Monitoring apparatus

• US 7,782,187 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2007
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 1205 Investments, LLC
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Kondo, Junji, Hirai, Takahide, Inomata, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US11/859,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20080258914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• Field of Search: 340/505, 340/506, 340/509, 340/517, 340/518, 340/522, 340/523, 340/528, 340/545.3, 340/572.1, 700/245, 356/4.01, 356/5.01, 342/70
• US Class Current: 340/522
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves

Abstract

A position detection sensor using electromagnetic wave (1) estimates the position of a monitor object (100) in a first detection region (101), and outputs it as a first possibility distribution. A second sensor (4) estimates the position of the monitor object (100) in a second detection region (102), and outputs it as a second possibility distribution. A distribution computing means (5) outputs an integrated possibility distribution which it obtains by integrating the possibility distributions of the position of the monitor object 100 which are acquired by these sensors. An information presenting means (6) outputs the integrated possibility distribution as information about the most possible position of the monitor object (100).

Claims

1. A monitoring apparatus for monitoring an object in an area, the monitoring apparatus comprising:

a first sensor that outputs a first distribution of possible positions of the object in a first monitor area;

a second sensor that outputs a second distribution of possible positions of the object in a second monitor area which overlaps said first monitor area;

distribution computing means for performing a weighted addition of the first and second distributions output by the first and second sensors for an area where said first monitor area and said second monitor area overlap to compute an integrated distribution of a position range of the object; and

information presenting means for outputting the integrated distribution acquired by said distribution computing means for a display.

2. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first and second sensors are of different types.

3. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

calibration means for calibrating an output of at least one of said first and second sensors on a basis of an output of said distribution computing means.

4. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first sensor is a position detection sensor using an electromagnetic wave, and

the second sensor includes

an image pickup device that acquires an image of the second monitor area, and

an image processing device that detects an occurrence of an event different from normal events from the image acquired by said image pickup device.

5. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the position detection sensor has two leakage coaxial cables to detect a position of the object, which exists between the two leakage coaxial cables.

6. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first sensor is a position detection sensor using an electromagnetic wave, and the second sensor is a tag sensor that detects a position of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag.

7. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the position detection sensor has two leakage coaxial cables to detect a position of the object, which exists between the two leakage coaxial cables.

8. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first sensor is a range sensor using a laser scanner, and the second sensor is a pressure-sensitive position detecting sensor.

9. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring apparatus monitors an occurrence of an intrusion of a person into the first or second monitor areas.

10. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring apparatus detects a position of the object, which exists in the first or second monitor areas.

11. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information presenting means outputs the first distribution of the first sensor and the second distribution of the second sensor separately.

12. A method for a monitoring apparatus that monitors an object in an area, the method comprising:

outputting, with a first sensor of the monitoring apparatus, a first distribution of possible positions of the object in a first monitor area;

outputting, with a second sensor of the monitoring apparatus, a second distribution of possible positions of the object in a second monitor area which overlaps said first monitor area;

performing, with the monitoring apparatus, a weighted addition of the first and second distributions output by the first and second sensors for an area where said first monitor area and said second monitor area overlap to compute an integrated distribution of a position range of the object; and

outputting, with an information presenting unit of the monitoring apparatus, the integrated distribution for a display.