JP4789741B2 - Surveillance camera system, surveillance camera device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a surveillance camera system , a surveillance camera device, and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a technique suitable for viewing a video being photographed at a certain point at a remote point by transmitting video data.

  Video distribution systems and surveillance camera devices that distribute video captured by a camera via a network are widely used. These so-called surveillance camera systems are connected from a video shooting point to a video display point such as a centralized monitoring center by network communication or a video signal cable. The surveillance camera device enables the general viewer to operate the camera based on conditions set in advance by the camera administrator.

  For example, in a network camera capable of panning, tilting, and zooming, video viewing from the client and panning, tilting, and zooming operations can be performed under the conditions of viewing angle restrictions and client restrictions set in advance by the camera administrator. It is possible.

  For the power supply of the surveillance camera device, a method of superimposing and supplying the power to the signal cable is adopted because of the ease of installation. For example, in a network camera, a method of superposing on an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable (Power On Ethernet (registered trademark) hereinafter referred to as PoE) is being adopted. The operation using the PoE method requires that the network camera device supports PoE power reception, and that a hub or the like as a power supply source supports PoE power feeding. As for the power source of the monitoring camera device, an auxiliary power source may be used in addition to the main power source so as to cope with a power failure such as a power failure or a momentary interruption.

  In such a conventional system, when the power supply of the monitoring camera device is temporarily cut off, and then the power supply is restored and restarted, it starts up in the same state as when the power is normally turned on. In other words, the camera can be controlled from a general client without investigating the cause of the power-off by the administrator despite the abnormal power-off.

  For example, as a cause of the temporary disconnection of the power source, there are a PoE power source disconnection due to a shortage of power supplied to the PoE hub, a power failure, a camera device failure, and the like. In the case of such power cut-off, there is a problem that the camera operation from the client is permitted even though it is necessary to increase the power supplied to the PoE hub or to repair the camera device.

  Further, in the conventional system, it has been difficult to determine whether the power-off of the camera device is the disconnection intended by the user or the power-off such as a power failure. On the other hand, there is a method of using a standby power supply or a built-in battery in order to cope with disconnection due to an abnormality in the power supply, but there is a problem in that the cost increases due to the system configuration.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to quickly cope with a malfunction such as a camera failure or a review of a power supply system to the system.

The surveillance camera system of the present invention performs control by a photographing means for photographing a video, a control means for controlling the photographing means, a transmission means for transmitting video data photographed by the photographing means to a client, and the control means. Receiving means for receiving control data for the client from the client, prohibiting means for prohibiting control of the photographing means from the client, and storage for storing that the transmitting means is transmitting the video data to the client and means, said storage means, when the power supply is disconnected while the transmission means is transmitting the video data to the client, wherein the transmitting means is transmitting the pre SL video data continuing to store said inhibiting means, serial when the power is turned on, that is the storage means where said transmitting means is transmitting the pre SL video data If it is, and inhibits the control of the photographing means from the client.
The surveillance camera device of the present invention performs control by a photographing means for photographing a video, a control means for controlling the photographing means, a transmission means for transmitting video data photographed by the photographing means to a client, and the control means. Receiving means for receiving control data for the client from the client, prohibiting means for prohibiting the control of the photographing means from the client, and the power supply being cut off while the transmitting means is transmitting the video data to the client A storage control means for continuously storing in the storage means that the transmission means is transmitting the video data, and the prohibition means is configured to transmit the power when the power is turned on. Is stored in the storage means that the video data is transmitted, the control of the photographing means from the client is prohibited. And butterflies.
A monitoring camera apparatus control method according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures video, a control unit that controls the imaging unit, and a transmission unit that transmits video data captured by the imaging unit to a client. A receiving step of receiving control data for performing control by the control means from the client, and the power supply was cut off while the transmitting means was sending the video data to the client. In this case, a storage control step for continuously storing in the storage means that the transmission means is transmitting the video data, and the transmission means is transmitting the video data when the power is turned on. Is stored in the storage means, a prohibiting step for prohibiting control of the photographing means from the client is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to restrict the camera from being controlled by the client without investigating the cause of the power-off by the administrator.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the monitoring camera system according to the present embodiment.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a monitoring camera device that transmits video data shot while performing operations such as panning, tilting, and zooming via a network.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes a network, such as a LAN or the Internet. Reference numerals 103 and 104 denote camera control clients that issue camera control commands from a remote location. Reference numeral 105 denotes a camera administrator, which is the same as the camera control clients 103 and 104, but can set a pan, tilt, zoom movable region limit of the monitoring camera device 101, a client capable of camera control, and the like.

  In the monitoring camera apparatus 101, a data transmission / reception unit 111 is an interface that transmits video data to the network 102 and receives camera control commands from the camera control clients 103 and 104 and the camera administrator 105.

  A control unit 112 controls transmission restrictions when transmitting video data to the camera control clients 103 and 104, and controls when transmitting camera control commands to the camera driving unit 118. In addition, the control unit 112 stores an administrator password and a viewer password as identification information of the camera manager 105 and the camera viewer, and can perform camera settings and video viewing by matching this password. Become.

  A video data transmission unit 116 digitizes the video signal received from the camera imaging unit 117 and performs data compression for transmission to the client. Then, the video data is transmitted to the client in accordance with control by the control unit 112. A camera driving unit 118 performs camera control such as panning, tilting, and zooming according to a camera control command received from the control unit 112.

  Here, operations of the activation mode determination unit 113, the power supply storage unit 114, and the video transmission storage unit 115, which are features of the present embodiment, will be described. When the monitoring camera apparatus 101 is turned on, the control unit 112 transmits a message indicating that power is being supplied to the power supply storage unit 114, and the power supply storage unit 114 sets “1” as the power supply flag. Remember.

  On the other hand, when the monitoring camera device 101 is turned off, the camera administrator 105 transmits a power-off command. Then, the control unit 112 that has received the power OFF command transmits to the power supply storage unit 114 that the power is turned off, and the power supply storage unit 114 stores “0” as the power supply flag, and then the monitoring camera. The apparatus 101 is turned off.

  When transmitting video data to the client, the video transmission unit 116 transmits to the video transmission storage unit 115 information indicating that video transmission is in progress, that is, monitoring, and the video transmission storage unit 115 sets “1” as the video transmission flag. Remember.

  On the other hand, when video transmission is stopped, the video transmission unit 116 transmits to the video transmission storage unit 115 that monitoring is suspended, and the video transmission storage unit 115 stores “0” as the video transmission flag. . Note that the power supply storage unit 114 and the video transmission storage unit 115 use electronic devices such as a latching relay that can retain flag information even when the power of the monitoring camera device 101 is turned off.

  When power is supplied to the monitoring camera device 101, the activation mode determination unit 113 detects the power supply flag and the video transmission flag stored in the power supply storage unit 114 and the video transmission storage unit 115, and determines the state of the flag. Transmit to the control unit 112. And the control part 112 selects the mode at the time of starting in normal mode or management mode according to the state of this flag.

  The normal mode is a mode that functions as a normal surveillance camera that permits reception of camera control commands from the camera control clients 103 and 104 and enables transmission of video. On the other hand, the management mode is a mode in which camera control or browsing from a general client is prohibited and only access by the camera administrator 105 is permitted.

  When started in the management mode, video transmission is not normally performed even for a client that can view video. Specifically, in the management mode, for example, the browsing of the video and the camera control are disabled by invalidating the viewer password. In the management mode, a message indicating that the camera manager 105 has been activated in the management mode is transmitted to the IP address and mail address of the camera administrator 105 set in advance.

  As described above, the video transmission flag indicating that the monitoring is in progress and the power supply flag indicating that the power is being turned on are provided. When the power is turned on, the mode to be activated can be switched depending on the detection result of these flags. This is a feature of the embodiment. These operation flows will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a mode switching operation procedure in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, the monitoring camera apparatus 101 is turned on (step S201). Next, it is determined whether or not the power supply flag is “1” (step S202). As a result of this determination, the power supply flag is “1”, that is, the previous camera power supply was not normally cut off.

  Then, it is further determined whether or not the video transmission flag is “1” (step S203). As a result of this determination, if the video transmission flag is “1”, that is, if monitoring was performed at the time of the previous power-off, the camera is started in the management mode and the camera administrator 105 has been started in the management mode. Is notified (step S204).

  In the management mode, only the camera administrator 105 can perform camera control. Then, it is determined whether or not the camera manager 105 is connected (step S205). If the result of this determination is that it is not connected, it waits until it is connected. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S205 is that the camera manager 105 has connected, the cause of power-off is investigated (step S206).

  Thereafter, the power supply flag is changed to “0” by performing normal power-off by the camera administrator 105 (step S207). Then, the power is turned on again (step S208), and the process returns to step S202.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S202 is that the power supply flag is not “1” and the power supply flag is “0”, the power supply flag is changed to “1” (step S209). And it starts in normal mode (step S210).

  On the other hand, if the video transmission flag is not “1” and the video transmission flag is “0” as a result of the determination in step S203, the process proceeds to step S210. That is, the monitoring camera device 101 is disconnected due to a power failure, but is not monitored at the time of disconnection, and is started in the normal mode because there is no problem in the monitoring operation.

Next, the flow after starting in the normal mode will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a subroutine after the normal mode is started in FIG.
In FIG. 3, in the normal mode subroutine, the power supply flag is activated with “1” and the video transmission flag is activated with “0” (step S301). Next, it is determined whether or not to transmit video data in response to a video transmission command request from the camera control clients 103 and 104 or the camera manager 105 (step S302). As a result of this determination, if video data is not transmitted, the process waits until it is transmitted. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S302 is that video data is to be transmitted, the video transmission flag is changed to "1" (step S303).

  Thereafter, it is determined whether a video transmission pause command has been received from the camera control clients 103 and 104 or the camera manager 105 (step S304). If the result of this determination is that no pause command has been received, it waits until it is received. On the other hand, if it is received as a result of the determination in step S304, the video transmission flag is changed to “0” (step S305). Then, the process returns to step S302.

  Thus, in the normal mode, there are a period 306 in which the video transmission flag is “0” and a period 307 in which the video transmission flag is “1”. In the period 307 in which the video transmission flag is “1”, if a power failure occurs and the power supply is disconnected, the power supply flag is “1” and the video transmission flag is “1” at the next power-on. 2 is started in the management mode according to the flow of FIG.

  Also, in the period 306 in which the video transmission flag is “0”, when a power failure occurs and the video transmission flag is disconnected, the power supply flag is “1” and the video transmission flag is “0” at the next power-on. For this reason, it is started in the normal mode according to the flow of FIG.

Next, a flow when the power of the monitoring camera apparatus 101 is turned off in the normal mode will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
In FIG. 4, the power supply flag is activated with “1” in the normal mode (step S401). Then, it is determined whether or not a camera power OFF command has been received from the camera manager 105 (step S402).

  If the camera power OFF command is received as a result of this determination, it is confirmed whether or not video transmission is in progress (step S403). If the result of this confirmation is that video transmission is not in progress, the process jumps to step S405. On the other hand, if the result of the confirmation in step S403 is that video transmission is in progress, the video transmission is stopped and the video transmission flag is changed to “0” (step S404). Thereafter, the power supply flag is changed to “0” (step S405). The power supply to the monitoring camera device 101 is stopped, and the disconnection is normally completed (step S406).

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S402 is that a camera power OFF command has not been received from the camera administrator 105, the power supply flag remains “1” and the power supply is disconnected due to power failure (step S407).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the video transmission flag indicating that the monitoring is being performed and the power supply flag indicating that the power is normally turned on are provided, and when the power is turned on, the detection result of these flags is used. Determine if the power supply has been disconnected abnormally. Then, in the case of disconnection due to an abnormality, it is decided to start in the management mode in which only the administrator can access.

  In addition, even if there is a temporary power interruption such as a power failure or PoE power supply trouble by starting up in the management mode, the connection is limited to the administrator only. It has become possible to respond quickly to the review of the power supply system.

(Other embodiments according to the present invention)
Each means constituting the surveillance camera system in the embodiment of the present invention and each process of the method can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be implemented as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 to 4) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus. This includes the case where the system or apparatus computer also achieves by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk. Further, there are MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.

  As another program supply method, there is a method of connecting to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client computer. The computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  As another method, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and encrypted from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Download the key information to be solved. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. Furthermore, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  As another method, the program read from the recording medium is first written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the surveillance camera system in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure of the surveillance camera apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure of the video transmission flag in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure of the power supply flag in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Surveillance camera apparatus 102 Network 103 Camera control client 104 Camera control client 105 Camera manager 111 Data transmission / reception part 112 Control part 113 Startup mode discrimination | determination part 114 Power supply storage part 115 Video transmission storage part 116 Video data transmission part 117 Camera imaging part 118 Camera drive

Claims (7)

Photographing means for photographing images;
Control means for controlling the photographing means;
Transmitting means for transmitting video data photographed by the photographing means to a client;
Receiving means for receiving control data for performing control by the control means from the client;
Prohibiting means for prohibiting control of the photographing means from the client;
Storage means for storing that the transmission means is transmitting the video data to the client;
Wherein the storage unit, if the power supply is disconnected while the transmission means is transmitting the video data to the client will continue to store said transmitting means is transmitting the pre SL video data,
Said inhibiting means, when the power is turned on, when the transmitting unit that is transmitting before Symbol image data stored in said storage means prohibits the control of the photographing means from the client A surveillance camera system characterized by: The surveillance camera system according to claim 1, wherein the prohibiting unit does not prohibit control of the photographing unit from an administrator. The prohibiting means prohibits transmission of video data to the client if the storage means stores that the transmitting means is transmitting the video data when the power is turned on. The surveillance camera system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Photographing means for photographing images;
Control means for controlling the photographing means;
Transmitting means for transmitting video data photographed by the photographing means to a client;
Receiving means for receiving control data for performing control by the control means from the client;
Prohibiting means for prohibiting control of the photographing means from the client;
Storage control means for continuously storing in the storage means that the transmission means is transmitting the video data when the power is cut off while the transmission means is transmitting the video data to the client; Have
The prohibiting unit prohibits control of the photographing unit from the client when the storage unit stores that the transmission unit is transmitting the video data when the power is turned on. A surveillance camera device characterized by that. The surveillance camera device according to claim 4, wherein the prohibiting unit does not prohibit control of the photographing unit from an administrator. Photographing means for photographing images;
Control means for controlling the photographing means;
A monitoring camera device control method comprising: transmission means for transmitting video data photographed by the photographing means to a client;
A receiving step of receiving control data for performing control by the control means from the client;
A storage control step for continuously storing in the storage means that the transmission means is transmitting the video data when the power is cut off while the transmission means is transmitting the video data to the client; ,
A step of prohibiting control of the photographing means from the client when the storage means stores that the transmission means is transmitting the video data when the power is turned on. A control method for a surveillance camera device, comprising: The method of controlling a surveillance camera device according to claim 6, wherein the prohibiting step does not prohibit control of the photographing unit from an administrator.

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