Although the case where the operation permission by the operation permission unit 40 is after the authentication by the authentication unit 38 has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the authentication function by the authentication unit 38 may be omitted. This is because the operation of the operation permission unit 40 based on answer information from other users also serves as an authentication function.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the video recording / reproducing apparatus 16 includes the video recording unit 26, the user information recording unit 36, and the operation history recording unit 42 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The video recording / reproducing apparatus 16 may have one recording apparatus that integrates these functions, for example, a hard disk or a flash memory. In the present embodiment, the video recording / reproducing apparatus 16 may include the control unit 22 in which the functions of the authentication unit 38 and the operation permission unit 40 are integrated.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Video surveillance system, 12 Cameras, 14 Transmission circuit, 16 Video recording / reproducing apparatus, 18 Communication line, 20 Communication terminal, 22 Control part, 24 Video input part, 26 Video recording part, 28 Video output part, 30 Operation part, 32 Monitor, 34 Transmission / reception unit, 36 User information recording unit, 38 Authentication unit, 40 Operation permission unit, 42 Operation history recording unit.

Claims (6)

In a video surveillance system including a video recording / playback apparatus capable of recording video data acquired by a camera and reproducing the recorded video data,
Connected to the video recording / playback device via a communication line, each having a communication terminal possessed by a plurality of users,
The video recording / playback device
A user information recording unit for recording information of each user;
When a certain user wishes to operate the video recording / playback apparatus, transmission / reception is transmitted to the communication terminal of a user other than the user who desires the operation and response information corresponding to this information is received from the communication terminal. And
Based on the answer information, an operation permission unit that allows a user who wants to operate the video recording / playback apparatus to operate,
A video surveillance system comprising: The video surveillance system according to claim 1,
The user who wants to operate has an authentication unit that authenticates that the user is a pre-registered user based on the information recorded in the user information recording unit,
The transmission / reception unit transmits information indicating that an operation is desired to the communication terminal of another user after authentication by the authentication unit.
A video surveillance system characterized by that. The video surveillance system according to claim 2,
The authentication unit authenticates that the user is registered in advance, and the operation item desired by the user is an operation item registered in advance based on information recorded in the user information recording unit. Authenticate,
A video surveillance system characterized by that. The video surveillance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Having an operation history recording unit for recording information related to the operation history of the video recording and reproducing device;
A video surveillance system characterized by that. The video surveillance system according to claim 4,
The information related to the operation history includes information related to the operation of the authentication unit, information related to the operation of the operation permission unit, information related to the video data reproduced from the user who desires the operation, or information of the user viewed by the user who wants the operation.
A video surveillance system characterized by that. In the operation method of the video surveillance system including the video recording / playback apparatus capable of recording the video data acquired by the camera and playing back the recorded video data,
The user information recording unit records information of each user in advance,
When a certain user wants to operate the video recording / playback apparatus, the transmission / reception unit transmits information to that effect to a communication terminal possessed by a user other than the user who desires the operation via a communication line,
The communication terminal transmits response information corresponding to the information that the operation is desired to the video recording / playback apparatus via the communication line,
The operation permission unit permits the operation-desired user to operate the video recording / reproducing device based on the answer information.
A method for operating a video surveillance system.

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