Device for measuring the number of pass persons and a management system employing same

• US 5,926,518 A
• Filed: 06/09/1997
• Issued: 07/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Asokawa, Yoshinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Wambach, Margaret R.
• Application Number:
  US08/871,406
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• Field of Search: 377/6, 377/10
• US Class Current: 377/6
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00 Individual registration on entry or exit

Abstract

A device for measuring the number of persons without any affection by overlap of persons in any direction, sunlight variations, shadows, or the like includes a plurality of cameras arranged in parallel with respect to their optical axes for taking an image in a measuring area to measure the number of persons, an extraction unit for extracting a person based on image data taken by said plurality of cameras, a trace unit for tracing the person extracted by the extraction unit, and a decision unit for deciding whether or not a decision line is passed based on the data produced by the trace unit and to increase the number of passing persons when the line is passed. In the extraction unit, the persons overlapping in a depth direction can be precisely separated by employing space coordinate data by correspondence in a plurality of images taken by the plurality of cameras at the same timing. The decision unit decides that one person has passed when initial and end points of a translation locus of the person are respectively positioned on both sides of the decision line set in a gateway.

Claims

1. A device for measuring the number of passing persons comprising

a plurality of camera means arranged in parallel with respect to their optical axes for taking an image in a measuring area to measure the number of persons,

extracting means for extracting a person based on image data taken by said plurality of camera means,

tracing means for tracing the person extracted by said extracting means, and

counting means for counting the number of persons passing a predetermined measuring position based on data provided by said tracing means,

said device employing space coordinate data by correspondence between a plurality of images provided at the same timing by said plurality of camera means to extract the passing person.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said counting means for counting the number of persons passing said predetermined measuring position is further provided with a function for discriminating a movement direction of a person passing said measuring position.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said measuring area is a gateway, and said counting means counts the number of persons passing said predetermined measuring position by discriminating between an entering person and a leaving person based on a movement direction of said person which is provided by said tracing means.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said extracting means obtains space coordinate data of the respective characteristic points constituting a person, and separates and extracts the respective persons by recognizing that the obtained characteristic points having near distances are based on the same person by integrating the same and the points having far distances are based on a different person.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 further including excluding means for excluding a particular person from the extracted and traced persons.

6. A device as set forth in claim 3 in which a different measuring position is provided on the outside of said gateway so that a person walking on said outside can be counted.

7. A device as set forth in claim 3 in which the measuring position for finding a passage in the image is set at a predetermined distance from the position corresponding to said gateway in the image and the number of persons passing the gateway is counted based on said set measuring position.

8. A device as set forth in claim 3, in which the measuring position for finding a passage in the image is represented by a first measuring position corresponding to said gateway in the image or a second measuring position set at a predetermined distance from said first measuring position, and said device further includes measuring position setting means for selecting and setting one of said first measuring position and said second measuring position based on a predetermined condition, whereby the number of persons passing the gateway is counted based on said selectively set measuring position.

9. A system for managing the number of entry persons who enter an area and exit persons who leave the area comprising:

a plurality of camera means arranged in parallel with respect to their optical axes for taking an image in a measuring area to measure the number of persons;

extracting means for extracting a person based on image data taken by said plurality of camera means;

tracing means for tracing the person extracted by said extracting means;

counting means for counting the number of persons passing a predetermined measuring position based on data provided by said tracing means;

storage means for storing data representing the number of entry and exit persons produced by said device; and

analysis means for analyzing said stored data;

said system employing space coordinate data by correspondence between a plurality of images provided at the same timing by said plurality of camera means to extract the passing person, and

said measuring area is a gateway, and said counting means counts the number of persons passing said predetermined measuring position by discriminating between an entering person and a leaving person based on a movement direction of said person which is provided by said tracing means.

10. A system as set forth in claim 9 further comprising:

input means for entering variation factor data of various data which are factors varying the number of persons entering a store, in which said variation factor data are stored in said storage means together with data of the number of entry and exit persons produced by/said system.

11. A system as set forth in claim 9 further comprising:

forecasting means for forecasting the number of entry persons based on said stored and analyzed data.

12. A system as set forth in claim 9, further comprising:

sales data input means for entering sales data to analyze the relation between the sales data and the data of the number of entry and exit persons by said analysis means.

13. A system as set forth in claim 9 further comprising:

forecasting means for forecasting the number of entry persons based on said stored and analyzed data, sales data input means for entering sales data, and sales forecasting means for forecasting sales based on said forecasted number of entry persons, and the past stored number of entry persons and sales data.

14. A system as set forth in claim 13 further comprising:

stock data input means for entering stock data, stock support means for deciding recommendation of items and quantity of stock goods based on sales data and stock data which are forecasted by said sales forecasting means.

15. A system for managing the number of entry persons who enter an area and exit persons who leave the area comprising:

a plurality of camera means arranged in parallel with respect to their optical axes for taking an image in a measuring area to measure the number of persons;

extracting means for extracting a person based on image data taken by said plurality of camera means;

tracing means for tracing the person extracted by said extracting means;

counting means for counting the number of persons passing a predetermined measuring position based on data provided by said tracing means;

storage means for storing data representing the number of entry and exit persons produced by said system; and

analysis means for analyzing said stored data;

said system employing space coordinate data by correspondence between a plurality of images provided at the same timing by said plurality of camera means to extract the passing person,

said measuring area is a gateway, and said counting means counts the number of persons passing said predetermined measuring position by discriminating between an entering person and a leaving person based on a movement direction of said person which is provided by said tracing means,

and the measuring position for finding a passage in the image is represented by a first measuring position corresponding to said gateway in the image or a second measuring position set at a predetermined distance from said first measuring position, and said device further includes measuring position setting means for selecting and setting one of said first measuring position and said second measuring position based on a predetermined condition, whereby the number of persons passing the gateway is counted based on said selectively set measuring position.

16. A system as set forth in claim 15 further comprising:

input means for entering variation factor data of various data which are factors varying the number of persons entering a store, in which said variation factor data are stored in said storage means together with data of the number of entry and exit persons produced by said system.

17. A system as set forth in claim 15 further comprising:

forecasting means for forecasting the number of entry persons based on said stored and analyzed data.

18. A system as set forth in claim 15, further comprising:

sales data input means for entering sales data to analyze the relation between the sales data and the data of the number of entry and exit persons by said analysis means.

19. A system as set forth in claim 15 further comprising:

forecasting means for forecasting the number of entry persons based on said stored and analyzed data, sales data input means for entering sales data, and sales forecasting means for forecasting sales based on said forecasted number of entry persons, and the past stored number of entry persons and sales data.

20. A system as set forth in claim 19 further comprising:

stock data input means for entering stock data, stock support means for deciding recommendation of items and quantity of stock goods based on sales data and stock data which are forecasted by said sales forecasting means.