MONITORING SYSTEM AND IMAGING SYSTEM

• US 20020015094A1
• Filed: 05/26/1998
• Published: 02/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1 (IP Bridge, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: IKEDA, TAKASHI, FUJITA, HIDETO, MURATA, HARUHIKO, OKINO, TOSHIYUKI, KUWANO, YUKINORI, ARISAWA, MASATO
• Granted Patent: US 6,456,320 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19643 wherein the cameras play different roles, e.g. different resolution, different camera type, master-slave camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19652 Systems using zones in a single scene defined for different treatment, e.g. outer zone gives pre-alarm, inner zone gives alarm
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves

Abstract

The present invention relates to a monitoring system capable of automatically detecting and reporting to a supervisor that a person enters a monitoring area from an area outside the monitoring area. The present invention comprises an imaging device for imaging the monitoring area, and means for detecting information relating to the movement of an object in the monitoring area.

Claims

1. A monitoring system comprising:

an imaging device for imaging a monitoring area; and

means for detecting information relating to the movement of an object in the monitoring area on the basis of an output of the imaging device.

2. The monitoring device according to claim 1, further comprising

means for judging whether or not somebody enters the monitoring area on the basis of the information relating to the movement of the object.

3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising

reporting means for reporting, when it is judged that somebody enters the monitoring area, to a supervisor that somebody enters the monitoring area.

4. A monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising

a recording device for recording an image picked up by the imaging device, and

means for starting the recording by the recording device when it is judged that somebody enters the monitoring area.

5. The monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising

a recording device for recording an image picked up by the imaging device,

reporting means for reporting, when it is judged that somebody enters the monitoring area, to a supervisor that somebody enters the monitoring area, and

means for starting the recording by the recording device when it is judged that somebody enters the monitoring area.

6. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein

an entering person detecting sensor is provided in an entrance path of a person entering the monitoring area, and

said imaging device is operated when the entering person is detected by the entering person detecting sensor.

7. The monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein

a power supply comprising a solar battery and a storage battery storing power obtained by the solar battery supplies the power to said imaging device.

8. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein

the information relating to the movement of the object is a motion vector corresponding to a detecting area or motion vectors corresponding to a plurality of detecting areas set in an imaging area of the imaging device.

9. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein

the resolution of the imaging device is a sufficiently low resolution to judge the presence or absence of the movement of the object.

10. A monitoring system comprising:

an imaging device for imaging a monitoring area;

means for detecting information relating to the movement of an object in the monitoring area on the basis of an output of the imaging device;

means for judging whether or not a person to be monitored exits from the monitoring area on the basis of the information relating to the movement of the object; and

reporting means for reporting, when it is judged that the person to be monitored exits from the monitoring area, to a supervisor that the person to be monitored exits from the monitoring area.

11. A monitoring system comprising:

first imaging means for imaging a monitoring area;

detection means for detecting the movement of an object in the monitoring area on the basis of an output of the first imaging means; and

second imaging means for imaging, when the movement of the object in the monitoring area is detected, a moving portion.

12. The monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein

the second imaging means enlarges said moving portion and images the enlarged moving portion.

13. The monitoring system according to claim 12, wherein

the first imaging means comprises a monitoring camera for imaging the whole monitoring area, and

the second imaging means comprises a close-up camera for taking a close-up of a part of the monitoring area and imaging the part whose close-up has been taken.

14. The monitoring system according to claim 12, wherein

the first imaging means and the second imaging means are constituted by one video camera having a zoom mechanism.

15. The monitoring system according to claim 11, comprising:

a recording device;

a switch for switching an output of the first imaging means and an output of the second imaging means and feeding the output obtained by the switching to the recording device; and

control means for controlling the switch such that the output of the first imaging means is fed to the recording device when the movement of the object in the monitoring area is not detected, while the output of the second imaging means is fed to the recording device when the movement of the object in the monitoring area is detected.

16. The monitoring system according to claim 14, wherein

an identifier for making identification as to which of the output of the first imaging device and the output of the second imaging device is recorded is recorded by the recording device.

17. The monitoring system according to claim 15, further comprising

means for making, in reproducing an image recorded by the recording device, the speed at which an image picked up by the second imaging means is reproduced lower than the speed at which an image picked up by the first imaging means is reproduced.

18. The monitoring system according to claim 11, further comprising

a recording device, and

means for recording the output of the second imaging device by the recording device only when the movement of the object in the monitoring area is detected.

21. The monitoring system according to claim 19, where in

a warning device, and

means for driving the warning device on the basis of the output of the detection means.

23. The monitoring system according to claim 19, further comprising

a video camera for imaging the monitoring area, and

means for driving the video camera on the basis of the output of the detection means.

19. The monitoring system comprising:

detection means for detecting the movement of the object in the monitoring area by a signal change obtained on the basis of the amount of infrared rays in the monitoring area, and

output means for outputting the results of the detection by the detection means.

20. A monitoring system comprising:

an infrared camera for receiving infrared rays emitted from an object in a monitoring area;

detection means for detecting the movement of the object in the monitoring area on the basis of a signal change proportional to the intensity of the infrared rays outputted from the infrared camera; and

output means for outputting the results of the detection by the detection means.

22. The monitoring system according to claim 20, further comprising

a warning device, and

means for driving the warning device on the basis of the output of the detection means.

24. The monitoring system according to claim 20, further comprising

a video camera for imaging the monitoring area, and

means for driving the video camera on the basis of the output of the detection means.

26. The imaging system according to claim 25, further comprising

means for recording, unless the amount of movement of the subject from the previous time when the picked-up image was recorded becomes not less than a predetermined amount before a predetermined time period has elapsed since the previous time when the picked-up image was recorded, the picked-up image obtained by the imaging device at the time point where the predetermined time period has elapsed since the previous time when the picked-up image was recorded.

25. An imaging system for intermittently recording a picked-up image of a subject, comprising:

an imaging device for imaging the subject;

movement amount measurement means for measuring the amount of movement of the subject from the previous time when the picked-up image was recorded on the basis of an output of the imaging device; and

means for recording the picked-up image obtained by the imaging device when the amount of movement of the subject from the previous time when the picked-up image was recorded becomes not less than a predetermined amount.