JP2005151150A - Image transmission system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system where stoppage of reception of a video signal, caused by a power saving mode, can be discriminated from the stoppage of reception of the video signal caused by a power failure, in an image transmission system where power saving is secured on a monitoring side, and a video signal concerning an object to be monitored is transmitted to the side of a monitoring center located at a remote place. <P>SOLUTION: The image transmission system is provided with a monitoring terminal part 2 for detecting the movement of an object to be photographed, based on the video signal from a photographing means 1 and transmitting a signal to this effect, to the side of a central control part 5; a power source 14 for supplying power for carrying out the operation of the monitoring terminal part 2; and a CPU 11 for supply control of power saving. At the occurrence of power shortage on the side of a monitoring base and at the occurrence of a fault on the side of the monitoring base, when a movement detection circuit 10 decides that the object to be photographed is in the state of standstill for a fixed period or longer, the CPU 11 informs the central control part 5 of the occurrence. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image transmission system for transmitting an image taken by a photographing means (monitoring camera) using a storage battery as a power source to a place different from the place where the photographing means is installed, and in particular, power saving is ensured on the monitoring side, The present invention relates to an image transmission system capable of detecting the cause of a transmission failure.

Imaging means are used for the purpose of crime prevention and detection of faults in equipment during automatic driving. Such photographing means may be used not only indoors but also outdoors.
The photographing means installed outdoors and the side that transmits the information are often complicated or difficult to pull in and connect to the commercial power source. For example, the solar power generation means or the wind power generation means and the image communication means from the photographing means Those configured to operate in a connected manner are known.

On the other hand, the image photographed by the photographing means is transmitted to a place different from the photographing site, for example, a surveillance center where a guard of a security company is stationed, and display and recording are executed in the surveillance center.
The monitoring center is provided with a center communication means for communicating with the photographing means communication means and a remote operation device for remotely controlling the photographing means. The remote control device is provided with a storage device for storing a video signal output from the photographing means and a display means for displaying the storage device.

  When the photographing means and the communication means are operated in an environment where it is difficult to secure a commercial power source as described above, the power generated by the solar power generation means or the wind power generation means is stored in the storage battery, and the solar power generation means or the wind power generation is stored. When the means do not function sufficiently, power is supplied from the storage battery. That is, in order to obtain the operation of the photographing means and the transmission of information in an environment in which it is difficult to secure such a commercial power supply, it is essential to take measures for power saving.

  As a measure for power saving, for example, there is a monitoring device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-46993 (Patent Document 1). This document discloses a monitoring device that can effectively use a battery while suppressing wasteful power consumption by supplying a driving voltage to a necessary portion (for example, a photographing unit) only when an operation is necessary. Has been.

JP 2003-46993 A

  In the invention disclosed in the above publication, in order to realize power saving on the photographing means side, when a motion detection circuit is mounted on the photographing means and it is determined that there is no movement in the image, transmission of a video signal to the monitoring center is performed. Is stopped, and when the motion detection circuit detects the motion of the image, processing for restarting transmission of the video signal is performed.

That is, according to the present invention, in the power saving mode, that is, when there is no image motion, the power is always supplied to the photographing circuit and the motion detection circuit of the photographing means, and the power supply is stopped to the other portions (means). The
On the other hand, on the monitoring center side, reception of the video signal is stopped when the power saving mode is activated on the monitoring side.
However, in addition to the case where the display and recording of the video signal are stopped, the power saving failure is assumed on the photographing means side in addition to the case where the above-described power saving mode is switched.

  However, in the above-described conventional video signal transmission system, when the display or recording of the video signal is stopped, the monitoring center side stops the reception of the video signal due to the activation of the power saving mode, or There is a problem that it is not possible to easily determine whether or not the video signal has been stopped based on a power failure caused by unstable power supply.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in an image transmission system for transmitting a video signal output from a photographing means to a monitoring center located in a remote place, power saving is ensured on the monitoring side. An object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of discriminating between the stop of video signal reception caused by the power saving mode and the stop of video signal reception caused by a power failure.

  The present invention is an image transmission system in which a CPU notifies a video reception side when a power shortage occurs on the monitoring base side and when a failure occurs on the monitoring base side. .

  The first of the detailed configurations is a photographing means, a dynamic detection circuit for detecting a motion of a subject based on a video signal output from the photographing means, and transmission of the video signal based on the video signal. A communication means for a display base provided with a display means for displaying, a power generation means and a storage battery for supplying power to the communication means, the photographing means, and the movement detection circuit; When the movement detection circuit determines that the subject is stationary for a predetermined time or longer, the CPU stops transmission of the video signal toward the display base. Is transmitted to the communication means for transmitting the video signal in order to avoid display of the video signal by the display means. An image transmission system and controls to block the force supply.

  In the image transmission system having such a configuration, power saving can be realized on the monitoring base side, and the reason why the reception of the video signal is stopped on the display base side can be grasped from the display content of the display means.

  In the second detailed configuration, in addition to the above-described configuration, the power generation unit includes a solar power generation unit and / or a wind power generation unit, and the storage battery stores electric power generated by the power generation unit. When the output voltage of the storage battery falls below a predetermined voltage, the CPU transmits stop control data for displaying information indicating the occurrence of power supply abnormality on the display means, and then the photographing means and the above The image transmission system according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so as to cut off power supply to the dynamic detection circuit and the communication means.

  With the image transmission system having such a configuration, when a power supply abnormality occurs at the monitoring base on the display base side, the occurrence can be grasped from the display contents of the display means of the display base.

  The third of the detailed configurations is a communication unit that receives a video signal output from a monitoring base equipped with a photographing unit, a display unit that performs display based on the video signal, and display control of the display unit. And when the reception of the video signal is interrupted without receiving the notification of the video signal transmission stop state from the monitoring base, a failure has occurred on the monitoring base side. The image transmission system is characterized in that it is determined to control the display means to display that a failure has occurred in the monitoring base.

  With the image transmission system having such a configuration, when an abnormality in which a video signal cannot be transmitted at the monitoring base suddenly occurs on the display base side, the occurrence can be grasped from the display contents of the display means of the display base.

  The fourth detailed configuration is that in addition to the above-described configuration, the communication means for connecting the motion detection side and the motion detection video signal receiving side with a communication signal is that the monitored object is stationary. An image transmission system configured to intermittently send a video signal even when the monitoring target is in a stationary state so as to determine whether the failure is on the motion detection side.

With the image transmission system having such a configuration, when a failure occurs on the motion detection side while the monitoring target is still, the video signal is intermittently transmitted because the video signal is not received. Since it does not come, it is judged as a failure.
In addition, since the transmission of the motion detection video signal is intermittent during normal operation, power saving is achieved.

  The present invention is an image transmission system capable of detecting whether the cause is a power saving mode or a power failure when a video signal cannot be received on the monitoring center side.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view for explaining an image transmission system S according to the present invention.
The image transmission system S includes an imaging unit 1, a monitoring terminal unit 2, a terminal unit antenna 3, a control unit antenna 4, a central control unit 5, and a monitor 6 as a display unit.
The photographing means 1 includes a camera for photographing an image of a subject to be photographed.

  The monitoring terminal unit 2 includes a photovoltaic power generation means 7 as a power generation means, a storage battery 8, a video input terminal 9, a dynamic detection circuit 10, a CPU (central processing means) 23, a modulation / demodulation means 12, and a communication means. The wireless communication means 13 and the stabilized power supply 14 are provided.

The solar power generation means 7 receives sunlight and converts energy to output electric power.
The storage battery 8 is supplied with electric power from the solar power generation means 7 or from a commercial power source, and outputs the stored electric power under a predetermined condition.
The stabilized power supply 14 supplies power of a predetermined voltage to each means of the monitoring terminal unit 2 using power from the solar power generation means 7 and the storage battery 8 as a power supply.

The dynamic detection circuit 10 detects the movement of the subject to be photographed with reference to the video signal from the photographing means 1.
That is, the movement detection circuit 10 receives the monitoring video signal in the monitoring target area, and detects the presence or absence of the movement of the subject based on the monitoring video signal. Specifically, the movement detection circuit 10 outputs a high output (5.0 V) when detecting the movement (moving image) of the object to be photographed, and outputs a low output (5.0 V) when detecting the stillness (still image) of the object to be photographed. 0V).

The CPU 11 includes software and hardware that controls the operation of the photographing unit 1 and the monitoring terminal unit 2. The CPU 11 is composed of a dedicated LSI or a general-purpose computer terminal.
Specifically, when the output of the movement detection circuit 10 is a high output, the CPU 11 sets the switches SW15 and SW16 to ON, and simultaneously supplies the power of the stabilized power supply 14 to the modulation / demodulation circuit 24 and the wireless communication means 13. Operation control of the modulation / demodulation means 12 and the wireless communication means 13 is performed.
On the other hand, the CPU 11 is provided with a timer (not shown), and when the output of the movement detection circuit 10 is a low output and a predetermined time has elapsed, the switches SW15 and SW16 are set to OFF to supply power by the stabilized power supply 14. And the operation of the video modulator 12a and the data modulator 12b of the modem circuit 24 and the transmission circuit 13a of the wireless communication means 13 are stopped.

During such an operation, the CPU 11 controls the receiving circuit 13b of the wireless communication means 13 and the data demodulator 12c of the modulation / demodulation means 12 to be operated from the stabilized power supply 14 and to operate in the intermittent reception mode. This intermittent reception mode is executed in order to accept a control signal (command) from the monitoring center side which is the central control unit 5 even in the power saving mode.
The CPU 11 monitors the transition to the power saving mode before turning off the switches SW15 and SW16 when the output of the movement detection circuit 10 changes from high output to low output and a predetermined time has elapsed. A command (stop control data signal) notified to the side is output to the data modulator 24.

On the other hand, the data modulator 12b that has received such a command modulates the command and transmits the command to the central control unit 5 via the transmission circuit 13a of the wireless communication means 13 and the terminal unit antenna 3. It is.
In addition, the CPU 11 monitors the output voltage of the stabilized power supply 14 and, when the output voltage falls below a predetermined value, outputs a command notifying the monitoring center of the power supply abnormality to the data modulator 12b. .

The modulation / demodulation means 12 modulates a video signal and modulates and demodulates a control signal (data). The modem 12 includes a video modulator 12a, a data modulator 12b, and a data demodulator 12c.
Then, when the output voltage of the stabilized power supply 14 falls below a predetermined value, the modem unit 12 receives a command corresponding to the data modulator 12b, modulates the command, and transmits the transmission circuit 13a and the terminal unit. It operates to transmit toward the central controller 5 via the antenna 3.
In this way, the monitoring terminal unit 2 side notifies the central control unit 5 side of the power saving mode and the power supply abnormality.

The wireless communication means 13 is for wirelessly transmitting and receiving video signals and control signals via the terminal unit antenna 3. The wireless communication unit 13 includes a transmission circuit 13a and a reception circuit 13b.
The video signal output from the imaging unit 1 is input to the monitoring terminal unit 2 via the video input terminal 9 and sent to the dynamic detection circuit 10 and the modulation / demodulation unit 12.

When the modulation / demodulation means 12 receives the video signal via the video input terminal 9, the video modulator 12 a modulates the video signal as predetermined and sends it to the wireless communication means 13.
When the wireless communication means 13 receives the modulated video signal from the modulation / demodulation means 12, the transmission circuit 13a sends the transmission signal to the terminal antenna 3 as a transmission signal, and the terminal antenna 3 transmits the transmission signal as a radio wave. Do.

The control unit antenna 4 transmits and receives radio waves to and from the central control unit 5.
The central control unit 5 includes a wireless communication unit 17, which is a communication unit, a modulation / demodulation unit 18, a CPU 19, a power supply unit 20, and a video output terminal 21.
The monitor 6 projects video based on the video information signal from the central control unit 5.

In the central control unit 5, the wireless communication means 17 transmits and receives a video signal and a control signal, and includes a receiving circuit 17a and a transmitting circuit 17b.
The modulation / demodulation means 18 demodulates the video signal, modulates and demodulates the control signal, and includes a video demodulator 18a, a data demodulator 18b, and a data modulator 18c.

The CPU 19 is composed of software and hardware for controlling the operation of each means of the monitor 6 and the central control unit 5. Specifically, the CPU 19 is composed of a dedicated LSI or a general-purpose computer terminal.
When the detected command indicates the transition to the power saving mode, the CPU 19 controls the monitor 6 to stop displaying the video signal demodulated by the video demodulator 18a, and instead the photographing means 1 side is in the power saving mode. Display certain contents.

On the other hand, when the detected command indicates a power failure, the CPU 19 is configured to control the monitor 6 and display that the power failure has occurred on the photographing means 1 side.
It is assumed that the operations of the photographing unit 1 and the monitoring terminal unit 2 are suddenly stopped so that the CPU 11 cannot output a power failure notification.
In such a case, the CPU 19 is configured to control the monitor 6 to display that an unexpected failure has occurred on the photographing means 1 and / or the monitoring terminal unit 2 side.

The CPU 19 is configured to be able to detect the occurrence of an unexpected failure based on the absence of any notification from the photographing means 1 side for a predetermined period.
That is, the CPU 19 detects that an unexpected failure has occurred when reception of the video signal has been delayed for a certain period of time despite the absence of notification of the power saving mode and power failure from the photographing means 1 side (monitoring base). And

More specifically, the CPU 19 turns on a predetermined flag when receiving a power saving mode or power failure notification.
If this flag is off when the image transmission system S is operating normally, the video signal continues to be transmitted from the photographing means 1 side. Accordingly, the CPU 19 is configured to determine that a failure has occurred on the photographing means 1 side when the transmission of the video signal has been delayed for a certain period of time despite the flag being turned off.

The control signal transmitted from the terminal unit antenna 3, that is, the command indicating the shift to the power saving mode and the command indicating the power failure are received by the receiving circuit 17 a of the wireless communication means 17 via the control unit antenna 4, and data demodulation is performed. The signal is demodulated by the device 18b and detected as a command by the CPU 19.
Here, when the detected command indicates the shift to the power saving mode, the CPU 19 controls the monitor 6 to stop displaying the video signal demodulated by the video demodulator 18a, and instead the photographing means 1 side The contents in the power saving mode are displayed.

In addition, in order to restart the image transmission system S from the power saving mode, that is, to enter a normal monitoring state, in addition to the detection of the operation state by the motion detection circuit 10, the image transmission system S is forcibly started by an instruction from the monitoring center side. Is also possible.
In such a case, the monitoring person operates the CPU 19 to instruct a restart from the power saving mode.
Here, when the CPU 19 accepts this instruction, it outputs to the data modulator 18c a command that informs the photographing means 1 of the transition to the normal monitoring operation.
Upon receiving this command, the data modulator 18c modulates the command as predetermined and transmits the content of the command to the monitoring terminal unit 2 via the transmission circuit 17b and the control unit antenna 4.

Similarly, the CPU 11 is configured to monitor the output voltage of the stabilized power supply, and when the output voltage falls below a predetermined value, the CPU 11 is configured to output a command notifying the power supply center to the data modulator 24.
Here, when the data modulator 12b receives this command, it modulates the command as prescribed and transmits the command content to the receiving facility 5 via the transmission circuit 13a and the terminal antenna 3.
In this way, when a failure occurs on the photographing means 1 side, the power saving mode and the power supply abnormality are notified to the monitoring center side (display base).

The control signal transmitted from the terminal unit antenna 3, that is, the command indicating the shift to the power saving mode and the command indicating the power failure are received by the receiving circuit 17 a of the wireless communication means 17 via the control unit antenna 4, and data demodulation is performed. The signal is demodulated in a predetermined manner by the device 18b and detected as a command by the CPU 19.
Here, when the detected command indicates the shift to the power saving mode, the CPU 19 controls the monitor 6 to stop the display of the video signal demodulated by the video demodulator 18a. It is configured to display the contents that are in mode.

It is assumed that an unexpected failure occurs in the monitoring terminal unit 2 during the operation in the power saving mode.
On the other hand, the central control unit 5 sends, via the control unit antenna 4, commands that can be transmitted and received from the CPU 19 to the monitoring terminal unit 2 at regular intervals and a command for checking the state of the monitoring terminal unit 2 in the power saving mode. It is configured to send out.
When the monitoring terminal unit 2 receives the command via the terminal unit antenna 3, the CPU 11 turns on the SWs 15 and 16, operates the data modulator 12b and the transmission circuit 13a, and the power saving mode state is continued. If it is, the command to enter the power saving mode is transmitted to the central control unit 5 as described above.

When receiving this command, the central control unit 5 is configured to control the monitoring terminal unit 2 so as to shift to the power saving mode as described above.
In the image transmission system S, when the central monitoring unit 5 receives a command from the monitoring terminal unit 2 at regular intervals and continues to display on the monitor 6, the command from the monitoring terminal unit 2 cannot be received. It is determined that an unexpected failure has occurred, and the CPU 19 controls the monitor 6 to display on the photographing means 1 or / and the monitoring terminal unit 2 that an unexpected failure has occurred.

The power supply means 20 supplies power of a predetermined voltage to each part (each means) of the central control unit 5 using the commercial power supply AC as a power supply.
However, the power supply means 20 may be configured to be supplementarily supplied with power from a solar battery or wind power generation means.

The image transmission system S is configured as described above. Hereinafter, the operation flow of the image transmission system S will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The image transmission system S will be described starting from the state in which the power source is already turned on and in operation.
When the object to be photographed is stationary in the photographing means 1, when the photographing means, that is, the image photographed by the photographing means 1 is stationary (S1), the output of the dynamic detection circuit 10 becomes low level (S2).

Here, when detecting the output, the CPU 11 starts subtraction of a timer posted for a predetermined time (S3).
At this time, if the timer indicates zero (S4), stop control data (notification command) is generated and sent to the data modulator 12b (S5). The command modulated by the data modulator 12b (S6) is high-frequency converted by the transmission circuit 13a and transmitted from the terminal unit antenna 3 (S7).

The receiving circuit 17a on the monitoring center side receives stop control data (notification command) transmitted from the photographing means 1 side via the control unit antenna 4 (S8), and is demodulated by the data demodulator 18b (S9). ) And is detected by the CPU 19 (S10).
Here, in accordance with the detected command, the CPU 19 performs a display stop display (power saving mode display) on the monitor 6 (S11), generates confirmation control data (reply command), and sends it to the data modulator 18c. (S12).
The reply command modulated by the data modulator 18c (S13) is subjected to high frequency conversion by the transmission circuit 17b and transmitted from the control unit antenna 4 (S14).

The receiving circuit 13b on the imaging means 1 side receives the confirmation control data (reply command) transmitted from the monitoring center side via the terminal unit antenna 3 (S15), and is demodulated by the data demodulator 12c (S16). Is detected by the CPU 11 (S17).
In accordance with the detected command, the CPU 11 starts controlling the power saving mode as described above (S18).

That is, upon receiving a power saving mode control signal from the CPU 11, the transmission circuit 13a stops transmission, the video modulator 12a and the data modulator 12b stop functioning, and the reception circuit 13b and the data demodulator 12c are intermittent. The reception state is set (S19).
Here, the state of the power saving mode is obtained (end). That is, power saving is obtained by being intermittent, and even if the power generation means is the solar power generation means 7, the problem of insufficient power is hardly caused compared to continuous use.

  Note that while the photographing unit 1 is operating in the power saving mode, the photographing unit 1 always outputs a video signal, and the motion detection circuit 10 performs motion detection. The receiving circuit 13b and the data demodulator 12c are intermittently operated. Here, the CPU 11 monitors the outputs of the movement detection circuit 10 and the data demodulator 12c, and further the output voltage of the stabilized power supply.

In this state, when the output of the movement detection circuit 10 changes to a high level, the CPU 11 turns on the SW 15 and SW 16 to turn on the entire modulation / demodulation unit 12 and the wireless communication unit 13 and starts transmitting a video signal. .
Here, when the CPU 19 on the monitoring center side receives the video signal, the CPU 19 determines that the power saving mode on the side of the photographing means 1 has been canceled, and displays the received video signal on the monitor 6.
That is, as a result, the image transmission system S can know the failure on the monitoring terminal unit 2 side on the central control unit 5 side, and can obtain the image necessary for monitoring the image from the photographing means 1. Yes.

The power generation means may be appropriately set according to the power consumption of the monitoring terminal unit 2.
In the image transmission system S, the solar battery 7 supplies power to the stabilized power supply 14, but wind power generation means may be used. Furthermore, the solar battery and the wind power generation means may be provided, and the solar battery may be operated during the day when the sunlight is sufficient, and the wind power generation means may be operated during the time when the wind power in the morning and evening is sufficient.

  In the image transmission system S, the wireless communication units 13 and 17 are used as the communication unit, but a wired communication unit may be used.

It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the image transmission system of the example of 1 embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the example shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

S: Image transmission system 1: Imaging means 2: Monitoring terminal unit 3: Terminal unit antenna 4: Control unit antenna 5: Central control unit 6: Monitor (display unit)
7: Solar power generation means (power generation means)
8: Storage battery 10: Dynamic detection circuit 11, 19: CPU
12, 18: Modulation demodulation means 13, 17: Wireless communication means (communication means)
14: Stabilized power supply

Claims (4)

An imaging means, a dynamic detection circuit for detecting a motion of an object to be photographed based on a video signal output from the imaging means, and a display means for displaying the transmission of the video signal based on the video signal are provided. A communication means for the display base, a power generation means and a storage battery for supplying power to the communication means, the photographing means, and the movement detection circuit; and a CPU for controlling the supply of the power.
The CPU displays information indicating the video signal transmission stop state toward the display base when the movement detection circuit determines that the subject is stationary for a predetermined time or more. Transmitting stop control data for display on the means, and then shutting off power supply to the communication means for transmitting the video signal in order to avoid display of the video signal by the display means An image transmission system characterized by controlling. The power generation means is composed of solar power generation means or / and wind power generation means,
The storage battery stores the electric power generated by the power generation means,
When the output voltage of the storage battery falls below a predetermined voltage, the CPU transmits stop control data for displaying information indicating the occurrence of a power supply abnormality on the display means, and then the photographing means and the dynamics 2. The image transmission system according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so as to cut off power supply to the detection circuit and the communication means. A communication means for receiving a video signal output from a monitoring base provided with a photographing means, a display means for performing display based on the video signal, and a CPU for performing display control of the display means,
The CPU determines that a failure has occurred on the monitoring base side when reception of the video signal is interrupted without receiving a notification of the video signal transmission stop state from the monitoring base, and the monitoring base An image transmission system that controls to display on the display means that a failure has occurred.   Monitoring is performed so that the communication means for connecting the motion detection side and the motion detection video signal receiving side with a communication signal determines whether the monitored object is stationary or failure on the motion detection side. 4. The image transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the image transmission system is configured to intermittently send video signals even when the object is stationary.

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