Surveillance monitor system using image processing for monitoring fires and thefts

• US 5,289,275 A
• Filed: 07/10/1992
• Issued: 02/22/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hiromitsu Ishii, Hochiki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Hiromitsu Ishii, Hochiki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ono, Takashi, Watanabe, Kiyoshi, Ishii, Hiromitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Tommy P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, RICHARD J
• Application Number:
  US07/911,506
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 358/108, 358/105, 340/517, 340/577, 340/578, 340/588, 340/589
• US Class Current: 348/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/40 in video content extracting overlay text G06V20/62; video retrieval G06F16/70; processing of video elementary streams in video servers H04N21/234; processing of video elementary streams in video clients H04N21/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/196 using television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/125 by using a video camera to detect fire or smoke

Abstract

By using the ratio of the G component to the R component G/R, or the ratio of the B component to the R component B/R, from a television monitor image, and referring to a conversion table for converting to distribution temperature, a surface temperature of a flame is found for each pixel. An area in which luminance signals included in an image of a surveillance area exceed a prescribed level is sampled as a flame outline, and at least the distribution temperature of a sampled flame region is detected, and distance to a radiant energy source is measured. The amount of radiant energy from the radiant energy source is estimated by computation, based on the sampled flame area and its distribution temperature and the distance to the source of radiant energy. The system is provided with a fire image recognition section for recognizing a fire from radiant energy itself and from change in radiant energy over time and outputting fire detection information and an intruder entity recognition section which, from monitor images from the same camera, recognizes an intruder entity and outputs burglary detection information. Processing modes are provided enabling fire and/or intruder entity image processing to be selected. If abnormality detection information is received using fire image or intruder entity recognition processing, a pre-alarm is outputted in the central monitor room, and also the monitor image in the central monitor room is switched to the image of the location where the abnormality has been detected.

Claims

1. A surveillance monitor system using image processing, comprising:

an image-taking means for taking an image of areascape of a surveillance area;

a fire image recognition section for recognizing a fire from a monitor image taken by said image-taking device and outputting fire detection information;

an intruder entity image recognition section for recognizing an intruding entity from a monitor image taken by said image-taking device and outputting intruder detection information;

a mode switching section for specifying that a monitor image be processed by said fire image recognition section and/or said intruder entity image recognition section;

a pre-alarm output section for outputting a pre-alarm in a central monitor room upon receipt of detection information from said fire image recognition section or said intruder entity image recognition section;

an image switching section for switching, in response to said pre-alarm, a monitor image in said central monitor room to an image of a location where an abnormality has been detected;

said fire image recognition section comprising fire judging means using image processing for judging whether or not there is a fire based on a radiant energy source'"'"'s radiant energy found by a radiant energy calculating means;

said fire judging means comprising flame outline sampling means for sampling as an outline of a flame an area whose luminance signals, included in an image taken by said image-taking means, exceed a prescribed level;

at least temperature detection means for detecting a distribution temperature inside a flame outline sampled by said flame outline sampling means;

distance measurement means for measuring a distance to a radiant energy source; and

said radiant energy calculating means for calculating radiant energy from the radiant energy source, based on the distribution temperature inside the flame outline sampled by said flame outline sampling means;

said image-taking means taking color images, and said temperature detection means finding for each pixel a flame surface temperature using a ratio of a G component to an R component (G/R) or a ratio of a B component to the R component (B/R) of said color images taken by said image-taking means and referring to a conversion table for converting to said distribution temperature.

2. A surveillance monitor system according to claim 1, wherein said fire judging means judges whether or not there is a fire, based on radiant energy obtained in each prescribed sampling cycle and on a change in radiant energy between sampling times.

3. A surveillance monitor system according to claim 1, wherein said temperature detecting means detects a distribution temperature of an image based on a measurement output of a radiation thermometer.

4. A surveillance monitor system according to claim 1, wherein said distance measurement means measures a distance to a radiant energy source by the amount of lens movement of an autofocus of said image-taking means or by using a distance finder.