Monitoring system and imaging system

• US 6,456,320 B2
• Filed: 05/26/1998
• Issued: 09/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1 (IP Bridge, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujita, Hideto, Kuwano, Yukinori, Arisawa, Masato, Ikeda, Takashi, Murata, Haruhiko, Okino, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Application Number:
  US09/084,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20020015094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/135, 348/154, 348/155, 348/152, 348/164, 348/186
• 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;

means for detecting information corresponding to amount of 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.

2. A monitoring system comprising:

a recording device;

first imaging means for imaging a whole monitoring area;

second imaging means for taking a close-up of a part of the monitoring area and imaging the part whose close-up has been taken, the second imaging means being imaging means other than the first imaging means and having an automatic focusing function;

a switch for switching between 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;

a pan tilt driving device for moving the second imaging means upward, downward, rightward and leftward;

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

first 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 by the detection means; and

second control means for controlling the pan tilt driving device, when the movement of the object in the monitoring area is detected by the detection means, wherein the pan tilt driving device directs the second imaging means at the moving object in the monitoring area, thereby to make the second imaging means take a close-up of the moving object and image the object, the second control means further for controlling the switch such that the output of the second imaging means is fed to the recording device.