KR102238322B1 - Apparatus and method for monitering pet - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and a method for monitoring companion animals. According to the present invention, a control method, which is performed by a companion animal monitoring device for monitoring by using recorded videos of a companion animal comprises the following steps of: designating a part of an area recorded by video cameras as an observation area; setting a sensitivity rate for each observation area designated in the above step; and transmitting information on the observation area designated in the above step and the sensitivity rate set in the above step to the video camera, and controlling to perform a motion detection operation for each observation area based on the sensitivity rate.

Description

Apparatus and method for monitoring companion animals {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MONITERING PET}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for monitoring companion animals, and more particularly, when there is a change in the movement or state of the companion animal or shows unusual matters even while going out, it is stored so that the companion animal manager can check it later or in real time It relates to an apparatus and a method to perform.

Recently, there are many people who have companion animals such as dogs and cats, but there are frequent cases where they cannot be with companion animals for various reasons when going out.

At this time, the companion animal stays in the house, and the owner who is out there is worried about the condition of the companion animal, and wants to see if it is good at eating or if there are any other problems.

Although a system for observing the appearance of the house from the outside, such as a security system, has been proposed, it is quite cumbersome for the owner to check the house through the security system from time to time.

In particular, a certain security system performs a function of giving a warning when a certain movement occurs in the shooting area, but the function of this security system is not suitable for monitoring companion animals showing various behaviors in various areas. There is this.

Furthermore, conventionally, since motion of animals in various observation areas is detected according to a unified standard, precise control for each observation area is not performed, which in turn causes indiscriminate transmission of monitoring messages.

In addition, in the related art, it is possible to determine which of the various observation areas in which movement has occurred after viewing an actual image, and thus there is a problem that time and effort are required in the manual operation and verification process of a manager (a companion animal owner, etc.).

Registered Patent No. 10-1168129

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-described conventional problem, and the object of the present invention is a device for monitoring a companion animal that enables precise control for each observation area and easily checks the location of movement of the companion animal, and Is to provide a way.

In order to achieve the above object, the companion animal monitoring apparatus according to the present invention includes: an observation area designating unit for designating a part of an area photographed by a photographing camera as an observation area; A sensitivity rate setting unit for setting each sensitivity rate for an observation area designated by the observation area designating unit; A photographing camera control unit that transmits information on the observation region designated by the observation region designation unit and the sensitivity rate set by the sensitivity ratio setting unit to the photographing camera to perform a motion detection operation for each observation region based on the sensitivity ratio Consists of including.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the photographing camera communicating with the companion animal monitoring device according to the present invention designates a part of the photographed area as an observation area based on information received from the companion animal monitoring device, and A setting unit for setting each sensitivity rate for the observation area; A sensitivity rate check unit for checking a sensitivity rate set for the specific observation area when motion in a specific observation area is detected; And a transmission unit configured to generate a movement occurrence event and transmit it to the companion animal monitoring device when the movement in the specific observation area exceeds the sensitivity rate determined by the sensitivity rate confirmation unit.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the control method performed by the companion animal monitoring apparatus for monitoring by using the photographed image of the companion animal according to the present invention comprises the steps of designating a part of the region photographed by the photographing camera as an observation region. Wow; Setting each sensitivity factor for the observation area designated in the above step; And transmitting the information on the observation area designated in the step and the sensitivity rate set in the step to the photographing camera, and controlling to perform a motion detection operation for each observation area based on the sensitivity rate.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, a control method performed by a photographing camera that communicates with a companion animal monitoring device according to the present invention includes a part of the photographed region as an observation region based on information received from the companion animal monitoring device. Designating and setting each sensitivity rate for the designated viewing area; When a motion in a specific observation area is detected, checking a sensitivity rate set for the specific observation area; And generating a motion occurrence event and transmitting it to the companion animal monitoring device when the motion in the specific observation area exceeds the sensitivity rate identified in step (b).

As described above, according to the present invention,

In monitoring companion animals through photographed images, a separate sensitivity rate is set for each observation area, thereby enabling precise control tailored to the characteristics of each observation area.

That is, since the sensitivity rate may be set according to the characteristics of each observation area, it is possible to minimize the case where an incorrect notification message is transmitted or the notification message is not transmitted in a timely manner.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire system including a photographing camera and a companion animal monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a diagram showing a state in which some areas of a captured image are designated as observation areas,
3 is a functional block diagram of the photographing camera of FIG. 1;
4 is a functional block diagram of the companion animal monitoring device of FIG. 1,
5 is a diagram showing another example in which some areas of a captured image are designated as observation areas,
6 is a view showing a state in which a thumbnail image is generated according to motion detection of a companion animal in a specific observation area in the state of FIG. 5;
7 is a diagram showing a state in which the thumbnail image of FIG. 6 is displayed on an administrator terminal;
8 and 9 are control flow diagrams of the entire system including a photographing camera and a companion animal monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, each embodiment according to the present invention is merely an example for aiding understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In particular, the present invention may be configured with a combination of at least one or more of individual configurations, individual functions, or individual steps included in each embodiment.

Particularly, for convenience, some claims in the claims include alphabets such as'(a)', but these alphabets do not prescribe the order of each step.

In addition, each signal referred to in each embodiment according to the present invention may mean one signal transmitted by one connection or the like, but may also mean a series of signal groups transmitted for the purpose of performing a specific function to be described later. . That is, in each embodiment, a plurality of signals transmitted at a predetermined time interval or transmitted after receiving a response signal from a counterpart device may be expressed as a single signal name for convenience.

A schematic configuration of the entire system including the photographing camera 100 and the companion animal monitoring device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, the entire communication system includes a photographing camera 100, a companion animal monitoring device 200, and a manager terminal 300.

First, the manager terminal 300 is the owner of the companion animal, that is, a terminal owned by the manager, and may be, for example, a wireless communication terminal capable of checking the status of the companion animal in real time while going out.

In the present embodiment, the manager terminal 300 is an example of a smartphone, but any device capable of communicating with the companion animal monitoring device 200 may be used, and in particular, may be a computer connected by wire.

The owner of the companion animal can view the image captured by the photographing camera 100 using the manager terminal 300, as well as check various information transmitted by the companion animal monitoring device 200, and further A request for designating a predetermined observation area or setting a sensitivity rate can be made.

The manager terminal 300 may view the captured image or the above-described observation area designation or sensitivity rate setting request, and the like may all be performed by communicating with the companion animal monitoring device 200.

Here, the observation area refers to an area that the manager is interested in in the image captured by the photographing camera 100, and for reference, an example of a state in which such an observation area is designated is shown.

That is, the observation area means an area to track or check the reaction of the companion animal, for example, the area 501 in which the feed bowl 502 for feeding is photographed among the areas in the image captured by the photographing camera 100 or This may be a device for defecation or an area in which a place is photographed.

When the observation area is designated in this way, the companion animal monitoring device 200 stores the related contents when a reaction of the companion animal (motion or crying, stopping for a preset time, etc.) within the observation area is detected, and furthermore, the user ( A notification message can be sent to the owner of the companion animal), which will be described in detail later.

In setting the observation area, the user can touch and drag a specific area on the manager terminal 300 and transmit the touch drag information to the companion animal monitoring device 200 to designate a specific area desired by the user. Each specific area can be matched to a specific purpose.

Here, the specific purpose means various purposes for monitoring companion animals, and may be various, for example, the purpose of observing a bowel activity, a purpose of observing a meal, and a purpose of detecting a risk.

For example, the user may designate the'meal observation purpose' together while designating the area 501 in which the feed bowl 502 for feeding is displayed as described above among the images taken by the photographing camera 100, and another example As a result, by designating an area on which the apparatus for defecation is displayed, a'purpose of observing a bowel activity' is designated together, so that each specific area can be registered to match a different purpose in the companion animal monitoring device 200.

As such, information related to the observation area designation may be stored in the companion animal monitoring device 200, or may be transmitted to and stored in the photographing camera 100. In this embodiment, the focus is stored in the photographing camera 100. It will be described as.

In setting the sensitivity rate for each observation area, the user touches and selects the observation area on the manager terminal 300, and then directly inputs the sensitivity rate or selects an icon such as an arrow (not shown). Can be raised or lowered.

Here, the sensitivity rate may be set based on at least one of an area criterion and a time criterion.

For example, the number of changed pixels among the pixels belonging to the observation area may be set as the sensitivity factor, or the changed elapsed time for a predetermined number of pixels among the pixels belonging to the observation area may be set as the sensitivity factor. A more detailed description of this will be provided later.

Meanwhile, the photographing camera 100 directly photographs a companion animal and transmits a photographed image to the companion animal monitoring device 200 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. In particular, as described above, the companion animal monitoring device The above-described photographing function may be performed while the observation area and the sensitivity rate are set through 200.

An example of a specific functional block of the photographing camera 100 is as shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in the figure, the photographing camera 100 may include a setting unit 110, a sensitivity rate check unit 120, a transmission unit 130, a storage unit 140, and a photographing unit 150. have.

The storage unit 140 stores various setting information and applications necessary for the operation of the photographing camera 100, and in particular, may also store information and data newly generated during the operation of the photographing camera 100 or received from the outside.

The photographing unit 150 is configured to include a type of camera module, and performs photographing of a movement of a companion animal. The photographing unit 150 is provided with an image pickup device such as, for example, a CCD to perform such a photographing operation, and the photographing unit 150 may have both a still image or a moving picture photographing function.

The setting unit 110 designates a part of an area to be photographed as an observation area based on information received from the companion animal monitoring device 200 and performs a function of setting each sensitivity rate for the designated observation area.

Since the observation area and the sensitivity rate have been previously described, redundant descriptions are omitted.

When a motion in a specific observation area is detected, the sensitivity rate check unit 120 performs a function of checking a sensitivity rate set for the specific observation area.

That is, since a separate sensitivity rate is matched for each observation area as described above, when a movement of a companion animal, etc. is detected in a specific observation area, the sensitivity rate matched to the specific observation area is checked.

The transmission unit 130 performs a function of generating a motion occurrence event and transmitting it to the companion animal monitoring device 200 when the movement in a specific observation area exceeds the sensitivity rate checked by the sensitivity rate check unit 120.

For example, assuming that the sensitivity ratio is set to 50 for a specific observation area, the transmission unit 130 generates and rejects a motion occurrence event when a change is detected in pixels exceeding 50% of the pixels belonging to the specific observation area. It is transmitted to the animal monitoring device 200.

As another example, assuming that the sensitivity ratio is set to 10 for a specific observation area, the transmission unit 130 changes some of the pixels belonging to the specific observation area (for example, exceeding a preset 80%). When the generated state exceeds 10 seconds, a motion occurrence event is generated and transmitted to the companion animal monitoring device 200.

That is, the photographing camera 100 pre-stores pixel values (color, saturation, brightness, etc.) in a state in which motion is not detected, and generates a motion occurrence event when the values of some of the pixels change. The motion occurrence event is generated when the condition is satisfied by referring to the sensitivity rate set for each area.

The motion occurrence event may include a captured image and location information corresponding to a location where the motion is detected.

That is, when there are a plurality of observation areas, the photographing camera 100 includes a location where a movement of a companion animal is detected (a location on a photographed image, etc.) and a corresponding image in the motion occurrence event and transmits it.

In this case, the image included in the motion occurrence event may be a kind of still image.

Of course, in addition to the still image, the photographing camera 100 may transmit a video within a predetermined time range to the companion animal monitoring device 200 based on the time when the movement of the companion animal is detected, which is the companion animal monitoring device 200. It can be made according to the request of or together with the transmission of a motion occurrence event.

Meanwhile, the companion animal monitoring device 200 communicates with the photographing camera 100 and the manager terminal 300 to perform a function of allowing the manager (the owner of the companion animal) to easily check the status of the companion animal.

An example of a specific functional block of the companion animal monitoring device 200 is as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in the figure, the companion animal monitoring device 200 includes an observation area designation unit 210, a sensitivity rate setting unit 220, a photographing camera control unit 230, a reception unit 240, a notification unit 250, and an image. It may be configured to include a storage unit 280, an image providing unit 270, and a storage unit 280.

First, the storage unit 280 not only stores information, data, and applications necessary for the operation of the companion animal monitoring device 200, but also information newly generated or received from the outside during the operation of the companion animal monitoring device 200 It also performs the function of additionally storing data, etc.

The observation area designation unit 210 performs a function of designating a part of the area photographed by the photographing camera 100 as an observation area, and the sensitivity rate setting unit 220 is an observation area designated by the observation area designation unit 210 A function of setting each sensitivity rate is performed for each of the parameters, and the observation area designation and the sensitivity rate setting may be performed at the request of the administrator terminal 300 as described above.

To this end, the observation area designating unit 210 and the sensitivity rate setting unit 220 may provide the manager terminal 300 with a still image to be photographed for designating the observation area or setting the sensitivity rate.

The photographing camera control unit 230 transmits information on the observation region designated by the observation region designation unit 210 and the sensitivity rate set by the sensitivity rate setting unit 220 to the photographing camera 100 to observe each of the images based on the corresponding sensitivity rate. It performs a function of controlling to perform a motion detection operation for each area.

That is, the observation area designation by the observation area designation unit 210 and the sensitivity rate setting value for each observation area by the sensitivity rate setting unit 220 may be managed by the companion animal monitoring device 200 itself, but this embodiment In the following description, all of these information is transmitted to the photographing camera 100 to be set.

The receiving unit 240 performs a function of receiving a motion occurrence event including a photographed image and location information corresponding to a corresponding detection position according to motion detection in a predetermined observation area from the photographing camera 100.

Here, the captured image included in the motion occurrence event may be a still image or a moving image.

The notification unit 250 performs a function of displaying an area corresponding to the location information (ie, the detection position) on at least a part of the captured image received by the receiving unit 240 and then transmitting it to the manager terminal 300.

Specifically, the notification unit 250 generates a thumbnail image corresponding to a still image based on the captured image received from the shooting camera 100, and then displays an area corresponding to the location information on the thumbnail image, and then displays the area corresponding to the location information in the manager terminal ( 300).

In particular, the notification unit 250 stores a thumbnail image in which an area corresponding to the detection location is displayed, checks the stored network address, and transmits a push message including a network address corresponding to the thumbnail image to the administrator terminal 300. I can.

In this case, when there is a request from the manager terminal 300 using a network address corresponding to the thumbnail image, the notification unit 250 may transmit the corresponding thumbnail image.

Accordingly, a thumbnail image in which the detection area is displayed may be displayed on the manager terminal 300.

This process is illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which a plurality of observation areas 505 and 506 are set. In FIG. 5, dotted lines 505 and 506 indicating the observation area are shown for explanation, and are not actually included in the captured image.

6 shows that in the state of FIG. 5, as a companion animal enters a specific observation area 506 and a motion occurrence event is received from the photographing camera 100, the companion animal monitoring device 200 displays the detection position on a still image ( A red border) shows a state in which a thumbnail image is generated, and FIG. 7 shows a state in which such a thumbnail image is displayed on the manager terminal 300.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 140 described above also performs a function of matching and storing the photographed image received from the photographing camera 100 with the thumbnail image.

That is, as described above, when the photographing camera 100 detects the movement of the companion animal in a specific observation area, it may transmit a photographed video of a certain time range based on the corresponding time point, and the storage unit 140 Is matched to the thumbnail image and saved.

The image providing unit 270 performs a function of extracting a captured image matched with the thumbnail image and transmitting it to the manager terminal 300 when a photographing image request signal through selection of a thumbnail image is received from the manager terminal 300.

For example, when a manager who has checked the thumbnail image selects a corresponding thumbnail image and requests a detailed video, the image providing unit 270 may extract and provide a captured video matched with the thumbnail image.

In the present embodiment, the companion animal monitoring apparatus 200 generates a still image for a thumbnail image as an example, but a still image for generating such a thumbnail image may be received from the photographing camera 100.

Hereinafter, a control flow of the entire system including the photographing camera 100 and the companion animal monitoring device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

First, FIG. 8 shows a process in which an observation area and a sensitivity rate are set in the photographing camera 100 according to the request of the administrator terminal 300.

First, when the manager terminal 300 transmits an observation area designation request signal specifying a feature range of a captured image (still image) (step S1), the companion animal monitoring device 200 designates an observation area including the observation area information A control signal is transmitted to the photographing camera 100 (step S3) so that the observation area is set and designated on the photographing camera 100 (step S5).

In addition, when the manager terminal 300 designates a specific observation area and transmits a sensitivity rate setting request signal (step S11), the companion animal monitoring device 200 generates a sensitivity rate setting request control signal to the photographing camera 100. By transmitting (step S13), the sensitivity rate for each observation area is set on the photographing camera 100 (step S15).

9 shows a processing procedure when a companion animal moves in an observation area, assuming that the process of FIG. 8 is performed.

When a motion in the observation area is detected (step S21), the photographing camera 100 determines whether the motion exceeds the sensitivity rate of the observation area (step S23), and, as a result of the determination, generates a motion occurrence event when it is exceeded. (Step S25).

Here, the motion occurrence event may include not only the captured image but also coordinate information of the image in which the motion occurs.

When the photographing camera 100 transmits such a motion occurrence event (step S27), the companion animal monitoring device 200 checks the motion occurrence coordinates (step S29), and then generates a thumbnail image showing the corresponding motion occurrence coordinates separately ( Step S31).

In addition, the companion animal monitoring apparatus 200 requests the photographed video from the photographing camera 100 (step S33), receives it (step S35), and stores it by matching it with the thumbnail image (step S37). In this case, the photographed video received from the photographing camera 100 may be, for example, a video between -5 seconds and 15 seconds based on the time point at which the motion of the companion animal is detected.

Meanwhile, the companion animal monitoring apparatus 200 transmits a push message including a network address (for example, a URL) corresponding to the previously generated thumbnail image to the photographing camera 100 (step S39).

According to this push message, a specific app of the photographing camera 100 is driven (step S41), and the specific app requests the companion animal monitoring device 200 to transmit a thumbnail image (step S43) and receives it (step S45). ), is displayed (step S47). An example in which the thumbnail image is displayed is as shown in FIG. 7.

The process of receiving the push message and displaying the thumbnail image may be automatically performed according to the driving and processing of the specific app on the photographing camera 100, or may be performed according to the user's confirmation in the middle.

Since the app is driven according to the push message and the function corresponding to the push message is performed itself is a known technology, a more detailed description will be omitted.

The user can check the location where the actual movement of the companion animal has occurred while viewing the thumbnail image. At this time, when requesting to view a detailed video (step S49), the manager terminal 300 sends a detailed video request signal to the companion animal monitoring device 200 (Step S51), the companion animal monitoring device 200 extracts a video matched with the thumbnail image and transmits it to the manager terminal 300 (Step S53).

At this time, the manager terminal 300 displays the video received from the companion animal monitoring device 200 so that the manager can watch it (step S55).

In the above-described embodiment, as an example, the photographing camera 100 determines whether or not the motion in the observation area exceeds the sensitivity rate, but, of course, this process may be performed in the companion animal monitoring apparatus 200.

That is, when the observation area designation and the sensitivity rate setting are made only on the companion animal monitoring device 200, and the photographing camera 100 continuously transmits the captured image to the companion animal monitoring device 200, the companion animal monitoring device It is also possible to determine whether the motion in the observation area exceeds the sensitivity rate by analyzing the received image 200.

However, as described above, the method of transmitting an image only when an observation area is specified and a sensitivity rate is set in the photographing camera 100 and a specific condition is satisfied has an effect of minimizing traffic related to image transmission.

Meanwhile, it goes without saying that the process of performing each of the above-described embodiments may be performed by a program or application stored in a predetermined recording medium (eg, computer-readable). Here, the recording medium includes all of an electronic recording medium such as a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk, and an optical recording medium such as a compact disk (CD).

In this case, the program stored in the recording medium may be executed on hardware such as a computer or a smart phone to perform each of the above-described embodiments. In particular, at least one of the functional blocks of the photographing camera and the companion animal monitoring device according to the present invention may be implemented by such a program or application.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but can be implemented by various modifications and modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. It will be apparent that such modifications and modifications are included in the present invention if they fall within the appended claims.

100: photographing camera 200: companion animal monitoring device
300: administrator terminal 110: setting unit
120: sensitivity rate check unit 130: transmission unit
140: storage unit 150: photographing unit
210: observation area designation unit 220: sensitivity rate setting unit
230: photographing camera control unit 240: receiving unit
250: notification unit 270: image providing unit 280: storage unit

Claims (16)

In the control method performed by a companion animal monitoring device that monitors using a photographed image of the companion animal,
(a) designating a portion of an area photographed by the photographing camera as an observation area;
(b) setting each sensitivity rate for the observation area designated in step (a);
(c) transmitting information on the observation area designated in step (a) and the sensitivity rate set in step (b) to the photographing camera, and controlling to perform a motion detection operation for each observation area based on the sensitivity rate. Step and;
(d) When a motion occurrence event including a photographed image and location information corresponding to a corresponding sensing position is received from the photographing camera according to motion detection in a predetermined observation area, at least a part of the received photographed image is displayed at the sensing position. Including the step of displaying the corresponding area and transmitting it to the administrator terminal,
In the step (d), a thumbnail image corresponding to the still image is generated based on the captured image received from the photographing camera, and then an area corresponding to the detection position is displayed on the thumbnail image, and then transmitted to the manager terminal. , After storing the thumbnail image in which the area corresponding to the detection location is displayed, the stored network address is checked, a push message including a network address corresponding to the thumbnail image is transmitted to the manager terminal, and the manager terminal When there is a request using a network address corresponding to the thumbnail image, the control method of a companion animal monitoring device, characterized in that transmitting the thumbnail image. delete delete delete The method of claim 1,
(e) matching and storing the photographed image received from the photographing camera with the thumbnail image;
(f) after the step (d), when a photographing image request signal through the selection of the thumbnail image is received from the manager terminal, extracting the photographed image matched with the corresponding thumbnail image and transmitting the extracted photographed image to the manager terminal. Control method of a companion animal monitoring device, characterized in that. delete delete A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for executing the method of claim 1 or 5 is recorded. An application program combined with hardware and stored in a computer-readable recording medium to execute the method of claim 1 or 5. An observation area designating unit that designates a part of an area photographed by the photographing camera as an observation area;
A sensitivity rate setting unit for setting each sensitivity rate for an observation area designated by the observation area designating unit;
A photographing camera control unit that transmits information on the observation region designated by the observation region designation unit and the sensitivity rate set by the sensitivity ratio setting unit to the photographing camera, and controls to perform a motion detection operation for each observation region based on the sensitivity ratio Wow;
A receiving unit configured to receive a motion occurrence event including a photographed image and location information corresponding to a corresponding sensing position according to motion detection in a predetermined observation area from the photographing camera;
And a notification unit for displaying an area corresponding to the detection position on at least a part of the captured image received by the receiving unit and transmitting it to the manager terminal,
The notification unit generates a thumbnail image corresponding to a still image based on the captured image received from the photographing camera, displays an area corresponding to the detection position on the thumbnail image, and transmits it to the manager terminal, and the detection After storing a thumbnail image in which the area corresponding to the location is displayed, the stored network address is checked, a push message including a network address corresponding to the thumbnail image is transmitted to the manager terminal, and the thumbnail image is sent from the manager terminal. Companion animal monitoring device, characterized in that transmitting a corresponding thumbnail image when there is a request using a corresponding network address. delete delete delete The method of claim 10,
An image storage unit that matches and stores the captured image received from the photographing camera with the thumbnail image;
When a photographing image request signal through the selection of the thumbnail image is received from the manager terminal, the companion animal monitoring apparatus further comprises an image providing unit for extracting a photographed image matched with the corresponding thumbnail image and transmitting the extracted photographed image to the manager terminal.
delete delete

Images