JP2639100B2 - Monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a monitoring device that monitors an abnormal situation of a predetermined monitoring target by combining a television camera and a sensor.

[Prior Art] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional monitoring apparatus using one television camera and one video sensor. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a television camera for imaging a monitoring target (not shown); Is a video sensor for detecting a change in an image signal from the television camera 1, and 3 is a television monitor for displaying an output image from the video sensor 2.

In such a conventional apparatus, the television camera 1 constantly captures an image of the monitored object and sends the image signal to the video sensor 2.
When an input image signal has a change in image information greater than or equal to a specified value, the video sensor 2 marks and displays the changed portion on the television monitor 3.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a conventional monitoring apparatus using a plurality of (eight in this case) television cameras and video tape recorders. In the figure, reference numerals 11 to 18 denote monitoring objects (not shown), respectively. TV camera for imaging, 21
Is a sensor that detects abnormalities of the monitoring target, 31 is a TV camera
A video switcher that selects and outputs image signals from 11 to 18,
Reference numeral 41 denotes a video tape recorder (hereinafter, referred to as a VTR) that records an image signal selected by the video switch 31 based on an abnormality detection signal from the sensor 21, and reference numeral 51 denotes a television monitor that displays an output image from the VTR 41.

In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the television cameras 11 to 18 constantly capture an image of the monitored object and send the image signal to the image switch 31. When the sensor 21 does not detect any abnormality, the video switch 31 is in the non-selected state, and the VTR 41 is also in the stopped state. On the other hand, when the sensor 21 detects the abnormality of the monitoring target, the image switch 31 selects the image signal from the television camera that is capturing the abnormality occurrence part in the monitoring target based on the abnormality detection signal from the sensor 21. At the same time, the VTR 41 is started to record by the abnormality detection signal from the sensor 21, and the image signal of the selected television camera is recorded.

After recording, the VTR 41 is played back and activated, so that the recorded abnormal portion can be displayed on the television monitor 51.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional monitoring device shown in FIG.
Since there is no means for recording an image, there is a problem that even if an abnormality is detected and an abnormal portion is marked and displayed on the television monitor 3, the state of the abnormality cannot be verified later.

Although the conventional monitoring device shown in FIG. 6 has a means for recording an image (VTR41), it can only record the situation after the abnormality is detected by the sensor 21, and the VTR 41 detects the abnormality from the sensor 21. It takes several hundred milliseconds to several seconds from the start of recording in response to the detection signal to the normal recording, so it is not possible to record the situation at the time of the occurrence of the abnormality. There is a problem that verification cannot be performed in comparison with the situation at the time of occurrence and after the occurrence of abnormality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and enables recording before, at the time of occurrence of an abnormality, and after detection of an abnormality, so that an abnormal situation in a monitoring target can be reliably verified. The purpose is to obtain a monitoring device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A monitoring device according to the present invention is a monitoring device that constantly captures an image of a monitoring target with a television camera, monitors an abnormality of the monitoring target based on an image signal from the television camera, and displays an abnormality. In the apparatus, a sensor for detecting an abnormality of the monitoring target, and a random for periodically recording a plurality of images from the television camera and stopping a recording operation after a predetermined time has elapsed since an abnormality detection signal is input from the sensor. An accessible video memory and an image recorded in the video memory before the abnormality detection signal is input to the video memory is used as a reference image, and the reference image is compared with an image recorded in the video memory thereafter. An image identification circuit that outputs an identification signal for identifying an image in which an image change equal to or greater than a specified value is detected as an abnormal image, and A marker signal superimposing circuit for superimposing a marker signal for marking and displaying an abnormal portion of the abnormal image on the abnormal image.

Further, a monitoring device according to the next invention is a monitoring device that constantly captures an image of a monitoring target with a television camera, monitors an abnormality of the monitoring target based on an image signal from the television camera, and displays an abnormality, and A sensor that detects abnormalities of the monitor, a divided display device that outputs a divided image that divides and displays a plurality of images obtained by capturing each part of the monitoring target by the plurality of television cameras on the same screen, A randomly accessible video memory for periodically recording a plurality of divided images and stopping a recording operation after a lapse of a predetermined time after an abnormality detection signal is input from the sensor; and the divided image after the sensor detects an abnormality. And a magnetic recording device for recording the video.

[Operation] In the monitoring device according to the present invention, when the sensor detects that an abnormality has occurred in the monitoring target, the abnormality detection signal is input to the video memory. In the video memory, a plurality of images taken by the television camera are periodically recorded, and when an abnormality detection signal is input, the recording operation is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed. The image identification circuit compares the reference image recorded before the input of the abnormality detection signal with the plurality of images recorded in the video memory, and generates an identification signal for identifying an image in which a difference equal to or more than a specified value is detected as an abnormal image. Output. The marker signal superimposition circuit receives the identification signal and superimposes a marker signal for marking and displaying an abnormal portion of the abnormal image on the abnormal image so that the presence or absence of the abnormality can be easily determined.

Further, the monitoring device according to the next invention captures each part to be monitored by a plurality of television cameras, combines the plurality of images by a divided display device, divides and displays them on the same screen, and simultaneously displays each part to be monitored. Be able to monitor. The video memory periodically records a plurality of divided images from the divided display device, and this recording operation stops after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the abnormality detection signal is input from the sensor. The magnetic recording device records the divided image after the sensor detects the abnormality.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a television camera that captures an image of a monitoring target (not shown) and outputs an image signal, 3 denotes a television monitor that displays an output image from a marker signal superimposing circuit 7 described later, and 4 denotes a monitoring target. A sensor 5 for detecting an abnormality, a video memory 5 for periodically recording a plurality of images from the television camera 1 and stopping a recording operation after a lapse of a predetermined time from the input of the abnormality detection signal from the sensor 4, and a video memory 6 An image identification circuit for comparing the reproduced image from the reference image 5 with a predetermined reference image to determine the presence or absence of a difference exceeding a specified value. Image before). Reference numeral 7 denotes a marker signal superimposing circuit that superimposes a marker signal on an abnormal portion of the reproduced image in the video memory 5 based on the identification signal from the image identification circuit 6 and displays the marker signal on the television monitor 3.

Next, the operation of the apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described below. The video memory 5 receives a plurality of image signals (for example, 16
Since the image is recorded periodically and repeatedly, at a certain moment, an image for a certain period of time in the past is recorded.

In such a state, when an abnormality of the monitoring target is detected by the sensor 4, an abnormality detection signal from the sensor 4 is input to the video memory 5. Upon receiving the abnormality detection signal, the video memory 5 stops the recording operation of the video memory 5 after a lapse of a fixed time from the input time. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D, the images before, during, and after the occurrence of the abnormality are recorded in the video memory 5.

In this embodiment, the number of recorded images in the video memory 5 is 16, and the number of the recorded content indicates the memory number of the video memory 5, and the younger number is the past image. Here, images before abnormalities are recorded in areas of memory numbers 1 to 5, images during abnormalities are 6 to 12, and images after abnormalities are memory numbers 13 to 16.

Next, the image identification circuit 6 uses the image of memory number 1 which is the image before the abnormality out of the 16 images recorded in the video memory as a reference image, and compares the reference image with the recorded images of memory number 2 and thereafter. The luminance signal or the chrominance signal is compared, and the presence or absence of an image change with a difference equal to or greater than a specified value is identified. Then, the image identification circuit 6 stops the comparison operation when there is an image change with a difference equal to or larger than the specified value, and outputs an abnormal identification signal to the marker signal superimposing circuit 7.

In this state, an image having an abnormality is output from the video memory 5 to the marker signal superimposing circuit 7 as a reproduced image signal. Are superimposed and displayed on the television monitor 3.

As described above, according to the device of the present embodiment, since a plurality of images from before to after the abnormality are recorded in the video memory 5, it is possible to easily and reliably verify the abnormal situation after the abnormality is detected. become.

Further, in the conventional apparatus, when the monitoring target is outdoors, for example, there is a possibility that a false alarm is generated due to a sudden change in sunshine, movement of the subject (monitoring target) due to wind, a signal, or the like. According to the apparatus of the example, the processing at the time of abnormality of the video memory 5 is started by the sensor 4, the part corresponding to the recorded abnormal part is subjected to the marking processing, and the marking display is performed on the television monitor 3. There is also an advantage that a reliable alarm process can be performed without causing such a false alarm.

In the above embodiment, the method of continuously recording the input image from the television camera 1 in the video memory 5 has been described. However, one input image may be recorded for every N images. The recording time can be lengthened accordingly.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a case is shown in which a plurality of (here, eight) television cameras 11 to 18 are provided.

In FIG. 3, reference numerals 11 to 18 denote television cameras for imaging each part of a monitoring target (not shown) and outputting an image signal; 21, a sensor for detecting an abnormality of the monitoring target; A video switcher that cyclically switches a plurality of inputs of a 4-divided image signal from the apparatus at regular intervals, 41 is a VTR that records an image signal, 51 is a television monitor that displays an output image from the VTR 41, and 61 and 62 are respectively TV camera 11
A four-segment display device that combines the images from to 14 and 15 to 18 into the same screen divided into four, 71 periodically records a plurality of images output from the video switch 31 and outputs an abnormality detection signal from the sensor 21 This is a video memory that stops the recording operation after a lapse of a predetermined time from the input.

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above
This will be described with reference to FIGS. Of the eight television cameras 11 to 18 of the whole system, the television cameras 11 to 14 and 15 to 18 are combined on the same screen divided into four by the four-divided display devices 61 and 62, respectively [FIG. e)]. The four-divided image signals A and B from the two four-divided display devices 61 and 62 are periodically switched by the video switch 31 at regular intervals, and are alternately input to the video memory 71. Since the video memory 71 repeatedly and periodically records a plurality of image signals A and B in the order of input (see FIG. 4 (d)), at a certain moment, the TV camera 11 within a certain period of time in the past. This means that the image signals from .about.18 are recorded in chronological order.

In such a state, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, when the abnormality of the monitoring target is detected by the sensor 21, the abnormality detection signal from the sensor 21 is transmitted to the video memory 71 and the VTR4.
Entered into 1. The VTR41 starts the recording operation in response to the abnormality detection signal.
It requires several seconds (almost constant depending on the model).
Therefore, the periodical recording of the video memory 71 is continued from the time when the abnormality is detected until the time when the VTR 41 is normally recorded.
Is stopped, the recording of the video memory 71 is stopped.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2 (d), an image signal is recorded in the video memory 71 within a period from before the abnormality of the monitoring target is detected to when the VTR 41 normally records the screen after the abnormality. become.

As described above, according to the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the time from before the sensor 21 detects the abnormality to be monitored until the VTR 41 is normally recorded at the time of occurrence of the abnormality and further after the occurrence of the abnormality. Since the image signals of the television cameras 11 to 18 are recorded by the video memory 71, and subsequently the VTR 41 records the subsequent image signals, similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. The status of the abnormality in the monitoring target can be compared with before, at the time of, and after the occurrence of the abnormality, and the status of the occurrence of the abnormality can be easily and reliably verified.

In the above embodiment, a case was described in which eight television cameras were provided and two four-segment display devices were provided for synthesizing a four-segment image. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Even if an appropriate N-divided display device is selected according to the number of television cameras in the entire system, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the monitoring device of the present invention,
A sensor for detecting an abnormality of a monitoring target, and a video memory capable of randomly recording a plurality of images from a television camera and stopping a recording operation after a lapse of a predetermined time after an abnormality detection signal is input from the sensor; and An image detected in a video memory before an abnormality detection signal was input to the video memory was used as a reference image, and an image change of a specified value or more was detected by comparing the reference image with an image recorded in a video memory thereafter. An image identification circuit that outputs an identification signal for identifying an image as an abnormal image, and a marker signal superimposition circuit that receives the identification signal and superimposes a marker signal for marking and displaying an abnormal portion of the abnormal image on the abnormal image are provided. The abnormal part of the recorded abnormal image can be marked and displayed, so that the abnormal part can be clearly identified and the abnormal And an image of occurrence and the abnormality occurrence after easily compare, easily and reliably perform the verification of the abnormality occurrence and the abnormality detection after the abnormal situation.

According to the next invention, a sensor for detecting an abnormality of a monitoring target, a divided display device for outputting a divided image for dividing and displaying a plurality of images captured by a plurality of television cameras on the same screen, and a divided display device A random access video memory that periodically records a plurality of divided images and stops a recording operation after a lapse of a predetermined time after an abnormality detection signal is input from the sensor, and a divided image after the sensor detects an abnormality. With the provision of the magnetic recording device for recording, each part to be monitored can be monitored simultaneously. In addition, the video memory records the divided images before, at and after the occurrence of the abnormality, and the magnetic recording device records the divided images after the occurrence of the abnormality over a long period of time. This makes it possible to easily and surely verify the abnormal situation and the abnormal situation after the abnormality is detected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) are timing charts for explaining the operation of the apparatus of the above embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a monitoring device according to another embodiment, FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (e) are timing charts for explaining the operation of the device according to the other embodiment, and FIGS. It is a block diagram showing a monitoring device. In the figure, 1 ... TV camera, 3 ... TV monitor, 4 ... Sensor, 5 ... Video memory, 11-18 ... TV camera, 21 ... Sensor, 51 ... TV monitor, 71 ...
... video memory. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A monitoring device which constantly captures an image of a monitoring target with a television camera, monitors an abnormality of the monitoring target based on an image signal from the television camera, and displays an abnormality, wherein the sensor detects the abnormality of the monitoring target. A random-accessible video memory that periodically records a plurality of images from the television camera and stops a recording operation after a predetermined time has elapsed after the abnormality detection signal is input from the sensor; and An image recorded in the video memory before input to the video memory is used as a reference image, and the reference image is compared with an image recorded in the video memory thereafter, and an image in which an image change equal to or more than a specified value is detected is abnormal. An image identification circuit for outputting an identification signal for identifying the image as an image, and a marker for receiving the identification signal and marking and displaying an abnormal portion of the abnormal image. Monitoring apparatus being characterized in that a marker signal superimposing circuit for superimposing a signal to the abnormal image. 2. A sensor for continuously detecting an image of a monitored object by a television camera, monitoring an abnormality of the monitored object based on an image signal from the television camera, and displaying an abnormality, the sensor detecting the abnormality of the monitored object. A divided display device that outputs a divided image that divides and displays a plurality of images obtained by capturing each part of the monitoring target by the plurality of television cameras on the same screen; and a cycle of the plurality of divided images from the divided display device. Random access video memory for temporarily recording and stopping the recording operation after a lapse of a predetermined time from the input of the abnormality detection signal from the sensor, and a magnetic recording device for recording the divided image after the sensor detects the abnormality A monitoring device comprising: