JP2007043390A - System and method for video delivery - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video delivery system capable of easily adding a camera connected to a network with no complicated preparation in advance. <P>SOLUTION: The video delivery system delivers video using a camera 20 connected to a network 10. A DHCP server 41 detects the camera 20 connected to the network and issues an IP address. A control server 40 updates the configuration information of a system based on the equipment information acquired from the camera 20, and presents it to a terminal device 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention particularly relates to a video distribution system that distributes video from a camera connected to a network.

  Conventionally, a video monitoring system using a CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) system and a system for distributing video taken by a camera installed at a remote location via the Internet have been developed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). ).

These systems are generally configured to perform camera control and video distribution on an IP network including a function of assigning an IP (Internet Protocol) address. By using such a system, an image taken by a camera installed at a remote location can be confirmed on the screen of a terminal device (for example, a personal computer) connected to the IP network.
JP 2003-23445 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-199087

  In the conventional system as described above, even when a new camera is simply added in addition to the existing camera, it is necessary to modify the software or change the system settings in advance. For this reason, for example, in the event of a disaster, when there is a need to temporarily add a camera, it is difficult to realize it. In this case, there is also a method of adding emergency camera information to the system in advance.

  However, during normal operation, management is required not to operate the emergency camera. Also, when actually connecting to a network, complicated preparations are required in advance, such as camera settings and the types and locations of cameras that can be installed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a video distribution system capable of easily realizing the addition of cameras connected to a network without requiring complicated preparation in advance.

  An aspect of the present invention is a video distribution system that can easily update the configuration of a system in a system that distributes video using a camera connected to a network, simply by physically connecting the camera to the network.

  A video distribution system according to an aspect of the present invention is a video distribution system that distributes video captured by a camera to a terminal device via a network. The detection unit detects a device connected to the network; and the detection unit Based on the detection result, the first information for distributing the video to the camera connected to the network is exchanged, and the second information for receiving the video distributed from the camera is And a control means for transmitting to the terminal device.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the video delivery system which can implement | achieve the addition of the camera connected to a network easily without requiring complicated preparation beforehand can be provided. Therefore, it is possible to dynamically distribute video from a camera added in addition to an existing camera, for example, simply by connecting the camera to the network.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video distribution system according to the present embodiment.

  This system uses an IP (Internet Protocol) network (hereinafter simply referred to as a network) 10 typified by the Internet to distribute video captured by one or more cameras 20 to a terminal device (client) 30. It is. The network 10 may be a network other than the Internet, such as a wireless local area network (LAN), as long as it is an IP network.

  In this system, the control server 40 and the IP address management server 41 connected to the network 10 control the camera 20 and control video distribution. The control server 40 is a main control device of the system, and manages the system configuration and video distribution including the camera 20 and other devices connected to the network 10. The management of the system configuration mainly means generation or update of configuration information according to addition or deletion (disconnection from the network) of the camera 20 and other devices.

  That is, the control server 40 has a function of dynamically detecting that the camera 20 or device has been added or deleted from the system, a function of dynamically assigning and managing identification information to the detected device, and a camera. It has a function of managing video by dynamically assigning a multicast (or unicast) address for video distribution.

  Specifically, the control server 40 manages configuration information indicating the configuration of the device (camera 20) included in the system, and provides the configuration information as screen information to the terminal device 30 as a delivery destination. When a change occurs in the system configuration in accordance with the addition or deletion of the camera 20 and other devices, the control server 40 updates the configuration information (screen information) and provides it to the terminal device 30 that is the distribution destination.

  Further, the control server 40 executes control for distributing video from the camera 20 included in the system to the terminal device 30 via the network 10 in response to a request (operation) from the terminal device 30.

  Further, the control server 40 has a control address range for dynamic distribution and a distribution multicast (unicast) address range, and dynamically distributes and collects control information to the camera 20 and other devices constituting the system. Manage. This control information includes a control address and a multicast (or unicast) address for video distribution. The control address is a management number assigned to the camera 20 and other devices managed inside the control server 40. The multicast address is a destination address of the terminal device 30 that is a distribution destination.

  Furthermore, the control server 40 acquires the IP address distributed from the IP address management server 41 registered in advance at the time of activation.

  The IP address management server 41 is specifically a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server (hereinafter referred to as a DHCP server), and issues an IP address to the camera 20 or device connected to the network 10. This is notified to the control server 40. At this time, the DHCP server 41 cooperates with the control server 40 by adding the information of the control server 40 to the IP address to be issued.

  The camera 20 includes a camera body, a control device having a function of accepting camera control with a dynamically assigned control address, and a video delivery device having a function of delivering video with a given multicast (or unicast) address. It is configured.

  The terminal device 30 is composed of, for example, a personal computer, and includes a screen information provided from the control server 40 and a display screen for displaying distributed video, and a decoder 300 for reproducing the distributed video information. Here, the decoder 300 is a decoder function realized by software executed by a computer, for example.

[Function and effect]
Hereinafter, the video distribution operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG.

  First, with reference to FIG. 2, a procedure in the case where, for example, the expansion camera 20 is physically connected to the network 10 and video shot by the camera 20 is distributed by, for example, MPEG2 multicast will be described.

  When the camera 20 is physically connected to the network 10, the DHCP server 41 detects that and issues an IP address to the camera 20 (steps S1 to S3). The DHCP server 41 issues an IP address to the camera 20 and notifies the control server 40 registered in advance of the IP address (step S4).

  The DHCP server 41 has a function of dynamically distributing (issuing) an IP address and collecting the issued IP address. The DHCP server 41 also has a function of notifying the current address distribution status in response to a request from the control server 40.

  Next, the control server 40 requests device information (camera information) from the device having the notified IP address (here, the camera 20) (step S5). The device information (camera information) is information indicating the model (type) and specification of the camera 20. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that position information indicating the position where the camera 20 is installed is also included. This position information is acquired by, for example, a GPS (global positioning system) function mounted on the camera 20.

  When receiving the device information (camera information) requested by the response from the camera 20, the control server 40 issues management information including the device information (steps S6 and S7). The management information includes control information and configuration information described later.

  The control server 40 determines a control interface and transmits a control address (assigned management number) and a multicast address as control information to the camera 20 (step S9). In the camera 20, the control device receives control information from the control server 40 and performs settings for distributing video (step S10).

  On the other hand, the control server 40 notifies the terminal device 30 of a configuration change due to the new camera 20 being connected to the network 10 and being included in the system configuration (step S8). The terminal device 30 requests the configuration information updated based on the notification to the control server 40 (step S24). When the terminal device 30 obtains the updated configuration information from the control server 40 as screen information, the terminal device 30 updates the system configuration screen displayed on the display screen (steps S25 and S26).

  As described above, when the expansion camera 20 is added in the video distribution system including the cameras 20 connected to the network 10, the control server 40, based on the newly issued IP address, The system configuration change (update) process is executed. As a result, the terminal device 30 updates the system configuration information (including the list information of usable cameras) on the screen, selects the additional camera 20 added to the list, and is photographed by the camera 20. An operation for requesting an image can be performed. The control server 40 controls to distribute the video from the expansion camera 20 to the terminal device 30 in response to a request from the terminal device 30.

  Therefore, the terminal device 30 can confirm the camera added to the system on the screen, and can display the video (monitoring video) distributed from the camera on the screen by clicking the camera and starting it. it can. When the device information of the camera 20 includes position information by the GPS function, the control server 40 can also display the position of the camera on the map on the screen of the terminal device 30.

  If the system of this embodiment is applied to a camera monitoring system using, for example, the Web, the monitoring camera can be added to the system simply by physically connecting the extension camera 20 to the Internet (10). Therefore, the disaster situation can be monitored by video by the terminal device 30 only by physically connecting the expansion camera 20 to the Internet (10) at the place where the disaster occurs, for example.

(Connection of equipment unrelated to the system)
Here, with reference to FIG. 3, a processing procedure when a device 50 not related to the system is connected to the network 10 will be described.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the camera 20 or device that can be added to the system has a function of receiving a request for device information from the control server 40 and control information. Accordingly, when a device 50 that does not have such a function is connected to the network 10, it is not included in the system.

  First, when the device 50 is physically connected to the network 10, the DHCP server 41 detects that and issues an IP address to the camera 50 (steps S31 to S33). The DHCP server 41 issues an IP address to the camera 20 and notifies the control server 40 registered in advance of the IP address (step S34).

  Next, the control server 40 requests device information (camera information) from the device 50 having the notified IP address (step S35). If there is no response from the device 50 within a predetermined time, the control server 40 determines that the device is unrelated to the system (step S36). Accordingly, since the control server 40 does not issue control information, the device 50 is not included in the system.

(Modification)
FIG. 4 is a video distribution method relating to a modification of the present embodiment.

  This modification is a method of making a connection request to the control server 40 from the camera 20 side by adding information (such as an IP address) of the control server 40 when issuing an IP address. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given with reference to FIG.

  When the camera 20 is physically connected to the network 10, the DHCP server 41 detects this and issues an IP address to the camera 20 (steps S41 to S43). At this time, the DHCP server 41 adds information such as the IP address of the control server 40 registered in advance to the IP address to be issued.

  Next, the camera 20 makes a connection request (including the IP address) to the control server 40 based on the information added to the IP address (IP address of the control server 40) (step S44).

  In response to a request from the camera 20, the control server 40 requests device information (camera information) of the camera 20 (step S45). And the control server 40 will issue the management information containing the said apparatus information, if the said apparatus information is received (step S46, S47). Here, the camera 20 may simultaneously transmit the device information to the control server 40 together with the connection request (including the IP address).

  The control server 40 transmits the control information as described above to the camera 20 (step S48). In the camera 20, the control device receives control information from the control server 40 and performs settings for distributing video (step S49).

  On the other hand, the control server 40 notifies the terminal device 30 of a configuration change due to the new camera 20 being connected to the network 10 and being included in the system configuration (step S50). The terminal device 30 requests the configuration information updated based on the notification to the control server 40 (step S51). When the terminal device 30 acquires the configuration information updated from the control server 40 as screen information, the terminal device 30 updates the system configuration screen displayed on the display screen (steps S52 and S53).

(Control information collection method)
In this embodiment and the modification, the control server 40 collects control information (issued control address, etc.) when a device such as the camera 20 is removed from the system. That is, when the control information is not collected, there are problems such as exhaustion of control addresses and display of configuration information including cameras that cannot be controlled (operated) on the screen of the terminal device 30.

  Hereinafter, a specific method will be described.

  The control server 40 adds an expiration date in advance when issuing control information to the camera 20.

Then, the control server 40 updates the expiration date by performing an update procedure (in addition to an explicit procedure, a health check, a notification, or the like) within the expiration date. On the other hand, when there is no update procedure until the expiration date expires, the control server 40 collects the control information by a process such as deleting the control information from the camera 20.

  The DHCP server 41 notifies the control server 40 when the IP address is collected. The control server 40 searches for the device (camera) having the corresponding IP address from the currently operating camera information, removes it from the system if it is a dynamic camera, and collects the control information.

(Procedure when starting the control server)
FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for configuring the system based on the current IP address distribution status when the control server 40 is activated.

  As described above, the DHCP server 41 has a function of notifying the current address distribution status in response to a request from the control server 40.

  When the camera 20 is physically connected to the network 10, the DHCP server 41 detects that and issues an IP address to the camera 20 (steps S51 to S53). The DHCP server 41 notifies the control server 40 registered in advance of the IP address issue (step S54).

  Here, it is assumed that the control server 40 is not activated again and is activated after notification of IP address issuance (step S55). The control server 40 requests the DHCP server 41 for the distribution status of the issued IP address (step S56). The DHCP server 41 notifies the current address distribution status in response to a request from the control server 40 (step S57).

  The control server 40 requests device information (camera information) from the camera 20 having the issued IP address (step S58). When receiving the device information (camera information) requested by the response from the camera 20, the control server 40 issues management information including the device information (steps S59 and S60).

  The control server 40 transmits a control address (assigned management number) and a multicast address as control information to the camera 20 (step S61). In the camera 20, the control device receives control information from the control server 40 and performs settings for distributing video (step S62).

  On the other hand, the control server 40 requests device information (camera information) from the device 50 having the issued IP address and unrelated to the system (step S63). If there is no response from the device 50 within a predetermined time, the control server 40 determines that the device is unrelated to the system (step S64). Accordingly, since the control server 40 does not issue control information, the device 50 is not included in the system.

  In the present embodiment and the modification, it is desirable that the camera 20 or the device periodically issues an IP address issue request. When the request disappears, the control server 40 can recognize that the camera 20 or the device has been removed from the system.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the video delivery system regarding embodiment of this invention. The timing chart for demonstrating the video delivery procedure regarding this embodiment. The timing chart for demonstrating the process sequence of the apparatus which is not included in the system regarding this embodiment. The timing chart for demonstrating the video delivery procedure regarding the modification of this embodiment. The timing chart for demonstrating the video delivery procedure at the time of starting of the control server regarding this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... IP network, 20 ... camera, 30 ... terminal device (client),
40 ... control server, 41 ... IP address management server (DHCP server),
50: Equipment.

Claims (10)

In a video distribution system that distributes video captured by a camera to a terminal device via a network,
Detection means for detecting devices connected to the network;
A second information for exchanging first information for distributing video with a camera connected to the network based on a detection result of the detection means, and for receiving video distributed from the camera. A video distribution system comprising control means for transmitting information to the terminal device. The detection means includes
Means for issuing an IP address to a device connected to the network;
The video distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising means for notifying the control means of issuance of an IP address for the device. The second information includes configuration information indicating a system configuration including a camera connected to the network,
The control means includes
Updating the configuration information based on cameras added or disconnected from the network;
The video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the updated configuration information is configured to be transmitted to the terminal device. The control means includes
Means for receiving information identifying a camera connected to the network from the detection means;
The first information includes device information requested to a camera connected to the network and control information including a video distribution destination address according to a response from the camera, and sets the control information in the camera. The video distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising: means. The second information includes configuration information indicating a system configuration including a camera connected to the network,
The control means includes
Identifying a camera connected to the network based on an IP address received from the detection means;
The first information includes device information requested to a camera connected to the network and control information including a video distribution destination address according to a response from the camera, and sets the control information in the camera.
Updating the configuration information based on cameras added or disconnected from the network;
The video distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the updated configuration information is transmitted to the terminal device. The second information includes configuration information indicating a system configuration configured from cameras connected to the network,
The control means includes
Updating the configuration information based on cameras added or disconnected from the network;
The screen information for receiving the video distributed from the camera selected from the cameras connected to the network including the configuration information updated as the second information is configured to be transmitted to the terminal device. The video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein: The control means includes
Request the device information including the type, specification, and position information of the camera connected to the network,
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second information including screen information indicating the position of the camera created based on the position information is transmitted to the terminal device. Item 6. The video distribution system according to any one of Item 5. The detection means includes
In response to a request for issuing an IP address from a camera connected to the network, an IP address is issued,
3. The video distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the video distribution system is configured to detect that the camera is disconnected from the network when there is no request for issuing the IP address within a predetermined time. The control means includes
4. The video distribution system according to claim 3, wherein when a device other than a camera added to or disconnected from the network is detected by the detection unit, the configuration information including the device is updated. An IP address management server that automatically distributes an IP address to a device including a camera connected to a network, and a control for distributing video captured by the camera to a terminal device connected to the network A video distribution method applied to a video distribution system having a control server for executing
The control server is
Requesting device information from a camera connected to the network and having an IP address issued from the IP address management server;
Generating or updating control information for distributing video from the camera based on the device information transmitted from the camera and configuration information indicating a system configuration including a camera connected to the network;
Setting the control information in the camera;
Generating or updating configuration information indicating a system configuration including a camera connected to the network based on the device information transmitted from the camera;
Transmitting a screen information including the configuration information to the terminal device in order to receive the video distributed from the camera.

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