Picture image monitoring system

• US 5,272,527 A
• Filed: 04/02/1992
• Issued: 12/21/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Tsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Application Number:
  US07/862,506
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 358/108, 358/133, 358/105, 379/53
• US Class Current: 348/154
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1961 Movement detection not involving frame subtraction, e.g. motion detection on the basis of luminance changes in the image
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19641 Multiple cameras having overlapping views on a single scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/00 Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/503 involving temporal prediction adaptive coding with adaptive selection between spatial and temporal predictive coding H04N19/107; adaptive coding with adaptive selection among a plurality of temporal predictive coding modes H04N19/109
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/12 Systems in which the television signal is transmitted via one channel or a plurality of parallel channels, the bandwidth of each channel being less than the bandwidth of the television signal H04N7/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A picture image monitoring system wherein picture images of a plurality of monitoring object areas and difference degree information indicative of a rate of a picture image change of each monitoring object area can be transmitted efficiently to a remote location by way of a communication channel and a monitoring operation of the monitoring object areas can be performed accurately and efficiently at the remote location. A transmitting side terminal apparatus and a receiving side terminal apparatus are interconnected by a communication channel. At the transmitting side terminal apparatus, a picture image signal of a monitoring object area photographed is compressed while difference degree information and an identifier are produced, and they are transmitted to the receiving side terminal apparatus by way of a communication line. At the receiving side terminal apparatus, received compressed picture image data, difference degree information and an identifier are used to effect detection of a picture image change of a monitoring object area and desired monitoring control.

Claims

1. A picture image monitoring system, comprising a transmitting side terminal apparatus and a receiving side terminal apparatus connected to each other by way of a communication channel;

said transmitting side terminal apparatus including;

a plurality of image pickup means for respectively photographing individual monitoring object areas and generating a plurality of respective picture image signals;

a picture image signal selecting section for selecting one of said plurality of picture image signals of the monitoring object areas photographed by a respective one of said plurality of image pickup means;

a picture image data compressing section for compressing the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section;

a picture image change detecting section for detecting, from the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section, a change of the one picture image signal of the monitoring object area, and for producing difference degree information indicative of a degree of a difference of the one picture image signal and producing an identifier which specifies the monitoring object area corresponding to the one picture image signal; and

a communication circuit for transmitting the difference degree information, the identifier outputted from said picture image change detecting section, and the compressed picture image data of a monitoring object area outputted from said picture image data compressing section to said receiving side terminal apparatus by way of said communication channel, and for receiving controlling information for selection of the picture image data to be transmitted by way of said communication channel;

said receiving side terminal apparatus including;

a communication circuit for receiving difference degree information and an identifier as well as compressed picture image data of a monitoring object area transmitted thereto from said transmitting side terminal apparatus by way of said communication channel and for transmitting controlling information for selection of the picture image to be transmitted by way of said communication channel;

a compressed data decoding section for decoding compressed picture image data received from said communication circuit into an original picture image;

a controlling information generating section for producing predetermined controlling information for selection of the picture image data to be transmitted in accordance with difference degree information and an identifier received from said communication circuit; and

a picture image displaying section for displaying the picture image signal of a monitoring object area decoded by said compressed data decoding section in accordance with controlling information outputted from said controlling information generating section.

2. A picture image monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said receiving side terminal apparatus further includes recording means for recording an original picture image from said compressed data decoding section onto a record medium in accordance with controlling information from said controlling information generating section.

3. A picture image monitoring system, comprising a transmitting side terminal apparatus and a receiving side terminal apparatus connected to each other by way of a communication channel;

said transmitting side terminal apparatus including;

a plurality of image pickup means for respectively photographing individual monitoring object areas and generating a plurality of respective picture image signals;

a picture image signal selecting section for selecting one of said plurality of picture image signals of the monitoring object areas photographed by a respective one of said plurality of image pickup means;

a picture image data compressing section for compressing the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section;

a picture image change detecting section for detecting, from the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section, a change of the one picture image signal of the monitoring object area, and for producing difference degree information indicative of a degree of a difference of the one picture image signal and producing an identifier which specifies the monitoring object area corresponding to the one picture image signal; and

a communication circuit for transmitting the difference degree information, the identifier outputted from said picture image change detecting section, and the compressed picture image data of a monitoring object area outputted from said picture image data compressing section to said receiving side terminal apparatus by way of said communication channel, and for receiving controlling information for selection of the picture image data to be transmitted by way of said communication channel;

said receiving side terminal apparatus including;

a communication circuit for receiving difference degree information and an identifier as well as compressed picture image data of a monitoring object area transmitted thereto from said transmitting side terminal apparatus by way of said communication channel and for transmitting controlling information for selection of the picture image to be transmitted by way of said communication channel;

a compressed data decoding section for decoding compressed picture image data received from said communication circuit into an original picture image;

a controlling information generating section for producing predetermined controlling information for selection of the picture image data to be transmitted in accordance with difference degree information and an identifier received from said communication circuit; and

a picture image displaying section for displaying the picture image signal of a monitoring object area decoded by said compressed data decoding section in accordance with controlling information outputted from said controlling information generating section.

wherein said receiving side terminal apparatus further includes a signal discriminating circuit for receiving data from said communication circuit of said receiving side terminal apparatus and separating the received data into compressed picture image data to be transmitted to said compressed data decoding section and difference degree information and an identifier to be transmitted to said controlling information generating section.

4. A picture image monitoring system, comprising a transmitting side terminal apparatus and a receiving side terminal apparatus connected to each other by way of a communication channel:

said transmitting side terminal apparatus including;

a plurality of image pickup means for respectively photographing individual monitoring object areas and generating a plurality of respective picture image signals;

a picture image signal selecting section for selecting one of said plurality of picture image signals of the monitoring object areas photographed by a respective one of said plurality of image pickup means;

a picture image data compressing section for compressing the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section;

a picture image change detecting section for detecting, from the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section, a change of the one picture image signal of the monitoring object area, and for producing difference degree information indicative of a degree of a difference of the one picture image signal and producing an identifier which specifies the monitoring object area corresponding to the one picture image signal; and

a communication circuit for transmitting the difference degree information, the identifier outputted from said picture image change detecting section, and the compressed picture image data of a monitoring object area outputted from said picture image data compressing section to said receiving side terminal apparatus by way of said communication channel, and for receiving controlling information for selection of the picture image data to be transmitted by way of said communication channel;

said receiving side terminal apparatus including;

a communication circuit for receiving difference degree information and an identifier as well as compressed picture image data of a monitoring object area transmitted thereto from said transmitting side terminal apparatus by way of said communication channel and for transmitting controlling information for selection of the picture image to be transmitted by way of said communication channel;

a compressed data decoding section for decoding compressed picture image data received from said communication circuit into an original picture image;

a controlling information generating section for producing predetermined controlling information for selection of the picture image data to be transmitted in accordance with difference degree information and an identifier received from said communication circuit; and

a picture image displaying section for displaying the picture image signal of a monitoring object area decoded by said compressed data decoding section in accordance with controlling information outputted from said controlling information generating section.

wherein said picture image change detecting section of said transmitting side terminal apparatus includes a filter circuit for applying predetermined filtering processing to the one picture image signal selected by said picture image signal selecting section to extract a predetermined picture image characteristic of the picture image signal, an average value calculating circuit for calculating a picture element density average value of an extracted characteristic picture image from said filter circuit, a binary digitizing circuit for converting an extracted characteristic picture image from said filter circuit into a binary picture image using a picture element density average value calculated by said average value calculating circuit as a threshold value, a variation calculating circuit for calculating a variation of a picture element density average value of a picture image at present from another picture element density average value of the picture image in the past, and a difference degree calculating circuit for producing difference degree information and an identifier in accordance with a binary picture image from said binary digitizing circuit, a variation from said variation calculating circuit and a picture image from said picture image signal selecting section.

5. A picture image monitoring system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said picture image change detecting section of said transmitting side terminal apparatus further includes a picture image storage circuit for storing therein at least one binary picture image of a frame from said binary digitizing circuit.

6. A picture image monitoring system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said picture image change detecting section of said transmitting side terminal apparatus further includes a noise component suppressing circuit interposed between said binary digitizing circuit and difference degree calculating circuit for removing noise components from a binary picture image from said binary digitizing circuit.

7. A picture image monitoring system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said picture image change detecting section of said transmitting side terminal apparatus further includes a threshold value setting circuit for setting a threshold value S, and wherein said difference degree calculating circuit calculates a difference degree using a picture element number P by which picture elements of a binary picture image from said binary digitizing circuit have changed from "0" to "1" of the binary values, a total number Q of picture elements of "1" in such binary picture image at present, a variation m of a picture element density average value from said variation calculating circuit and the threshold value S from said threshold value setting circuit, in accordance with the following expression:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">difference degree=(P/m)/(S×

Q)