JPH10200790A - Video controller and control method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm details of an object in a video image. SOLUTION: In the case of changing an angle of a camera 1003 according to an instruction from an external device 1002, whether or not an object (copying system 1007) is set within an image pickup visual field is discriminated, and when discriminated within the image pickup visual field, a current status is inquired of the object and status information is obtained. Then an image of a character string denoting the status information is generated and it is synthesized with a picked-up video image and the synthesized image is outputted to a video processing means 7020. The video processing means 7020 transfers the synthesized video image in this way to the external device 1002 via a communication interface 1011.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video control apparatus, a control method, and a storage medium, and more particularly, to a video control apparatus, a control method, and a storage medium for transferring an input video to a client in accordance with a request from a remote client. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A system capable of connecting a remote camera server (a device for controlling a camera and transferring a photographed image to a client) via an existing network so that the photographed image can be viewed from the client has been proposed. The applicant has already filed several applications.

[0003] The camera server uses a general-purpose device such as a personal computer or a work station, and is equipped with a card (or board) having a video capture function, and a video camera is connected to the card. Further, in order to allow the client to control the camera angle (pan, tilt, zoom, etc.) of the camera server, the camera device can change the zoom value, and the camera device can be mounted on a predetermined camera platform. ,
There is also a proposal to output a signal for controlling the angle from the camera server main body to the camera device via a predetermined interface (for example, a serial interface that a personal computer has as a standard).

On the other hand, the client is also constituted by a general-purpose device such as a personal computer and a workstation.

[0005]

However, in the above proposal, although it is possible to confirm a video taken by a remote camera, for each displayed object, more information than the video of the object is displayed. I haven't gotten it.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a video control apparatus, a control method, and a storage medium that enable the details of an object in a video to be confirmed.

[0007]

In order to solve this problem, for example, an image control device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a video control device that includes a video input unit and transfers a video input according to a request from a remote client to a client, and stores information on an object in a video input by the video input unit. Generating means for generating a composite image based on the information; synthesizing means for synthesizing the synthetic image generated by the generating means in the video image input by the video input means; Transfer means for transferring the image to the client.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing an embodiment of the present invention in detail, its prerequisites will be described. After that, the embodiment will be described.

<Summary of Overview> The video of a camera connected to a remote camera server can be viewed on the client side via an existing network, and the angles (pan, tilt, As described above, the present applicant has proposed a proposal for controlling the zoom value and the like.

One of the main features of this proposal is that a general-purpose network (Internet) protocol is used, and the camera is controlled within the range of the protocol, instead of a generally known surveillance camera or the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a camera server device, which is constituted by the following units. Reference numeral 1003 denotes a camera capable of controlling a camera angle, shooting conditions, and the like.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a camera 1003 according to an instruction from the external device 1002.
Is a control device that responds to the captured image by controlling the image processing, and is realized based on, for example, a personal computer. The control device 1001 outputs a control signal to the camera 1003 via an RS-232C interface or the like, and controls the camera angle by using a camera control unit 1017, the camera 1003.
And a communication interface unit 1011 for exchanging information between the present device and another device by a network adapter or the like. In addition, by realizing as programs and memory data using resources such as a computer CPU, a storage device, and an auxiliary storage device in addition to these resources, the following means are provided.

That is, 1012 command interpreting means,
1013 reception code generation means, 1015 time limit means,
The image storage means 1019 and the reservation registration means 1014 (these will be apparent from the description below).

The external device 1002 is, for example, a WWW server or a WWW browser. If the external device 1002 is a WWW server, this device is placed under the control of the WWW server, and a WWW browser (client)
From W, which is the storage destination of document data and image data.
The information is presented to the WW server according to the URL indicating the storage location of the target data. In response, the WWW server returns corresponding document data or image data to the WWW browser.

When the external device 1002 is a WWW browser, it can be interpreted that the function of the WWW server has been incorporated into the present device.

However, in order to simplify the description, the external device 1
Reference numeral 002 denotes a WWW server, which communicates between them using the HTTP protocol, and controls the control device 1001 of this configuration example.
In the application of video data, an example will be described in which it functions as a WWW server. This can be realized by using the communication method of the WWW server in the present control device.

It is well known that the following description is generally used when pasting image data into a WWW document.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/image0
01.gif "> This means that www.foo.co.jp is located on a WWW server
It transfers the image data stored in the file mage001.gif, but interprets the subsequent file name as a command.

As an example, pan, tilt, and zoom for specifying a camera angle are represented by the letters “P”,
The control amounts are represented by “T” and “Z”, and thereafter, the respective control amounts are represented by numbers. For example, pan angles from -50 degrees to 50 degrees,
Tilting angle is -20 to 20 degrees, zoom is 1 to 8 and there is a camera with a camera that can select 8 steps. Pan angle is 20 degrees, tilt is 5 degrees, and 2x zoom is taken.
If you want to paste (transfer) it as image data in the format, describe as follows. It is assumed that the network address of this device is cam.foo.co.jp.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/P20T5Z
2.gif "> When the HTML document is described as described above, the external device 1002, which is a WWW browser, requests image data to the control device 1001. That is, the control device 1002 is controlled via the communication interface 1011. When a request is input to 1001, the command interpreting means 1012 is activated, and interpretation of the request and processing of a response to the request are started.

An example of the processing is shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S101, a command described as a file name is interpreted. That is, if the start of the request is "P", the request is recognized as a shooting command, and step S102 is performed.
Proceed to. Here, the camera is operated at the designated pan, tilt, and zoom values via the camera control unit 1017.
(Step S102) The photographed image is converted into the image format of the designated method, and is returned to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface means 1011.

At this time, the communication interface means 10
In 11, since the HTTP protocol is used, content type information and status information according to the image format are added to the head. Then, the present process ends.

As a result, the HTML document can be written as if W
Video taken like image data stored in a file of the WW server is pasted and displayed.

In the condition judgment in step S101, if the beginning of the request is "R", the request is recognized as a reservation command, and the process proceeds to step S105 via the condition judgment in step S104.

The reservation command is a service for reserving a captured video and transferring the captured video to a client later. In this case, start with the letter "R", represent the year, month, day, hour, and minute as integers, and separate them with periods, and then specify the shooting conditions, pan, tilt, and zoom. Followed by a name representing the image format.

For example, at 13:15 on July 6, 1996.
A 3x zoom image with a pan angle of 25 degrees and a tilt angle of 0 degrees per minute
If you want to make a shooting reservation in gif format, describe as follows.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996.
7.6.13.15P25T0Z3.gif "> When the reservation command as described above is specified, the camera server transfers the unique identification number as a reception code to the external device 1002 from the reception code generation unit 1013 in step S105. The external device 1002 that has received this can transfer the reception code to the camera server later to capture the reserved and photographed video. It may be realized as a counter that is incremented by one, or may be realized by a numerical value representing the time of the requested date.

The reception code, the reservation time, the photographing condition, and the information of the image format are stored in the reservation registration unit 1014.
(Step S106), and the reception code is transmitted via the communication interface 1011 to the requesting external device 10.
02 (step S107).

At this time, content type information and status information indicating that the reply content is a reception code are added to the head. Then, the present process ends.

When an HTML document including such a shooting reservation is simply created and displayed on a general WWW browser, a reception code is returned instead of image data. After all, the image is not displayed,
The control device 1 is executed by a CGI program or the like of the WWW server.
For 001, a photographing reservation is made in the same manner as in a WWW browser, and when a reception code is obtained, an HTML document including an image data description specifying the reception code with an image retrieval command described later is generated. When the generated document is displayed on a WWW browser, shooting is performed as scheduled, and the image data is displayed.

The retrieval command starts with the letter "G", is followed by a reception code, and is finally given a name representing an image format. The reception code here is returned when a reservation is made to the external device 1002.

For example, when "12543" is returned as the reception code, and the image reserved for shooting is taken out after shooting, the following description is used.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/G1254
3.gif "> The reservation registering means 1014 can be realized in the storage device or the auxiliary storage device of the control device 1001 in the form of a table as shown in FIG. 3, for example. When the reception code is "12543", the first
Recorded as column.

When the reservation registration is completed, the photographing is performed as instructed at the reserved time by the time limit means described later, and the image data is stored in the image storage means 1019.

The image storage means 1019 is provided, for example, in FIG.
It can be realized in a storage device or an auxiliary storage device of the control device 1001 in the form of a table as shown in FIG. For example, the photographing result of the above-mentioned reservation example is recorded as image data according to the specified format together with the reception code and the information of the image format as shown in the first column.

In the condition determination in step S101, if the beginning of the request is "G", the request is recognized as an image fetch command, and the process proceeds to step S109 via the condition determination in step S104 and step S108, and the image storage means 10
Search for data stored in 19.

Then, it is determined whether or not the image data is stored with the same value as the reception code described as the image fetching command (step S110).
A response is sent to the requesting external device 1002 via “011”.

At this time, the communication interface means 1
In step 011, since the HTTP protocol is used, content type information, status information, and the like according to the image format are added to the head (step S111). Then, in step S112, the column of the image storage means 1019 in which the image data just taken out is stored is deleted. Then, the present process ends.

If it is determined in step S110 that the image data corresponding to the designated reception code is not stored, the error information indicating that the target image has not been shot is transmitted via the communication interface unit 1011 to the requesting external device 100.
Reply to 2 to end this processing.

In step S108, the external device 10
If the start of the request is not “G”, the error information indicating that the command is an undefined command is returned to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface unit 1011, and the process ends.

As described above, information exchange between the external device 1002 and the control device 1001 of the present invention is performed.

Next, a description will be given of the time limiter 1015 for performing camera control, photographing, and storing photographing results based on the reservation data registered in the reservation registering means 1014.

In the time limiter 1015, a time limit program is started at regular time intervals, for example, every one minute. This can be achieved by using a computer timer. The operation of the timed program will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the current time is read from the timer of the control device 1001 (step S201), and step S202
Proceed to. In step S202, the reservation registration unit 1014
The registered items are taken out one by one in order from. If it is determined in step S203 that all items have been removed, the process ends.
Proceed to S204. If the set time in the target reservation item is
If it is later than the current time, the process returns to step S202 and the process is repeated. Otherwise, it is determined that the set time has come, and the process proceeds to step S205, where the camera 1003 is controlled via the camera control unit 1017 according to the shooting conditions of the extracted reserved item, and shooting is performed. Then, the photographed image is converted into the image format of the method specified by the reservation item, and this image data is stored in the image storage means 1019 together with the reception code and the image format information.
(Step S206). Subsequently, the currently retrieved reservation item is deleted from the reservation registration unit 1014 (step S20).
7) Return to step S202 and repeat the process.

As a result, the photographing is performed according to the reservation, the result is stored, and when an image retrieval command is requested from the external device 1002 later, the image data is replied.

As described above, simply connecting the camera control device to the network of the WWW system and describing the URL in which the description of the photographing condition of the camera is added to the address of the camera control device as the source of the image data makes it easy for remote control. It is possible to paste a live image (that is, a current image) obtained by operating the camera in a WWW document. In order to realize only this, each of the reception code unit 1013, the time limit unit 1015, the image storage unit 1019, and the reservation registration unit 1014 is unnecessary, and steps after step S104 of the command interpretation unit 1012 are unnecessary. .

The time limit means 1015 and the image storage means 1
019, by providing the reservation registration means 1014,
If a CGI program or the like of the WWW server is used, it is possible to make a reservation for camera shooting and to retrieve and display the result on a WWW page later. In particular, even if an attempt is made to take a picture with a remote camera during a time when the network is congested, it takes time to transfer the image and the image data cannot be collected as desired. It is possible to make a reservation in advance for a necessary time at a specific camera angle and to take out and use the stored image data when the network goes down, such as at night.

In particular, it is possible to photograph a plurality of images at short intervals at the same camera angle regardless of the transmission capacity of the network.

Of course, here, the interface with the external device 1002 has been described as the HTTP protocol, but any communication interface may be used.

In this configuration example, the reception code is used to identify the photographing data for the reservation, but the external device 1002 that requests the image without using the reception code generation means.
Side generates a unique request number and makes a request as a part of the reservation command.
A method of identifying the target image data based on the combination of the request number and the request number may be used.

Although the reservation time is set in units of minutes, it may be extended to units of seconds or milliseconds.

Although the image format is exemplified by gif, JPEG may be represented by a file extension of jpg and either one of them may be switched or another file format may be adopted. Absent.

Although the file name is regarded as a command, a URL parameter description may be used. For example, when the pan, tilt, zoom, and image formats are 25 degrees, 5 degrees, 2 times, and gif, respectively, they may be described as follows.

<Img src = "http://cam.foo.co.jp/camera
image? P = 20, T = 5, Z = 2, F = gif "> Further, a WWW server may be simultaneously installed in the control device. In this case, for example, command interpretation is performed as a CGI program of the WWW server. In the program of means 1012
It can be realized by giving the name camctl.exe and making the following description.

<Img src = "http://cam.foo.co.jp/cgi-bi
n / camctl.exe? P = 20, T = 5, Z = 2, F = gif "><Modification> In the above configuration example (first example), only one image can be reserved for camera photography at a time. This configuration example (second example)
In, a file extension representing an image format is added to a file name formed by combining several subcommands with "+" to enable reservation of a plurality of times and camera angles at a time.

For example, at 13:15 on July 6, 1996.
The following description will be given in the case where the image is shot at 3 × zoom at a pan angle of 25 ° and a tilt angle of 0 ° at minutes, 30 minutes and 45 minutes, and three images are later taken out in gif format.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996."
7.6.13.15P25T0Z3 + R1996.7.6.13.30P25T0Z3 + R1996.7.6.
13.45P25T0Z3.gif "> Here, the character string enclosed by""and""may be displayed over two or more lines, but the actual description does not include a line break. Write in one line.

If the date and time and the camera angle are the same or the camera angle is the same, they may be omitted. In that case, the same reservation as described above can be described as follows.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996."
7.6.13.15P25T0Z3 + R .... 30 + R .... 45.gif "> The second example is the same as the first example except for the following changes.

That is, the command interpreting means 1012 can interpret step S106, step S111, and step S112 of the program as described above.

That is, in step S106, the number of requested commands is not limited to one, but is analyzed as a plurality of reserved commands linked by "+", and the reserved code and image format information generated in step S105 are made the same. Then, the reservation time and the photographing condition specified by each reservation command are registered in the reservation registration unit 1014 as a plurality of reservations.

On the other hand, in step S111, a plurality of image data registered with the same reservation code is taken out, re-formatted as one image data including a plurality of image data, and re-formatted via the communication interface means 1011. A reply is sent to the requesting external device 1002. Also at this time, the communication interface unit 101
In No. 1, since the HTTP protocol is used, content type information, status information, and the like according to the image format are added to the head.

In step S112, the columns of the image storage means 1019 corresponding to the plurality of extracted image data are deleted.

With the above arrangement, many reservations can be made at one time, and these can be handled collectively as one image data composed of a plurality of images. It saves the trouble of managing multiple reception codes.

When the present invention is applied to intermittent photographing, such as a record of plant growth, it becomes possible to handle a plurality of photographed images as a pseudo moving image in one image data.

<Third Example> In the second example described above, even when intermittent photographing is performed at the same camera angle at the same time interval, it is necessary to connect and designate the reservation commands as many as the number of images to be photographed. In these three examples, the end time and the intermittent time are added immediately after the designation of the time of the reservation command, and thereafter the photographing conditions such as the camera angle and the image format are designated. For the end time, a time is specified after "t", and for the intermittent time, a time in minutes is specified after "e".

For example, at 13:15 on July 6, 1996.
Pan angle 2 at minutes, 30 minutes and 45 minutes (ie, every 15 minutes)
Shoot at 3x zoom with 5 ° tilt angle 0 ° and 3 images
If you want to retrieve it later in gif format, write as follows.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996.
7.6.13.15t1996.7.6.13.45e15P25T0Z3.gif "> Here, the character string enclosed by""and""may be displayed over two or more lines. Is described on one line without line breaks.

Of course, in this case as well, if the date and time of the end time are the same, the omission may be omitted. In that case, the same reservation as described above can be described as follows.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996.
7.6.13.15t .... 45e15P25T0Z3.gif "> The basic configuration of the third example is the same as that of the first example except for the following changes.

That is, the command interpreting means 1012 is capable of interpreting the above description in steps S106, S111 and S112 of the program.

However, at this time, the reservation registration means 101
No. 4 requires that the configuration of the management table be as shown in FIG. That is, an intermittent time item is required as shown in the figure.

In step S106, if the requested reservation command has an end time and an intermittent time, the reservation time is set as the photographing time, together with the reception code, the photographing condition, and the image format, and the reservation registration means 1014.
Register with. If the requested reservation command is a simple reservation and does not have an end time and an intermittent time, the end time is set to be the same as the shooting time, and the intermittent time is set to 1.

In step S111, a plurality of image data registered with the same reservation code is extracted, re-formatted as one image data including a plurality of image data, and re-formatted via the communication interface means 1011. A reply is sent to the requesting external device 1002. Also at this time, the communication interface unit 101
In No. 1, since the HTTP protocol is used, content type information, status information, and the like according to the image format are added to the head. In step S112, the columns of the image storage unit 1019 corresponding to the extracted plurality of image data are deleted.

On the other hand, in the time limiter 3015, in step S 3207, the registered reservation information is updated by adding the intermittent time of the extracted reservation item to the photographing time, and if the photographing time is later than the end time, This item is deleted from the reservation registration means 2014.

With the above configuration, the intermittent photograph can be easily obtained with a short command.

Particularly, in the case of taking an intermittent photograph for a long period of time, in the method of the second example, the command becomes extremely long in many cases, and it becomes impossible to realize the command in many cases. For example, this can be realized if the storage amount of the storage device for storing image data is sufficiently prepared.

<Fourth Example> In the third example, the result of intermittent photographing is taken out as a plurality of still image data, but in the present configuration example, the form of taking out the result as moving image data is also added.

When extracting as moving image data, the file extension is set to "mpg". For example, it is described as follows.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996."
7.6.13.15t .... 45P25T0Z3.mpg "> The basic configuration of this configuration example is as shown in FIG.
It is the same as the third example except for the following changes. Ie MP
The difference is that a moving image compression unit 2021 such as an EG1 compression device is added, and that the command interpretation unit 3012 can interpret and execute the above command.

For example, in step S111, if the image format is a still image format such as jpg or gif, a plurality of image data registered with the same reservation code is extracted, and a plurality of image data is It is reformatted as one piece of image data to be included, and is replied to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface means 1011. If the image format is specified as mpg, a plurality of image data registered with the same reservation code are taken out, each image is restored, and the image data is delivered to the moving image compression means 2021 and compressed, and the resulting moving image is compressed. The data is returned to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface means 1011.

At this time, the communication interface means 1
In 011, since the HTTP protocol is used, content type information, status information, and the like according to the image format are added to the head. By configuring as above,
Compression using the association between image frames is performed, especially in intermittent photos that do not change much, so that significant image data compression is performed, so that the amount of communication when extracting image data later can be reduced, and communication time can be reduced. It is possible to greatly shorten the time.

<Fifth Example> In the third example, the camera angles for photographing were the same, but in the fifth example,
Immediately before the time designation of the reservation command, the definition of the control variable is added, and thereafter the time designation is made, and thereafter, it is possible to perform repetitive photographing by designating the photographing conditions such as the camera angle and the image format. It is intended to be able to designate the reference of the control variable in the time designation and the photographing condition.

The definition of the control variable starts with “$ (”, has a definition body, and ends with “)”.

There are two ways to write the definition body. One is a method of specifying an initial value, a closing price, and an increment. The method is further divided into two types depending on whether the increment is positive or negative. Another format is to write down all values of control variables.

That is, $ (<control variable> = initial value, upto close value, up increment) $ (<control variable> = initial value, downto close value, down increment) or $ (<control variable> = value 1, value 2, Value 3, value 4,... Value n).

Here, <control variable> is a character string composed of one or more English characters, and is an identifier of the control variable.

Control variable reference begins with “$ (”, has a reference body, and ends with “)”. The reference body is a four-rule operation expression including a control variable.

For example, at 13:15 on July 6, 1996.
When the minute is reached, the pan angle is 25 degrees, the tilt angle is 0 degrees, 3 times zoom, the pan angle is 30 degrees, the tilt angle is 0 degrees, 3 times zoom, and the pan angle is 35 degrees, the tilt angle is 0 degrees, 3 times zoom. Is changed.
A time lag occurs between them) and three images
If you want to retrieve it later in gif format, write as follows.

"Http://www.foo.co.jp/R$(pan=25,upto3
5, up5) 1996.7.6.13.15P $ (pan) T0Z3.gif "or" http://www.foo.co.jp/R$(pan=0,upto10,up5)1996.7.
6.13.15P $ (pan + 25) T0Z3.gif "or" http://www.foo.co.jp/R$(pan=35,downto25,down5)199
6.7.6.13.15P $ (pan) T0Z3.gif "or" http://www.foo.co.jp/R$(pan=25,30,35) 1996.7.6.13.
15P $ (pan) T0Z3.gif "Here, the character string enclosed by""and""may be displayed over two or more lines, but the actual description is Do not include, describe in one line.

The present configuration example is different from the second example in that the above description can be interpreted in the command interpreting means 2012, but is otherwise the same.

For example, FIG. 8 shows the inside of step S106.

If the character next to "R" is $, this is the definition of the control variable, and is the reserved command of the fifth example.
In step S501, one control variable definition that starts with "$ (""and ends with") "is acquired, and in step S502, it is checked whether all the definitions have been extracted. After all the control variable definitions have been extracted, the initial values are bound to the control variables in step S503.

In step S504, the remaining part of the command is scanned, control variable references starting with "$ (""and ending with") "are searched, and all references are replaced with bound values.
In step S506, the resulting character string is analyzed as the above-described reservation command for repetitive imaging, and the process proceeds to step S10.
5, the reservation code and image format information are the same, and the reservation time and the photographing condition specified by each reservation command are set as a plurality of reservations by the reservation registration unit 1014.
Register with. This is repeated until all the control variables reach the final values.

With the above configuration, an intermittent photo with a changed camera angle can be easily obtained with a short command.

In the description, only one control variable definition is used. However, a plurality of definitions can be written, and in this case, the definitions are interpreted in a nested manner.

In this configuration example, the introduction of the repetition syntax has been described. However, in the same manner, a syntax such as a conditional judgment syntax, a variable definition, a variable assignment, and an arithmetic operation can be introduced. That is, the command interpreting means can be realized as a program interpreter, and the contents of the URL can be regarded as a program, held, and interpreted and executed. This makes it possible to automatically execute complicated camera control and the like.

<Sixth Example> In the fifth example, all camera angles to be photographed must be described in the same URL. In the sixth example, a part of the reservation command can be separately registered as a macro library. An example will be described in which data describing time designation and shooting conditions is stored in an external device.

For the sake of explanation, it is assumed that, for example, from 13:00 on July 6, 1996, the following camera angles are sequentially changed every minute to perform photographing.

Pan angle 25 °, 3 × zoom at 0 ° tilt angle, 30 ° pan angle, 3 × zoom at 0 ° tilt angle, 35 ° pan angle, 3 × zoom at 0 ° tilt angle, 35 ° pan angle, 1 ° tilt angle 4x zoom at 30 ° pan angle 4x zoom at 2 ° tilt angle, 35 ° pan angle at 5 ° zoom at 3 ° tilt angle, 5x zoom at 35 ° pan angle at 4 ° tilt angle, 35 ° tilt angle at pan angle 6x zoom at 5 °, 35 ° pan angle, 7x zoom at 5 ° tilt angle, 35 ° pan angle, 8x zoom at 5 ° tilt angle, command to instruct this to the second external device http: // www. Store it in bar.co.jp/camcon-a.ctl.

This is, for example, as follows.

R1996.7.6.13.0P25T0Z3 + R1996.7.6.13.1P3
0T0Z3 + R1996.7.6.13.2P35T0Z3 + R1996.7.6.13.3P35T1Z4 +
R1996.7.6.13.4P35T2Z4 + R1996.7.6.13.5P35T3Z5 + R1996.
7.6.13.6P35T4Z5 + R1996.7.6.13.3P35T5Z6 + R1996.7.6.1
3.4P35T5Z7 + R1996.7.6.13.3P35T5Z8.gif The command given to the controller to use this is "% 2
This is an external reference command that starts with 3 (), continues with the URL, and ends with “)”. An example is as follows.

"Http://www.foo.co.jp/%23(httpd%3e//ww
w.bar.co.jp/camcon-a.ctl) "In this case, www.bar.co.jp corresponds to the second external device. That is, the camera server www.foo.co. j
This means that p is requested to perform control in accordance with the content described in www.bar.co.jp/camcon-a.ctl. camc
On-a.ctl stores the above description of "R1996 ...".

FIG. 9 shows the sixth example. As compared with the fifth example, the difference is that the command interpreting means 6012 can interpret the above-mentioned command, and the other points are substantially the same.

The operation of the command interpreting means 6012 is shown in FIG.
It is explained according to.

In step S621, a command described as a file name is interpreted. Request starts with "% 23"
If so, it is recognized as an external reference command, and step S622
Proceed to. In step S622, "(" and ")"
The part sandwiched between is regarded as a specified URL of a file in which a command is described and stored, and a request is sent according to the URL. In the above example, a request is issued to the second external device 1004. Then, in step S623, a response is waited for.

In response, for example, a long reservation command as described above is returned. The external reference command interpreted here is expanded by replacing it with the external reference command so that it can be applied to the subsequent command interpretation (step S6).
24). Then, the process proceeds to step S101.

If the command is not an external reference command in step S621, the flow also advances to step S101.

The processing after step S101 is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 used when the description of the first example is made, so that the description is omitted. The extension from the second example to the fifth example can be similarly applied.

With the above-described configuration, a complicated time reservation or an intermittent photograph with a complicatedly changed camera angle can be easily obtained with a short command.

Here, for the sake of explanation, the control device and the external device have been described as different devices, but the two devices may be the same. In that case, the URL could be described as:

[0111] "http://www.foo.co.jp/%23(httpd%3e//ww
w.foo.co.jp/camcon-a.ctl) "or" http://www.foo.co.jp/%23(camcon-a.ctl) "Of course, the command to the external device that makes the request first Is stored, the address may be used, in which case the second external device is unnecessary.

<Explanation of Embodiment> As described above,
In the first to sixth examples, various description methods can be used. Although a raw image or a reserved and photographed image can be viewed on a WWW browser, further information, that is, displayed information is displayed. It is not possible to obtain more detailed information (additional information) of the desired object in the video. Thus, this embodiment makes this possible.

For simplicity of description, in this embodiment,
A case will be described in which a device serving as a camera server as described above and a client are provided on a network installed in a company. It is needless to say that there may be a plurality of camera servers and a plurality of clients.

Generally, when constructing a network, various servers can be installed therein. In particular, in recent years, an attempt has been made to construct an integrated system by connecting a device that has been used as a stand-alone device, such as a copying machine and a facsimile device, on a network.

When a network is constructed and printing is performed by a remote print server, for example, print data output is completed in a very short time from the viewpoint of the client. This is because the print server spools the print data. Since the print server can also receive print data from any number of clients, the print server outputs the print data to the printer in the order of spooling.

The problem here is when the print server is not very close to the client. If several clients perform print processing at the same time, the print data will be queued, and it is often the case that as a result of getting the print result, another print is still being performed. .

In this embodiment, when a remote printer is controlled and a target printer is seen in its field of view,
The status of the printer is added to the camera image as additional information, and it can be transmitted to the client.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the server according to the embodiment, which is constituted by the following units.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a camera capable of controlling a camera angle and photographing conditions, and 1001 denotes a control device which controls the camera 1003 in response to an instruction from the external device 1002 and returns a photographed image, and is realized based on, for example, a personal computer. You. The control device 1001 further includes:
A camera control unit 1017 for controlling the camera 1003 with an RS-232C interface or the like, an image input unit 1018 for inputting an image captured by the camera 1003 with an image capture device, etc. And a communication interface unit 1011 for implementing the program, and, in addition to these resources, the following means realized as a program and memory data using each resource such as a CPU of a computer, a storage device, and an auxiliary storage device.

That is, 1012 command interpretation means,
1013 reception code generation means, 1015 time limit means,
Image processing means 7020 for processing the images obtained from the image storage means 1019, the reservation registration means 1014, and the video input means 1018 as necessary.

External device 1002 is, for example, a WWW server or a WWW browser, and HTTP
Communicate by protocol. That is, from the WWW browser, the WW, which is the storage destination of the document data and image data,
The information is presented to the W server in accordance with the URL indicating the storage location of the target data. In response, the WWW server returns corresponding document data or image data to the WWW browser.

The copying machine system 1007 is a copying machine provided with a network interface, and responds to the status information request via communication to return the status information of the copying machine at that time. For example, if the identifier (name) of this copier is "cop
ier # 445 ", and if printing is in progress when the status information request is received, a reply is made as follows, including the printing progress and print settings.

"Copier # 445" Client: Kurosawa printing "80%""1 copy, 23 pages, both sides" Here, "Client: Kurosawa" is on the network that is the source of the currently printing job. This is the client name (or ID). However, the print requester kurosa
Wa, “1 copy”, “double-sided”, etc. depend on the print job, and “80%”, “23 pages”, etc. change with time. Also, the information item to be replied to is not limited to this, and may be any information. For example, if the recording paper is exhausted and recording cannot be performed, a message to that effect is returned.

The copying machine system 1007 also functions as a normal printer or image scanner. Also, since it is impossible to return the above status without knowing the total number of pages of one print job, the copier system 1007 has a large capacity hard disk or the like capable of queuing print jobs. An external storage device is provided. Also, a copier system 1007
In the case of a single copier, the above-mentioned external storage device is necessary.For example, in the case of a general-purpose device such as a personal computer and a device having only printing, copying and image reading functions, The general-purpose device manages individual jobs. Therefore, the function of managing the job can be provided in the present apparatus 1001 since the function can be provided if there is an external storage device and a program for performing the processing.

In the present configuration example, the communication interface 1011 uses a method realized by a WWW server. That is, communication is performed using the HTTP protocol, and the control device 1001 of this configuration example performs
Acts like a WWW server. This is WW
This can be realized by using the communication method of the W server also in the present control device.

<Description of Procedure> The external device 1002 requests video information by issuing the following description according to the first to sixth examples described above.

$ (Pan = 0, upto180, up10) P $ (pan) T0Z2 Here, the camera 1001 requesting an image (for example, "camera #
122 "), the address of the control device 1001 is" www.camera122.foo.co.jp ", and the time period for requesting the image is" 1 from 1:00 pm on November 11, 1996. Assuming 1:18 pm at minute intervals, the above request would be written as: In practice, this is described on one line.

Http://www.camera122.foo.co.jp/R$(pan=
0, upto180, up10) 1996.11.11.13.0t1996.11.11.13.18e1 $
(pan) T0Z2.mpg On the other hand, the camera control device 1001 operates as follows.

With respect to the given control information, the camera is operated and video information is photographed in the same manner as in the first to sixth examples described above. However, if it is determined that a device such as a copying machine is within the field of view (a management table of angle information where the copying machine exists is stored in a predetermined storage device in advance), the state of the device is taken out in order to retrieve the state of the device. The current status is inquired to the device, and the information is combined with the video taken by the camera.

For the management for determining whether or not the image is within the visual field, for example, a management table as shown in FIG. 15 is stored in a predetermined storage device (for example, a hard disk device) and used. In this table, the first
Indicates a management target (address or ID on a network) such as a copying machine or a printer. The second column indicates where the device is located. In this example, the floor is specified indoors where the devices are arranged and specified by three-dimensional coordinates (unit: centimeter) within the floor. The third column shows the size of the device (unit: centimeter). For example, in the first line, the device with the identifier “printer # 231” is 300 cm in the north-south direction, 450 cm in the east-west direction, and the floor center, with the origin of the center of the floor on the north side of the fourth floor of the building. It is placed at a distance of from 100 cm to 100 cm, and its size means 30 cm in height, 80 cm in width, and 75 cm in depth.

More specifically, the command interpreting means is extended as described below, and a video processing means 7020 is added accordingly. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S701, the control contents are interpreted as described below to predict the field of view.

First, control items to be executed are extracted according to the control syntax of the control information. Next, the obtained control items are interpreted to predict the field of view when the control content is given to the camera 1003, and whether or not a device such as a copying machine registered in the management table 11 is included in the field of view. judge.

[0134] Finally, if the result of determination is that the device falls within the field of view, communication with the target device is made and status information 7021 is obtained. The status information 7021 is, for example, as follows.

("Copier # 445" client: Kurosawa printing "80%""1 copy, 23 pages, both sides") Next, in step S101, the command described as the file name is interpreted. That is, if the start of the request is "P", the request is recognized as a shooting command, and step S102 is performed.
Proceed to. Here, the camera is operated at the designated pan, tilt, and zoom values via the camera control unit 1017.
(S102) The photographed image is converted into an image format of a designated method.

Thereafter, in step S702, video synthesis is performed. That is, the position in the video of the target device is calculated from the control information at the time of capturing the video, and an image based on the state information 7021 obtained by the previous communication is generated in the vicinity of the target device in the video. Combine the captured video with the image. The synthesis result is, for example, as shown in FIG.

The result of the synthesis is returned to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface means 1011 (step S103). At this time, since the communication interface unit 1011 uses the HTTP protocol, content type information and status information corresponding to the image format are added to the head. Then, the present process ends.

As a result, it is as if W
Video taken like image data stored in a file of the WW server is pasted and displayed.

In the condition judgment in step S101, if the head of the request is "R", the request is recognized as a reservation command, and the process proceeds to step S105 via the condition judgment in step S104. The reservation command is as described above, starting with the letter "R", representing the year, month, day, hour, and minute as integers, followed by a period separated by a period, and A pan / tilt / zoom instruction follows, and finally a name indicating the image format is given.
For example, at 13:15 on July 6, 1996, the pan angle 2
In the case where it is desired to make a reservation for shooting a 3 × zoom video with a tilt angle of 0 ° and a tilt angle of 0 ° in the gif format, the description is as follows.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/R1996."
7.6.13.15P25T0Z3.gif "> When the reservation command as described above is specified, in step S105, a unique identification number is received as a reception code from the reception code generation unit 1013. This is performed, for example, for each generation request. The reception code, the reservation time, the photographing condition, and the information of the image format may be reserved as a counter that is incremented by 1 or by a numerical value representing the requested date. The registration code is registered in the registration unit 1014 (step S106), and the reception code is returned to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface unit 1011 (step S107).

At this time, content type information, status information, and the like are added to the head to indicate that the response content is a reception code. Then, the present process ends.

When an HTML document including such a shooting reservation is simply created and is to be displayed on a general WWW browser, the reception code is returned instead of the image data. After all, the image is not displayed,
The control device 1 is executed by a CGI program or the like of the WWW server.
For 001, a photographing reservation is made in the same manner as in a WWW browser, and when a reception code is obtained, an HTML document including an image data description specifying the reception code with an image retrieval command described later is generated. When the generated document is displayed on a WWW browser, shooting is performed as scheduled, and the image data is displayed.

As described above, the extraction command starts with the letter "G", continues with the reception code, and ends with a name representing the image format.
The reception code here is returned when a reservation is made to the external device 1002.

For example, when "12543" is returned as the reception code, and the image reserved for shooting is taken out after shooting, the following description is used.

<Img src = "http://www.foo.co.jp/G1254"
3.gif "> The reservation registering means 1014 can be realized in a storage device or an auxiliary storage device of the control device 1001 in the form of a table as shown in FIG. 3, for example.

For example, in the case of the above-mentioned reservation example, when the reception code is "12543", it is recorded as shown in the first column.

When the reservation registration is completed, the photographing is performed as instructed at the reserved time by the time limit means described later, and the image data is held in the image storage means 1019.

The image storage means 1019 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
Such a table can be realized in a storage device or an auxiliary storage device of the control device 1001 in the form of a table. For example, the photographing result of the above-mentioned reservation example is recorded as image data according to the specified format together with the reception code and the information of the image format as shown in the first column.

In the condition judgment in step S101, if the start of the request is "G", the request is recognized as an image fetch command, and the process proceeds to step S109 via the condition judgment in step S104 and step S108, where the image storage means 1
The data stored in 019 is searched.

Then, it is determined whether or not the image data is stored with the same value as the reception code described as the image fetching command (step S110).
A response is sent to the requesting external device 1002 via “011”.
Also at this time, the communication interface means 1011
Since the HTTP protocol is used, content type information, status information, and the like according to the image format are added to the head (step S111).

At step S112, the image storage means 1019 storing the image data just taken out is stored.
Delete the column. Then, the present process ends.

If it is determined in step S110 that the image data corresponding to the designated reception code is not stored, error information indicating that the target image has not been shot is transmitted via the communication interface means 1011 to the requesting external device 100.
Reply to 2 to end this processing.

In step S108, the external device 10
If the start of the request is not “G”, the error information indicating that the command is an undefined command is returned to the requesting external device 1002 via the communication interface unit 1011, and the process ends.

As described above, information exchange between the external device 1002 and the control device 1001 of the present invention is performed.

Next, the time limiter 1015 for controlling the camera, photographing and storing the photographing result based on the reservation data registered in the reservation registering means 1014 will be described.

In the time limiter 1015, a time limit program is started at regular time intervals, for example, every one minute. This can be achieved by using a computer timer.

The operation of the timed program will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the current time is read from the timer of the control device 1001 (step S201),
Proceed to step S202. In step S202, the registered reservation items are taken out one by one from the reservation registration unit 1014 in order. If it is determined in step S203 that all items have been taken out, the present process ends, and if the reserved items have been taken out, the process proceeds to step S204. If the set time in the target reservation item is later than the current time, the process returns to step S202 and repeats the process. If not,
It is determined that the set time has come, and the process proceeds to step S205.
The camera 1003 is controlled via the camera control means 1017 according to the shooting condition of the taken out reservation item, and shooting is performed.

Thereafter, in step S703, video synthesis is performed. That is, the position of the target device in the video is calculated from the control information at the time of capturing the video, and the state information 7021 obtained by communication is combined with the image in the vicinity of the target device in the video. The synthesis result is, for example, as shown in FIG.

Then, the synthesized image is converted into the image format of the method specified by the reservation item, and the image data is stored in the image storage means 1019 together with the reception code and the image format information (step S206). Subsequently, the currently retrieved reservation item is registered in the reservation registration unit 1014.
(Step S207), and returns to Step S202 to repeat the processing.

As a result, the photographing is performed according to the reservation, the result is stored, and when an image retrieval command is later requested from the external device 1002, this image data is replied.

As a result, not only can the client observe the video taken by controlling the camera of the remote camera server while staying there, but also the object registered in advance (in the above example, the integrated copying machine) You can check the status that changes every moment.

Therefore, when a client prints, it is possible to confirm not only whether or not the printer that has requested the printing is performing its own print job, but also how much the printing is actually performed.

In this embodiment, an example in which the state of the copying machine is synthesized on the screen has been described. However, this is not limited to the copying machine.
It may be an OA device such as a facsimile or a printer, or another AV device.

Further, in this embodiment, an example in which explanatory texts are simply synthesized has been described. However, it is easy to imagine that more detailed explanatory texts can be synthesized by zooming.

In this embodiment, an example is described in which devices such as a copying machine are connected online via an information network. However, by preparing a management table as shown in FIG. A simple method that does not require a connection can be considered. That is, this is a method of supplementing the information shown in the "description" item in the fourth column of the table in FIG. It is easy to imagine preparing another program that changes the “description” item in the fourth column shown in the drawing as needed.

In particular, when the camera server of the embodiment is installed near a sightseeing spot or the like on the Internet, by adding a description for each sightseeing object, it is possible to view it on a WWW browser. Indicators will be given,
It is advantageous.

[0167] In some cases, a description or the like displayed in the video may disturb the user. Therefore, a button for instructing whether or not to display the description information is set to WWW.
It may be displayed on the browser, and it may be determined whether or not to synthesize the description according to the operation content of the button.

Further, in this case, the synthesis of the video of the explanation may be performed on the server side or on the client side. If performed on the server side, it may be determined whether or not to synthesize the explanatory note image according to the instruction content from the client. Further, in the case of performing on the client side, the description and the information of the object (FIG. 16)
It is sufficient to transfer the information as shown in (1) to the client, and control the program on the browser to display the information according to the information when the user on the client side instructs the display of the explanatory note.

<Second Embodiment> In the second embodiment,
As in the first embodiment, the camera server placed in the office provides control information such as zoom and pan / tilt from the input device, adjusts the comb camera according to the control information, and displays the image. The point of adding value to a video is the same, but the means for processing the video is different.

In particular, in this embodiment, when an office image to be output includes a seat of an employee and the employee is absent in a meeting or the like, superimposition synthesis of the image of the conference room is performed. Are different.

In this example, a management table shown in FIG. 17 is used instead of the management table of the first embodiment. In this table, the first column indicates a target employee. The second column shows the seat position where the employee should be. In this example, the seat position of the employee is designated by indoor floor designation and three-dimensional coordinates (unit: centimeter) within the floor. The third column shows the current location of the employee. Then, in the fourth column, the identifier of the com camera installed at the current location is given.
For example, the first line shows that the employee with the identifier "kurosawa" has the center of the floor on the northern floor of the fourth floor of the building as the origin coordinates, 300 cm in the north-south direction, 450 cm in the east-west direction, and from the floor. A seat is provided at a position of 10 cm, which means that the employee is currently in the conference room 191 and that the state of the conference room can be photographed by a camera with the identifier "camera # 249". I do.

In order to realize this, steps S701 and S70 in the description of the camera server of the first embodiment are performed.
2. Change S703 as follows. Change step S701 to S711. In step S711, the control contents are interpreted as described below, and the field of view is predicted.

"Interpret the obtained control items and predict the field of view when the camera is given control contents. The field of view includes the seats of the employees registered in the management table 22. It is determined whether or not the employee has a camera at the destination.If the result of the determination is that there is a camera at the destination of the target employee, arrangement is made to receive the image of the camera. 2 will be referred to as a camera. ”Step S702 is a video compositing operation S712 described below.
Change to Similarly, S703 is set to S713, and the following video composition operation is replaced. “Calculate the seat position of the target employee from the control information and superimpose the video of the second camera near the seat in the video.” Here, the control information given to the video input means is interpreted. The feature is that not only a simple video information service but also higher value-added video information is created by predicting a video to be shot by the video input means in advance.

In this embodiment, the location of the employee can be fixedly determined by the management table 22. However, the location of each employee is automatically determined by having a wireless device for transmitting his / her own location. It is easy to imagine a system that follows the movement of the camera and shoots it.

Further, it can be easily imagined that the added value by the image processing described in the present embodiment is provided overlapping with the image processing described in the first embodiment.

In such a case, what kind of image processing is desired or a combination method thereof is specified as a parameter of the image request from the viewer, and the specification is interpreted by the camera server system. Thus, it is possible to prevent the image of the processing result from becoming complicated.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a single device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc.) May be applied.

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or a CPU or M
Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the PU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in an extended function board inserted into the computer or an extended function unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0183]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to confirm the details of an object separately from the object as a video, and to perform a video service with higher added value. Become.

[0184]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for explaining a premise of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation processing contents of a command interpreting means in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of registration information generated by a reservation registration unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in an image storage unit in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing contents of a time limiter in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of registration information generated by a reservation registration unit in a third example of the premise part of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system according to a fourth example of the premise part of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing contents of a reservation content registration unit in a fifth example of the premise part of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system according to a sixth example of the premise of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation content of a command interpretation unit 6012 in a sixth example of the premise part of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing contents of a command interpreting means in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing contents of an eleventh time limiter.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time transition of a video transferred from a server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the contents of a management table in the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the content of the management table in the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing contents of a management table in the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1001 Camera control device 1002 External device 1003 Camera 1007 Copy machine system 1011 Communication interface 1013 Reception code generation means 1014 Reservation registration means 1015 Time limit means 1017 Camera control means 1018 Image input means 1019 Image storage means 7012 Command interpretation means 7020 Image processing means 7021 State information

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An image control apparatus, comprising: an image input unit, for transferring an image input according to a request from a remote client to a client, wherein information on an object in the image input by the image input unit is transmitted. Generating means for storing and generating a composite image based on the information; synthesizing means for synthesizing the synthetic image generated by the generating means with the video image input by the video input means; A video control device comprising: a transfer unit that transfers an obtained image to a client. 2. The image control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image input means is means for inputting an image from a predetermined camera device. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit includes a determination unit configured to determine whether the object is included in the video input from the video input unit based on the information stored in advance. The video control device according to claim 1, wherein a composite image is generated when it is determined that an object is included therein. 4. An information processing apparatus or system that transfers state information when a request for obtaining state information is issued via predetermined communication means, for the object corresponding to the information stored in advance. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
An image control device according to the item. 5. The determining means for determining whether or not the object stored in advance is included in the video input from the video input means, and the determining means includes the object in the video. Means for issuing a status information acquisition request to the object and receiving the status information, and generating a composite image based on the received status information. An image control device according to the item. 6. A control method for a video control device, comprising: a video input unit, for transferring a video input according to a request from a remote client to a client, wherein the object in the video input by the video input unit is provided. Generating a composite image based on the information in advance, and synthesizing the composite image generated in the generation step into a video image input by the video input unit. And a transfer step of transferring an image obtained by the synthesis to the client. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said image input means is means for inputting an image from a predetermined camera device. 8. The generating step includes a determining step of determining whether or not an object is included in a video input from the video input unit, based on the information stored in advance, and 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein a composite image is generated when it is determined that an object is included therein. 9. An information processing apparatus or system that transfers state information when a request for acquiring state information is issued via predetermined communication means, for the object corresponding to the information stored in advance. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein
The control method of the video control device according to Item. 10. The determining step of determining whether the object stored in advance is included in a video input from the video input unit, and the determining step includes the object in the video. Issuing a status information acquisition request to the object, receiving the status information, and generating a composite image based on the received status information. The control method of the video control device according to Item. 11. A storage medium comprising a video input unit and storing a program functioning as a video control device for transferring a video input to a client in accordance with a request from a remote client. Generating means for preliminarily storing information on an object in an input video and generating a composite image based on the information; and generating the composite image in the video image input by the video input means. A storage medium storing a program that functions as a combining unit that combines a combined image and a transfer unit that transfers the combined image to a client.