JP2008054061A - Network camera relay device and camera monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

A plurality of network cameras in a monitoring area, multi-screen layout information, a network camera relay device, and a camera monitoring system for displaying a plurality of images on a client screen in a multi-screen.
A network camera relay device for sequentially connecting to a plurality of cameras on the basis of a camera IP address, a port number, and a transmission side IP address, and sequentially storing each connected camera image data in a predetermined storage area Storage means for storing data, web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each camera on the screen on the web client is read, and reading from the storage means Image data sending means for adding camera position information and the like for multi-screen arrangement to each image data and sending it to the client.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a network camera relay device for displaying images from a plurality of network cameras for photographing a monitoring area on a screen on a web client and a plurality of images from the monitoring area on a screen on the web client. The present invention relates to a camera monitoring system to be displayed.

  FIG. 11 relates to a conventional camera monitoring system, in which a plurality of cameras (network cameras) 1 to 3 and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 4 are connected to a network 5, and the PC 4 is, as shown in FIG. An example in which images (a) to (c) (note that (d) is not displayed) from a plurality of cameras 1 to 3 in each monitoring area is displayed on one screen of a display 4a. The camera 1 has a camera automatic search protocol (RNCP), and acquires and records the IP addresses of the cameras 2 and 3 connected to the same network 5.

  Next, the operation of the camera monitoring system will be described with reference to FIG. 13. The camera 1 sends a search message to the other cameras 2 and 3 connected to the network 5 (step S1), and the cameras 2 and 3 return messages. The camera 1 detects a reply message from each of the cameras 2 and 3 (step S2), acquires the IP address of each camera from the reply message, and records it (step S3). When there is a request for multi-screen display from the PC 4 to the camera 1 (step S4), the camera 1 determines whether or not the number of cameras is two or more including itself (step S5). Then, the image signal of the camera 1 is sent to the PC 4 (step S6). On the other hand, if YES in step S5, the camera 1 sets the multi-screen display layout (division mode) (step S7), and the PC 4 sets each camera 1 to 3 based on the division mode information corresponding to the number of cameras. (Step S8), image signals are sent from the cameras 1 to 3 (step S9), and the images of the cameras 1 to 3 are displayed on one screen of the display 4a of the PC 4. Then, the control operation for multi-screen display is terminated (step S11). (For example, see Patent Document 1)

JP 2004-304602 A

  In the camera monitoring system shown in FIG. 11 above, a specific camera (network camera) acquires and stores the IP address of another camera in advance, and based on the IP address of each camera in response to a request from a PC as a client, The PC acquires the image signal from each camera and displays it on a multi-screen, and the specific camera sets the processing for compressing the captured image and the layout of the multi-screen display, and further, the image signal for displaying the multi-screen For example, sending instruction information acquired from each camera to the PC. Therefore, there is a drawback that the load of the program processing of the specific camera becomes very large. In addition, when cameras with different standards for image processing are connected to the network, the control and processing program on the specific camera side must be changed according to the standards, which may result in an unwieldy camera monitoring system. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a network camera that transmits multi-screen layout information and image data for displaying images from a plurality of network cameras in a monitoring area on a screen on a web client. It is an object of the present invention to provide a relay device and a camera monitoring system that uses this device to display a plurality of images on a screen on a web client.

The present invention achieves the above-mentioned problems, and the invention of claim 1 obtains compressed image data from a plurality of network cameras that photograph a surveillance area, and relays the network camera that transmits the image data to a web client. A device,
Network connection means for sequentially connecting to the plurality of network cameras based on the IP addresses and port numbers of the plurality of network cameras and the transmission side IP address;
Storage means for sequentially storing image data from each network camera obtained by requesting image data from each connected network camera in a predetermined storage area;
Web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each network camera on a screen on the web client is sent in response to a request from the web client;
A network camera relay apparatus comprising: image data sending means for adding camera position information and the like for multi-screen display to each image data read from the storage means and sending the image data to the client.

Further, the invention of claim 2 is a plurality of network cameras for photographing the surveillance area;
A web page that acquires compressed image data from each network camera, temporarily stores it in a storage device, and writes the image data of each network camera and multi-screen layout information for multi-screen display on a screen on a web client; A network camera relay device for transmitting the image data;
The network camera relay device receives the web page that displays images from the network cameras on a screen on a web client in a multi-screen, requests and receives image data from the network cameras, and displays the multi-screen. A camera monitoring system comprising: a web client that performs:

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the network camera relay device sequentially connects to a plurality of network cameras based on the IP addresses and port numbers of the plurality of network cameras and the transmission side IP address,
Storage means for requesting image data from each connected network camera and sequentially storing the image data obtained from each network camera in a predetermined storage area;
Web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each network camera on a screen on the web client is sent in response to a request from the web client;
3. The camera according to claim 2, further comprising image data sending means for adding camera position information for multi-screen display to each image data read from the storage means and sending the image data to the client. It is a monitoring system.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the network camera relay device includes a network interface connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) and a WAN (Wide Area Network), respectively. This is a camera monitoring system.

The invention of claim 1 is a network camera relay device that acquires compressed image data from a plurality of network cameras that capture a surveillance area and sends the image data to a web client,
Network connection means for sequentially connecting to the plurality of network cameras based on the IP addresses and port numbers of the plurality of network cameras and the transmission side IP address;
Storage means for sequentially storing image data from each network camera obtained by requesting image data from each connected network camera in a predetermined storage area;
Web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each network camera on a screen on the web client is sent in response to a request from the web client;
Since it is a network camera relay device comprising image data sending means for adding camera position information for multi-screen display to each image data read from the storage means and sending it to the client By providing such a network camera relay device, a specific network camera of a plurality of network cameras compresses the captured image as in the conventional case, and the IP address (private address) of each other network camera. To capture image data from each network camera, and to send a web page with multi-screen layout information to display a multi-screen image to a web client, reducing the load on a specific network camera And some of the multiple network cameras Even if the image data format is different, it can be handled by modifying the processing program of the network camera relay device, and it is not necessary to modify the data processing unit of a specific network camera. There is an advantage that no load is applied to the network camera. Furthermore, if a specific network camera breaks down, it is possible to eliminate the risk that all images in the monitored area cannot be transmitted. Specifically, only the image of the faulty network camera disappears, and other images can be displayed, so that it is possible to minimize the obstacles to the monitoring work of the monitoring area, and multiple images of the monitoring area are displayed. This is a preferable device for constructing a camera monitoring system capable of displaying a screen.

Further, in the invention of claim 2, a plurality of network cameras for photographing the surveillance area;
The web page and the image data in which compressed image data is received from each network camera, temporarily stored in a storage device, and the image data of each network camera and multi-screen layout information for multi-screen display on one screen are written. A network camera relay device that sends
The network camera relay device receives the web page that displays images from each network camera on a screen on a web client in a multi-screen, requests and acquires image data from each network camera, and displays the multi-screen Since the camera monitoring system is characterized by comprising a web client, when there are a plurality of monitoring areas, a plurality of images of each monitoring area can be displayed on a display screen and monitored. There is an advantage that a person can easily grasp the monitoring area. In addition, when there are several monitoring areas with multiple monitoring points, it is possible to display multiple screens for each monitoring area on the display screen, and to display multiple screens for each monitoring area displayed on one screen. Is also possible.

In the invention of claim 3, the network camera relay device is configured to sequentially connect to a plurality of network cameras based on an IP address and a port number and a transmission side IP address of the plurality of network cameras,
Storage means for requesting image data from each connected network camera and sequentially storing the image data obtained from each network camera in a predetermined storage area;
Web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each network camera on a screen on the web client is sent in response to a request from the web client;
3. The camera according to claim 2, further comprising image data sending means for adding camera position information for multi-screen display to each image data read from the storage means and sending the image data to the client. Since it is a surveillance system, even if the surveillance area is a remote place, if the network camera relay device acquires the image data of the surveillance area and the client makes an image request to the network camera relay device, the display screen has multiple screens. There is an advantage that a monitoring image by display can be obtained. In addition, when there are a large number of monitoring areas, the multi-screen layout information sent from the web page sending means can be divided into a plurality of web pages and the multi-screen can be divided into a plurality of multi-screens for display.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the network camera relay device includes a network interface connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) and a WAN (Wide Area Network), respectively. Therefore, when a plurality of network cameras and network camera relay devices constituting a LAN are connected to a WAN via a router and there are a large number of network camera monitoring areas, a hub is used to monitor the area. There is an advantage that the security of the camera monitoring system can be enhanced by arranging a router on the WAN connection side to perform routing and filtering.

  Hereinafter, a network camera relay device and a camera monitoring system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a camera monitoring system, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a network camera relay device. The network camera relay device has a function to acquire image data from the network camera and send multi-screen layout information and image data to the web client. The camera monitoring system requests the image data from the network camera relay device. And has a function of displaying the image of the monitored area on a multi-screen.

In FIG. 1, network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) are installed in a monitoring area and connected to the network camera relay device 10 via a router 11 to configure a LAN (Local Area Network). The network camera relay device 10 is connected to a WAN (Wide Area Network) network N via a router 11. A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 13 is connected to a network N via a router 12, the network camera relay device 10 is a server, and the PC 13 is a relationship between clients that request image data from the network camera relay device 10. It is in. Incidentally, network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) and network camera relay device 10 are servers whose network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) are servers, and network camera relay device 10 requests image data. Are in a relationship. The network camera relay device 10 is given a global address.

Network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) compress an image captured by the camera, temporarily store the compressed image data, packetize the image data, and transmit TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). ) To send to the LAN. The function of sending data to the network camera relay device 10 is performed by a network interface (not shown). In the network interface, each network camera 1 to 1 responds to a request for image data from the network camera relay device 10 (client). 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) IP address (private address), port number, partner's IP address, and the like are incorporated into the packet, and the image data is transmitted. FIG. 3 shows IP addresses and port numbers assigned to the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ). In the network camera relay device 10, the IP addresses and port numbers shown in FIG. It is registered and used for connection to each network camera 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ).

As shown in FIG. 2, the network camera relay device 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10a, multi-screen layout information based on a control program or a web page, or IP addresses of network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ). A storage device provided with flash ROM 10b storing port numbers and the like, and image storage areas e1 to e4 of cameras 1 to 4 for storing image data from the respective network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) (SDRAM) 10c is connected to a bus line, and a network interface 10d is connected to the bus line. The network camera relay device 10 is connected from the network interface 10d through the router 11 to the LAN and WAN. The network interface 10d has the same function as described in the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ).

The network camera relay device 10 has a client relationship when configuring the LAN with the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ), and the network camera relay device 10 will be described based on the sequence of FIG. The camera relay device 10 first stores and registers the network camera information (IP address, port number) of FIG. 3 in the flash ROM 10b, and then stores the multi-screen layout information to be displayed on the display 13a of FIG. 4 in the flash ROM 10b. The camera information of the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) is registered, and the multi-screen layout information for displaying the image data from a plurality of network cameras on the multi-screen is registered, and the network cameras 1 to 4 ( building a LAN with C ₁ ~C _4).

Further, the network camera relay device 10 is provided with a network interface 10d for connecting to a LAN and a WAN, and the Internet interface 10d is provided with data communication means conforming to TCP / IP. 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ), the multi-page layout information shown in FIG. 4 displayed on the display 13 a of the PC 13 and the web page sending means for sending the web page to the web via the network N and the image data are sent. The CPU 10a controls these functions.

The multi-screen layout information is layout information for displaying each image corresponding to the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) on a multi-screen. For example, the multi-screen layout information is one of the wave pages of the display 13a in FIG. This is information for arranging images on the screen. In the figure, the cameras 1 to 4 indicate the image arrangement of the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ). In addition, when the number of network cameras is large, the multi-screen display layout information needs to be increased in the number of screens arranged on one screen of the display. When multi-screen display is difficult on one screen, a plurality of wave pages are transmitted. However, multi-screen display can be performed on the screens of the two displays, and such image display information is transmitted from the network camera relay device 10.

Next, the image data acquisition operation of the network camera relay device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S1, the relay device is powered on and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, based on the network camera information (IP address and port number) in FIG. 3, the network connection means sequentially connects to each network camera 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ), and in step S3, An image request is made to the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ), and in step S 4, image data sent from each of the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) is acquired and stored in a storage device (SDRAM). ) Save in the image storage areas e1 to e4 of 10c. The network camera relay device 10 repeatedly executes steps S3 and S4 at a predetermined cycle, and saves and updates the latest image data from the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) in the image storage areas e1 to e4.

  Next, the connection between the network camera relay device 10 and the WAN side PC 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. In this case, as described above, the network camera relay device 10 is a server, the PC 13 is in a client relationship, the PC 13 requests image data from the network camera relay device 10, and the network camera relay device 10 sends image data. To get. First, the PC 13 connects to the network camera relay device 10 using an IP address (global address) in accordance with TCP / IP (step S10). Subsequently, the PC 13 requests the multi-screen layout information from the network camera relay device 10 (step S11). The network camera relay device 10 transmits a multi-screen layout Web page to the PC 13 in response to the request (step S12).

Subsequently, the network camera relay device 10 checks the presence or absence of the latest image of the network camera 1 (C ₁ ) (step S13). If it exists, the process proceeds to step S14, and the latest image of the network camera 1 (C ₁ ) is displayed. The data is transmitted to the PC 13, and the process proceeds to step S15. If it is determined in step S13 that the latest image data does not exist, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the presence or absence of the latest image of the network camera 2 (C ₂ ) is checked. If the latest image data exists, the process proceeds to step S16, and the latest image data of the network camera 2 (C ₂ ) is transmitted to the PC 13. Then, the process proceeds to step S17. If it is determined in step S15 that the latest image data does not exist, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the presence or absence of the latest image of the network camera 3 (C ₃ ) is confirmed. If the latest image data exists, the process proceeds to step S18, and the latest image data of the network camera 3 (C ₃ ) is transmitted to the PC 13. Then, the process proceeds to step S19. If it is determined in step S17 that the latest image data does not exist, the process proceeds to step S19. Subsequently, in step S19, the presence or absence of the latest image of the network camera 4 (C ₄ ) is confirmed. If the latest image data exists, the process proceeds to step S20, and the latest image data of the network camera 4 (C ₄ ) is acquired. It transmits to PC13 and returns to step S13. If there is no latest image data in step S19, the process returns to step S13. The PC 13 repeatedly executes the operations from step S13 to step S20 in a predetermined cycle according to the control program, and displays the latest images (network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ )) on the display 13a of the PC 13. Data can be displayed on a multi-screen on the web client screen.

  In the camera monitoring system of this embodiment, when there are a plurality of monitoring areas, it is possible to monitor by displaying a plurality of images of each monitoring area on one screen, and there are several monitoring areas where a plurality of monitoring points exist. When present, it is possible to display multiple screens on a single screen for each monitoring area. Furthermore, it is also possible to divide one screen into each monitoring area and display multiple screens on a plurality of displays for each divided screen area. The network camera relay device 10 can store the multi-screen layout information in a storage device and send it as a web page to a WAN client upon request. It is also possible for the network camera relay device to send out a plurality of web pages and display each web page on a multi-screen. The multi-screen layout information can be displayed on the screen desired by the supervisor if the screen display form requested by the supervisor is created, stored in the storage device of the network camera relay device 10 and transmitted. The display screen can be easily grasped.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of the camera monitoring system, and FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of the network camera relay device 20. The camera monitoring system of the embodiment of FIG. 9 is different from FIG. 1 in that the network camera device 20 is connected to the hub (HUB) 14 and connected to the network camera relay device 20. 9 and 10, network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) are connected to the hub 14, the hub 14 is connected to the network interface 18, and another network interface 19 of the network camera relay device 20 is connected to the router 15. To the network N, and the PC 17 is connected to the network N via the router 16. The PC 17 is a client that requests image data from the network camera relay device 20, the network camera relay device 20 is in a server relationship, and the network cameras 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) and the network camera relay device 20 are network cameras. 1 to 4 (C _{1 to} C ₄ ) are servers, and the network camera relay device 20 has a relationship with a client that requests image data.

  In the network camera relay device 20, the network interface 18 is connected to the LAN and the network interface 19 is connected to the WAN, and the CPU 20a, flash RAM 20b, and SDRAM 20c have substantially the same functions as in the above embodiment. Further, as is well known, the hub 14 is a repeater for concentrating and connecting cables of each device, and does not have a routing function or a filtering function.

  As an application example of the present invention, it can be used as a network camera relay device and a camera monitoring system for relaying and monitoring an image obtained by photographing a monitoring area with a network camera to a remote place.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the camera monitoring system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the network camera relay apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the IP address and port number of the network camera in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the multiscreen display of the display in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the sequence of the outline initial setting of the network camera relay apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the sequence for acquiring the image data of the network camera relay apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the camera monitoring system in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flowchart in which the personal computer in the camera monitoring system of this embodiment acquires image data. It is a block diagram which shows the camera monitoring system of other embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows other embodiment of the network camera relay apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the conventional camera monitoring system. It is a figure which shows the conventional multiscreen display. It is a figure which shows the flowchart for demonstrating the image request | requirement in the conventional camera monitoring system.

Explanation of symbols

C ₁ -C ₄ network camera apparatus 1-4
N Internet 10, 20 Network camera relay device 11, 12, 15, 16 Router 13, 17 Personal computer (Web client)
13a Display 14 Hub (HUB)

Claims (4)

A network camera relay device that acquires compressed image data from a plurality of network cameras that capture a surveillance area and sends the image data to a web client,
Network connection means for sequentially connecting to the plurality of network cameras based on the IP addresses and port numbers of the plurality of network cameras and the transmission side IP address;
Storage means for sequentially storing image data from each network camera obtained by requesting image data from each connected network camera in a predetermined storage area;
Web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each network camera on a screen on the web client is sent in response to a request from the web client;
A network camera relay device comprising: image data sending means for adding camera position information and the like for multi-screen display to each image data read from the storage means and sending it to the client. A plurality of network cameras that capture the surveillance area;
The image data obtained by acquiring compressed image data from each network camera, temporarily storing it in a storage device, and writing the image data of each network camera and multi-screen layout information for multi-screen display on one screen A network camera relay device that sends
The network camera relay device receives the web page that displays images from the network cameras on a screen on a web client in a multi-screen, requests and receives image data from the network cameras, and displays the multi-screen. A camera monitoring system comprising: a web client that performs: Network connection means for the network camera relay device to sequentially connect to a plurality of network cameras based on the IP addresses and port numbers of the plurality of network cameras and the transmission side IP address;
Storage means for requesting image data from each connected network camera and sequentially storing the image data obtained from each network camera in a predetermined storage area;
Web page sending means for sending to the client a web page to which multi-screen layout information for arranging each image data from each network camera on a screen on the web client is sent in response to a request from the web client;
3. The camera according to claim 2, further comprising image data sending means for adding camera position information for multi-screen display to each image data read from the storage means and sending the image data to the client. Monitoring system.   4. The camera monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the network camera relay device includes a network interface connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) and a WAN (Wide Area Network). 5.

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