JP5052307B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus that records an image of a monitoring camera at least during a period set by a user.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a monitoring image recording apparatus that captures an image of a monitoring target with a camera and records an image captured with the camera is widely known. In such a monitoring image recording apparatus, an image necessary for monitoring can be recorded for a long time by temporarily recording an image in conjunction with detection signals of various sensors such as a moving body detection sensor.
For example, continuous image recording is performed during times when there is a lot of traffic such as daytime, and before and after detection in conjunction with detection signals from various sensors such as a moving object detection sensor during nighttime when traffic is low. Only record images. Such a monitoring image recording device is intended for long-term storage of a recorded image so that an image at a desired time can be confirmed later. If recording of an image becomes impossible due to a lack of recording capacity or the like, an image to be monitored is recorded. There is a problem that security cannot be confirmed later and the security is significantly reduced.

  On the other hand, a timer reservation device capable of displaying in advance how far recording is possible based on the remaining capacity of the recording device has been developed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-160248 A

The timer reservation apparatus described in Patent Document 1 can easily grasp how long recording is possible for image recording during a reserved period, so that if the recording period is short, the capacity of the recording medium may be increased. It is possible to take measures such as reviewing the reservation settings.
However, as described above, a monitoring image recording device has a function of temporarily recording an image in conjunction with detection signals of various sensors, unlike an image recording device for television broadcasting. It is difficult to predict when the image recording in conjunction with the sensor detection will occur in advance, and it is difficult to predict the required recording capacity and recording time in advance.
For this reason, in the monitoring image recording apparatus, as described in Patent Document 1, the method for predicting the recording capacity uniformly required in advance cannot predict the recordable period, and the user cannot When it is not intended, there is a possibility that recording is not possible due to insufficient recording capacity or overwriting of the recorded part may occur.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an image recording apparatus that can prevent a recording capacity from becoming insufficient even when performing image recording in which a necessary capacity cannot be determined in advance, such as image recording in conjunction with sensor detection. Objective.

  The present invention for solving this problem provides an image recording apparatus that records an image at least during a period set by a user. The image recording apparatus includes an image interface connected to an image output apparatus that outputs an image, a storage unit that stores a preset recording period, and records an image input from the image interface in the recording period in the image recording unit. A recording processing unit, a recording amount management unit for managing the usage amount and remaining amount of the image recording unit, and when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the recording period, from the usage amount of the image recording unit within the predetermined time A determining unit that calculates a consumption speed of the recording capacity of the image recording unit and determines whether or not an image can be recorded until the end of the recording period by using the consumption rate.

  Further, in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, the determination unit calculates an estimated necessary amount of the image recording unit required from the consumption speed and the remaining time of the recording period until the end of the recording period, It is preferable to compare with the remaining amount of the image recording unit to determine whether or not image recording is possible until the end of the recording period.

  Alternatively, in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, the determination unit calculates an estimated recordable time that can be recorded in the remaining amount of the image recording unit from the consumption speed and the remaining amount of the image recording unit, and the estimated recordable time And the remaining time of the recording period are preferably compared to determine whether or not an image can be recorded until the end of the recording period.

  Furthermore, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives a detection signal from a sensor that detects a change in state of a monitoring target, and the recording processing unit captures an image for a predetermined time when the detection signal is received during the recording period. Is preferably recorded in the image recording unit.

  Furthermore, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention counts the number of receptions of the detection signal from the start of the recording period, calculates the average number of receptions per unit time, and the determination unit records the image until the end of the recording period. It is preferable to have a notifying unit that outputs the average number of receptions per unit time when it is determined that it cannot be performed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image recording apparatus capable of preventing a recording capacity from being insufficient even when performing image recording in which a necessary capacity cannot be determined in advance, such as image recording in conjunction with sensor detection. It has become possible.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied can record the image until the end of the recording period by estimating the subsequent image recording state from the image recording capacity within the predetermined time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the recording period. If it is determined that the image cannot be recorded, a notification to that effect is made to prevent an unexpected recording capacity.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall system configuration of an image monitoring system including an image recording apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, an image recording apparatus 1 includes a monitoring camera 2 as an image output device that is installed in a monitoring area and images the area, and a monitoring sensor 3 that detects a moving object or abnormality in the monitoring area. , Connected by LAN4. The network connecting the image recording apparatus 1 to the monitoring camera 2 and the monitoring sensor 3 is not limited to a LAN, and a wide area network such as the Internet network or an ISDN network may be used. The image recording apparatus 1 is connected to a display 5 such as an LCD as an external device and a speaker 6, and outputs an image or sound through them.

The image recording apparatus 1 receives the setting of the recording period by the user in advance and records the image data received from the monitoring camera 2 within this period. Here, when the image recording apparatus 1 receives a detection signal from the monitoring sensor 3 and a continuous recording mode for continuously recording received image data as an image recording mode for defining an image recording method, A sensor-linked recording mode for recording only image data received during a certain period of time. Then, when these image recording modes are scheduled within the recording period, the image recording apparatus 1 executes image recording processing according to the corresponding image recording mode. Further, the image recording apparatus 1 records image data in response to an operation input from the user even outside the recording period.
In addition, the image recording apparatus 1 predicts whether or not image recording can be performed for the remaining period until the end of the recording period, based on the result of recording the image data during the elapsed time from the start of the recording period after the start of the recording period. If there is a possibility that the remaining capacity of the image recording area is insufficient, a warning is output through the display 5 or the speaker 6. Furthermore, the image recording apparatus 1 may be connected to a monitoring center or the like through a wide area network or the like, and the warning may be reported to the monitoring center.

The surveillance camera 2 is installed in each surveillance area, digitally encodes image data taken at each installation location, and transmits the image data to the image recording apparatus 1 via the LAN 4. In order to associate the image data captured by the surveillance camera 2 with the surveillance area, the surveillance camera 2 is set with a camera address for identifying each surveillance camera 2 in advance, and is stored in the surveillance camera 2. Stored in the unit 21.
The surveillance camera 2 receives the shooting interval (frame rate) and the image quality from the image recording apparatus 1 and stores them in the storage unit 21 as shooting information. The image quality of the recorded image is determined by the resolution and the data size, and corresponding parameters are stored in the storage unit 21 in three stages of high / medium / low. For example, the parameter corresponding to the image quality “high” has a data size of about 160 Kbytes with a resolution of SXGA (1280 × 1024 pixels), and the parameter corresponding to the image quality “medium” has a data size of about 160 Kbytes with a resolution of XGA (1024 × 768 pixels). Parameters corresponding to the case of 70 Kbyte and image quality “low” are stored with a resolution VGA (640 × 480 pixels) and a data size of about 30 Kbyte.

The surveillance camera 2 converts the image signal input from the image sensor 22 into a digital signal by the analog / digital converter 23 at a shooting interval stored as shooting information. Then, the digital signal is compression-encoded by the image compression circuit 24 according to the parameter corresponding to the image quality stored as the shooting information, and image data is generated. It should be noted that a compression encoding method compliant with the JPEG2000 standard can be used as the image compression encoding method. Alternatively, a method based on other standards such as JPEG standard or MPEG2 Video standard may be used as an image compression encoding method. In addition, surveillance cameras 2 that employ different image compression encoding methods may be mixed on the LAN 4, or one surveillance camera 2 uses one method by switching from a plurality of image compression encoding methods. May be. The generated image data is transmitted from the communication unit 25 to the image recording apparatus 1. At this time, the camera address is transmitted together with the transmitted image data so that the image recording apparatus 1 can identify which monitoring camera 2 has received the image data.
The surveillance camera 2 may compress and encode an audio signal input from a microphone, multiplex it with image data, and transmit it to the image recording apparatus 1 via the LAN 4.

  The monitoring sensor 3 is installed in each monitoring area, and detects an event to be detected such as a moving body in the monitoring area or an abnormality that has occurred. When the monitoring sensor 3 detects an event to be detected, the monitoring sensor 3 transmits a detection signal indicating the detection to the image recording apparatus 1 via the LAN 4. In order to associate the monitoring sensor 3 with the corresponding monitoring camera 2, a sensor address for identifying each monitoring sensor 3 is set in advance in the monitoring sensor 3.

The monitoring sensor 3 has a detection unit 31. The detection unit 31 detects the presence of a person or the occurrence of an abnormality based on a physical quantity input from a predetermined monitoring direction. Specifically, the detection unit 31 includes a heat ray sensor that detects the presence of a person by fluctuations in heat rays, a sensor that detects the presence of a person by ultrasonic waves, high-frequency electromagnetic waves, or infrared rays, and detects the presence of a person from an input image. Image sensors, proximity sensors that detect changes in magnetic fields to detect the opening of doors, fire sensors that detect the occurrence of a fire due to temperature or smoke, and the like.
When the detection unit 31 detects a detection target event, the monitoring sensor 3 transmits a detection signal from the communication unit 32 to the image recording apparatus 1 via the LAN 4. The detection signal includes at least a sensor address together with a signal indicating human detection or occurrence of abnormality.
Note that the monitoring sensor 3 may be configured integrally with the monitoring camera 2. Further, the monitoring camera 2 itself may be configured as the monitoring sensor 3. For example, the monitoring camera 2 may be configured as an image sensor that detects a plan action from a captured image to a person or the monitoring camera 2 and transmits a detection signal.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the image recording apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the image recording apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10, a communication unit 11, an external device connection unit 12, an operation unit 13, a storage unit 14, an image recording unit 15, and a recording amount management unit. 16 and a notification unit 17. Further, the control unit 10 includes a recording processing unit 101, a display control unit 102, a time measuring unit 103, a recording determination unit 104, and a detection counting unit 105.
Hereinafter, each part of the image recording apparatus 1 will be described in detail.

The communication unit 11 is an input / output interface that transmits and receives various signals between the monitoring camera 2 and the monitoring sensor 3 and the image recording apparatus 1 via the LAN 4, and includes a communication interface circuit such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and the like. It consists of driver software that drives When another network is used instead of the LAN 4, the communication unit 11 includes an input / output interface corresponding to the network used.
The communication unit 11 functions as an image interface that acquires image data from the monitoring camera 2. The communication unit 11 also functions as a sensor interface that receives a detection signal from the monitoring sensor 3.

  The external device connection unit 12 is an input / output interface for connecting a display 5 such as an LCD or a speaker 6 as a monitoring device for monitoring the state of the image recording device 1 or the state of a monitoring area to the image recording device 1. . Therefore, the external device connection unit 12 includes an interface circuit that conforms to standards such as USB, SCSI, and RS232C, and driver software that drives them.

The operation unit 13 includes a plurality of buttons and the like. The user can input various settings to the image recording apparatus 1 by operating the operation unit 13. For example, the user operates the operation unit 13 to input recording period information, schedule, shooting interval, image quality, recording start / stop, recorded image search or playback display, and the like.
The operation unit 13 may be a device that is configured separately from the image recording apparatus 1 and communicates with the image recording apparatus 1 such as a remote controller.

The storage unit 14 accesses a semiconductor memory such as a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), an optical recording medium such as a magnetic disk (HDD), a CD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and the recording medium. Consists of devices that read and write data. The storage unit 14 stores sensor correspondence information, recording period information, schedule information, various programs, and the like.
Furthermore, the storage unit 14 also functions as a ring buffer for temporarily recording image data. The ring buffer holds the image data received from each monitoring camera 2 by a predetermined number of frames (for example, 50 frames) for each monitoring camera 2. The ring buffer overwrites the oldest of the stored image data with the newly received image data, so that the latest image data is always stored for a predetermined number of frames. Since the number of frames held in the ring buffer is the number of images immediately before the monitoring sensor 3 detects an abnormality or the like, the number of frames is set according to the event to be monitored.

  The sensor correspondence information is information for storing the correspondence relationship between the monitoring sensor 3 and the monitoring camera 2 and is input when the image recording apparatus 1 is installed. The sensor correspondence information includes information indicating the corresponding monitoring cameras 2 for all the monitoring sensors 3 connected to the image recording apparatus 1. FIG. 3 shows an example of sensor correspondence information. As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor correspondence information 300 stores the sensor address 301 of the monitoring sensor 3 and the camera address 302 of the monitoring camera 2 corresponding to the monitoring sensor 3 as a reference table described in the same row. Is done.

  The recording period information is information for designating a period for recording an image of the monitoring camera 2 by the image recording apparatus 1. The recording period information includes information indicating the start date and end date and time of the recording period input by the user via the operation unit 13. The recording period information is stored as, for example, the recording start date and time November 1, 00:00:00 to the recording end date and time December 10, 24:00. The recording period information may be input as relative date and time information such as one month from now. In this case, the image recording apparatus 1 converts the input information into absolute date and time information and stores it. .

  The schedule information is information for designating an image recording mode for recording an image during a recording period, and a schedule for automatically changing the recording interval and image quality. This schedule information is stored as a reference table in which the schedule input by the user via the operation unit 13 is associated with the image recording mode, the shooting interval, and the image quality.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a reference table representing schedule information. As shown in FIG. 4, the schedule information 400 stores a daily schedule. Then, for each row, the designated period, the image recording mode, the shooting interval, and the image quality in that period are stored. In the case of FIG. 4, the schedule information 400 indicates that the image is recorded in the continuous recording mode from 9:00 to 20:00, the shooting interval is 1 second, and the image quality of the recorded image is “low”. Yes. On the other hand, between 20 o'clock and 9 o'clock, image recording is performed in the sensor-linked recording mode, the shooting interval is 0.2 seconds, and the image quality of the recorded image is “high”. The storage unit 14 stores the data size of the image data corresponding to the image quality, similarly to the monitoring camera 2.
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that all the monitoring cameras 2 are uniformly scheduled. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a separate schedule may be set for each monitoring camera 2. In this case, the schedule information is created for each monitoring camera 2 and stored in the storage unit 14 in association with the camera address of the monitoring camera 2. Furthermore, the period specified as the schedule information is not limited to time, but may be associated with information specifying a day of the week or a specific day.

  The image recording unit 15 accesses a recording medium that can be attached to and detached from the image recording apparatus 1, such as a magnetic disk device such as an HDD, a magnetic tape such as DAT, and an optical recording medium such as a DVD-RAM. It consists of devices that read and write data. The image recording unit 15 records image data acquired from the monitoring camera 2 under writing control by the recording processing unit 101. In addition, the user records the image data by replacing the recording medium. Further, a used recording medium may be overwritten. Furthermore, the image recording unit 15 may store a plurality of recording media and use the stored recording media by appropriately replacing them, like a DVD changer.

  The recording amount management unit 16 is configured by a non-volatile semiconductor memory or the like, and has a capacity (remaining amount) of a writable area of the image recording unit 15 and a capacity (use) recorded in the image recording unit 15 after the recording period starts. Amount) is appropriately acquired from the image recording unit 15 and held. The writable area is an area where image data can be recorded, and refers to an unrecorded area and an overwritable area where management information is erased even if data is recorded.

  The notification unit 17 includes a display unit such as an LED or a buzzer, and notifies abnormality. In addition, it is good also as a structure which abbreviate | omits the alerting | reporting part 17 by making monitoring apparatuses, such as the display 5 or the speaker 6 connected to the external apparatus connection part 12, function as the alerting | reporting part 17. FIG.

The control unit 10 includes one or a plurality of microcomputers (not shown) including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like and peripheral circuits thereof, and controls the image recording apparatus 1. Therefore, the control unit 10 includes a recording processing unit 101, a display control unit 102, a time measuring unit 103, and a recording determination unit 104 as functional modules realized by the microcomputer and a computer program executed on the microcomputer. And a detection counting unit 105.
Hereinafter, each part of the control part 10 is demonstrated.

When the current time is the recording period stored in the recording period information, the recording processing unit 101 confirms the schedule in which the image recording mode is set based on the schedule information. When the time stored as the schedule is reached, the associated shooting interval and image quality are transmitted to the surveillance camera 2. If the set image recording mode is the continuous recording mode, the received image data is sequentially recorded in the image recording unit 15 for each monitoring camera 2.
On the other hand, if the set image recording mode is the sensor-linked recording mode, the recording processing unit 101 waits for a detection signal from the monitoring sensor 3. When the detection signal is received, the recording processing unit 101 refers to the sensor address included in the detection signal and the sensor correspondence information stored in the storage unit 14 and corresponds to the monitoring sensor 3 that has transmitted the detection signal. The surveillance camera 2 is specified. Then, the recording processing unit 101 records all the image data stored in the ring buffer in the image recording unit 15 for the specified surveillance camera. Further, the recording processing unit 101 receives the detection signal and then receives the image data from the monitoring camera 2 corresponding to the monitoring sensor 3 that has transmitted the detection signal, which is received during a predetermined post-detection recording time (for example, 30 seconds). Is recorded in the image recording unit 15. The post-detection recording time is a time for recording an image after detection by the monitoring sensor 3, and is set according to an event to be monitored. Further, even when the current time is outside the recording period, the recording processing unit 101 starts recording the received image data in the image recording unit 15 when there is an input of recording start from the operation unit 13. At this time, the image recording mode, the shooting interval, and the image quality may be freely set by the user from the operation unit 13.

  The display control unit 102 decodes / decompresses the image data received from the monitoring camera 2, and outputs the display data to the display 5 via the external device connection unit 12. When receiving an input for searching or displaying an image recorded in the image recording unit 15 from the operation unit 13, the display control unit 102 extracts the corresponding image data from the image recording unit 15, decodes / decompresses it, and displays the display 5. Display output. Further, when the recording determination unit 104 determines that there is an abnormality, the display control unit 102 displays and outputs abnormality information on the display 5.

  The timer 103 has an electronic calendar that measures the current time and a timer. The time counting unit 103 refers to the recording period information stored in the storage unit 14, starts a timer when the recording period starts, and measures the time until the recording period ends.

  The recording determination unit 104 is activated when the time counting unit 103 times a predetermined determination reference time from the start of the recording period, and determines whether image recording to the image recording unit 15 is possible over the entire recording period. Here, the determination reference time is a time shorter than the recording period used for performing the above determination, and is stored in the storage unit 14. For example, the determination reference time is set to a time that is dynamically calculated according to the time length of the period as a ratio to the time length of the entire recording period, or a preset fixed time such as one week or one month. . Moreover, only one determination reference time may be set for the entire recording period, or a plurality of determination reference times may be set. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which a quarter of the recording period elapses, that is, a time corresponding to 1/4, 2/4, and 3/4 of the recording period is set as the determination reference time. In this case, for example, when November 1 00:00:00 to December 10 24:00 is stored as the recording period information, the determination reference time is counted every 10 days.

The recording determination unit 104 includes an elapsed time (corresponding to a determination reference time) from the start of the recording period measured by the time measuring unit 103, and a recorded capacity from the recording period start managed by the recording amount management unit 16. From this relationship, the consumption speed of the recording capacity of the image recording unit 15 during this elapsed time is calculated, and the subsequent image recording amount to the image recording unit 15 is estimated. Specifically, the recording determination unit 104 calculates an average recording amount recorded in the image recording unit 15 per unit time (for example, one day) as information indicating the recording capacity consumption speed. Then, the recording determination unit 104 multiplies the average recording amount by the remaining time of the recording period, and calculates the recording capacity that will be recorded in the remaining time as an estimated required amount. The recording determination unit 104 determines that an image can be recorded until the end of the recording period if the writable capacity of the image recording unit 15 satisfies this estimated necessary amount. On the other hand, if the writable capacity is insufficient with respect to the estimated necessary amount, it is determined that there is a possibility that the image cannot be recorded until the end of the recording period (that is, it is determined as abnormal), and the abnormality is notified to the notification unit 17. Let At this time, the display 5 shows information indicating the content of the abnormality (for example, that the image cannot be recorded until the end of the recording period, the estimated date and time when the writable capacity of the image recording unit 15 becomes 0, the estimated insufficient capacity (= Estimated required amount-writable capacity) etc. are displayed. The user refers to this display and stops the image recording, reviews the recording settings, and replaces the recording medium as necessary.
For example, if 11880 Mbytes are recorded in the image recording unit 15 when 10 days have elapsed from the start of the recording period, the average recording amount when the unit time is 1 day is 1188 Mbytes. Here, if the remaining recording period is 30 days, the estimated required amount is 35640 Mbytes. At this time, if the writable capacity of the image recording unit 15 is 35640 Mbytes or more, the recording determination unit 104 determines that an image can be recorded until the end of the recording period, and determines that it is abnormal if it is less than 35640 Mbytes.

  In addition, the recording determination unit 104 determines that the recording period has not ended when the writable capacity of the image recording unit 15 is exhausted, or when overwriting is performed on the image recording unit 15 in the case of repeated recording. Then, it is determined that an image could not be recorded until the end of the recording period, so that it is determined as abnormal, and the notification unit 17 is notified of the abnormality. Further, information indicating the content of the abnormality is displayed on the display 5.

With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the operation flow of the record determination process for determining whether or not image recording for the entire recording period described above can be performed by the recording determination unit 104 will be described.
First, when the recording availability determination process is started, an elapsed time Tp from the start of the recording period is acquired from the time measuring unit 103 (step S101). Next, the capacity (usage amount) Rp recorded in the image recording unit 15 after the recording period starts is acquired from the recording amount management unit 16 (step S102). Then, a recording amount Ra (= Rp / Tp) per unit time is calculated (step S103). Further, the remaining time Tr of the recording period is acquired with reference to the end time of the recording period indicated in the recording period information stored in the storage unit 14 (step S104). Then, an estimated required amount Rn (= Ra × Tr) is calculated (step S105).

  When the estimated required amount Rn is calculated, the recording determination unit 104 acquires the writable capacity (remaining amount) Rr of the image recording unit 15 from the recording amount management unit 16 (step S106). Then, it is determined whether or not the writable capacity Rr satisfies the estimated required amount Rn (step S107). When it is determined that the writable capacity Rr satisfies the estimated required amount Rn (that is, Rr ≧ Rn), the recording determination unit 104 determines that image recording during the entire recording period is normally performed (step S108). Thereafter, the recordability determination process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S107 that the writable capacity Rr is insufficient for the estimated required amount Rn (that is, Rr <Rn), the recording determination unit 104 may not be able to perform image recording during the entire recording period. It is determined that there is an abnormality, and it is determined that there is an abnormality (step S109). And let the alerting | reporting part 17 alert | report an abnormality (step S110). Thereafter, the recordability determination process ends.

  As a result, even when performing image recording in which the required capacity cannot be determined in advance, such as image recording linked to sensor detection, the user may run out of recording capacity before the recording capacity becomes insufficient. Notification can be made and a review of the recording settings can be requested.

  The recording determination unit 104 has a slightly smaller capacity than the actual writable capacity (for example, a capacity obtained by multiplying the writable capacity by 0.95 or a predetermined capacity (for example, Using the capacity obtained by subtracting 100 Mbyte) as the writable capacity, the above-described recordability determination may be performed.

In addition, the recording determination unit 104 can record in the image recording unit 15 instead of determining whether recording is possible using the estimated necessary amount estimated to be necessary for image recording during the remaining time of the recording period. It may be determined whether recording is possible by calculating an estimated recording possible time as the remaining wax time.
In this case, the recording determination unit 104 calculates the writable capacity of the image recording unit 15 when the determination reference time has elapsed from the elapsed time from the start of the recording period and the capacity recorded within the elapsed time. The estimated recordable time is calculated by dividing by the consumption rate of the recording capacity of the image recording unit 15 (for example, the recording capacity per unit time). Then, the recording determination unit 104 determines that image data can be recorded until the end of the recording period if the remaining time of the recording period falls within the estimated recordable time. On the other hand, if the estimated recordable period exceeds the remaining recording period, it is determined that there is a possibility that image recording cannot be performed until the end of the recording period, the abnormality is notified to the notification unit 17, and the abnormality content is displayed on the display 5. Is displayed.

  Further, the recording determination unit 104 refers to the schedule information, calculates the image recording capacity within the remaining time of the recording period and the period in which the image recording mode is the continuous recording mode, as a necessary minimum capacity, Compared to the writable capacity of the recording unit 15, it may be determined whether or not recording is possible. That is, it may be determined whether the recording time in the recording period can be predicted in advance and recording in the continuous recording mode is possible at least until the end of the recording period. In this case, the recording determination unit 104 refers to the schedule information and calculates the necessary minimum capacity based on the time zone designated as the continuous recording mode within the recording period, the image quality corresponding to the time zone, and the shooting interval. To do. That is, the recording determination unit 104 calculates the necessary minimum capacity by multiplying the data size that can be estimated from the image quality by the shooting interval and the length of the time zone specified as the continuous recording mode. If the minimum required capacity exceeds the writable capacity, the recording determination unit 104 determines that image recording cannot be performed until the end of the recording period, causes the notification unit 17 to notify the abnormality, and displays the abnormality content on the display 5. Display.

The detection counting unit 105 is activated when the current time is the recording period stored in the recording period information, and counts the number of detection signal receptions when the sensor-linked recording mode is set within the recording period. Then, the average number of times of receiving the detection signal per unit time (for example, one day) is calculated from the number of times of reception of the detection signal and the elapsed time from the start of the recording period measured by the time measuring unit 103.
The detection counting unit 105 detects a detection signal per unit time when the recording determination unit 104 determines that an image cannot be recorded until the end of the recording period or that there is a possibility (that is, when it is determined to be abnormal). Is output from the notification unit 17. At this time, the display control unit 102 is requested to display and output the average number of reception times of the detection signal per unit time on the display 5. The display control unit 102 causes the display 5 to display and output abnormality information, and displays and outputs the average number of detection signals received per unit time. The detection counting unit 105 may calculate and display the average number of times of reception of the detection signal per unit time for each monitoring sensor 3. By doing in this way, the user can know the frequency with which image data is recorded in conjunction with the sensor for each monitoring camera 2 corresponding to the monitoring sensor 3, and it is easy to review and adjust the schedule information. Become.

The operation of the image recording apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, the control unit 10 of the image recording apparatus 1 refers to the recording period information stored in the storage unit 14 and compares the start time indicated in the recording period information with the current time to determine whether the recording period has started. It is determined whether or not (step S201). If the recording period has not started, the process of step S201 is repeated until the recording period is reached. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S201 that the recording period has started, the time measuring unit 103 of the control unit 10 starts a timer and starts time measurement (step S202). Further, the recording processing unit 101 of the control unit 10 starts processing relating to image recording in accordance with the sensor information and schedule information stored in the storage unit 14 (step S203). That is, in the continuous recording mode, the received image data is sequentially recorded in the image recording unit 15, and in the sensor-linked recording mode, the image data is recorded in the image recording unit 15 when the detection signal is received. If no mode is set, the image recording is not performed, and the image recording mode is set according to the schedule information.

  Thereafter, the time measuring unit 103 determines whether the elapsed time from the start of the recording period has timed a predetermined determination reference time (step S204). When the time counting unit 103 measures a predetermined determination reference time, the recording determination unit 104 is activated to execute a record availability determination process (step S205). Note that the details of the recording permission / inhibition determination process have been described above, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here. After the end of the recordability determination process or when it is determined in step S204 that the elapsed time from the start of the recording period is not the predetermined determination reference time, the timer 103 refers to the recording period information and records the recording period. It is determined whether or not has been completed (step S206). If it is determined that the recording period has not ended, the control unit 10 returns the process to step S204. On the other hand, when it is determined that the recording period has ended, the recording processing unit 101 ends the processing related to image recording in the image recording unit 15 (step S207). Then, the time measuring unit 103 also stops the timer, ends the time measurement (step S208), and the image recording apparatus 1 ends the series of processes.

  As described above, the image recording apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied checks the recording capacity of image data actually recorded within a certain elapsed time from the start of the recording period, and records images in the remaining recording period. The estimated recording capacity or estimated recording possible period required for the recording is calculated. Then, since it is determined whether or not an image can be recorded in the entire recording period using the estimated recording capacity or the estimated recording possible period, an image recording linked to a sensor detection signal in which a necessary storage capacity cannot be predicted in advance. Even if the recording is performed, it is possible to prevent the recording capacity from being insufficient.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, if the recording determination unit 104 determines that all the images cannot be recorded for the remaining time of the recording period, the recording processing unit 101 may change the image recording condition so that the estimated necessary amount is reduced. Good. For example, the recording processing unit 101 may change the image recording mode set in the schedule information so that an image is recorded in the sensor-linked recording mode even in a time zone where the image recording mode is the continuous recording mode. Alternatively, the recording processing unit 101 may increase the shooting interval or change the image quality setting to reduce the recording capacity per image.

Further, when the image recording unit 15 is configured by a device that accommodates a plurality of recording media such as a DVD changer and appropriately selects and uses one of the recording media, the recording determination unit 104 includes a recording period. When the controller 10 determines that all the images cannot be recorded for the remaining time, the control unit 10 notifies the image recording unit 15 of the recording medium in use instead of notifying the abnormality through the notification unit 17 or together with the abnormality notification. An operation of switching to an unused recording medium or a recording medium having a writable capacity larger than that of the recording medium in use may be performed.
Furthermore, the image output device is not limited to a surveillance camera, and may be a TV tuner, a video player, or the like. In this case as well, it is determined whether recording is possible until the end of the period in the middle of the recording period, etc. Can request.

  As described above, various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention according to the embodiment to be implemented.

1 is an overall system configuration diagram of an image monitoring system including an image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of sensor corresponding information. It is a figure which shows an example of schedule information. It is an operation | movement flowchart of a recording availability determination process. 3 is an operation flowchart of the image recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image recording device 2 Surveillance camera 3 Surveillance sensor 4 LAN
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Display 6 Speaker 10 Control part 11 Communication part 12 External apparatus connection part 13 Operation part 14 Storage part 15 Image recording part 16 Recording amount management part 17 Notification part 101 Recording processing part 102 Display control part 103 Time measuring part 104 Recording determination part 105 Detection Counting unit

Claims (4)

An image recording apparatus that records an image at least in a recording period set by a user,
An image interface connected to an image output device for outputting an image;
A storage unit for storing a preset recording period;
A receiving unit that receives a detection signal from a sensor that detects a state change of a monitoring target;
A recording processing unit that causes the image recording unit to record in a continuous recording mode in which images input from the image interface are sequentially processed during the recording period or in a sensor-linked recording mode in which the image is recorded for a predetermined time when the detection signal is received. When,
A recording amount management unit for managing the usage and remaining amount of the image recording unit;
When the elapse of a predetermined time from the start of the recording period, the consumption rate of the recording capacity of the image recording unit is calculated from the usage amount of the image recording unit within the predetermined time, and the consumption rate is used to calculate the A determination unit that determines whether image recording is possible until the end of the recording period;
I have a,
When the determination unit determines that image recording is not possible until the end of the recording period, the recording processing unit is in the sensor-linked recording mode even when the continuous recording mode is set in the recording period. the image recording apparatus characterized by recording the image.   The determination unit calculates an estimated necessary amount of the image recording unit required from the consumption speed and the remaining time of the recording period until the end of the recording period, and the estimated necessary amount and the remaining amount of the image recording unit The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus determines whether it is possible to record an image until the end of the recording period by comparing the amount.   The determination unit calculates an estimated recordable time that can be recorded in the remaining amount of the image recording unit from the consumption speed and the remaining amount of the image recording unit, and the estimated recordable time and the remaining time of the recording period And determining whether image recording is possible until the end of the recording period. Further, a detection counter that counts the number of receptions of the detection signal from the start of the recording period and calculates an average number of receptions per unit time;
The image recording according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising: a notification unit that outputs an average number of reception times per unit time when the determination unit determines that the image cannot be recorded until the end of the recording period. apparatus.

Images