Tour monitoring device

• US 9,224,279 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2009
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Iwasaki, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): RUBIN, BLAKE J
• Application Number:
  US12/417,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20090251539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,462 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19608 Tracking movement of a target, e.g. by detecting an object predefined as a target, using target direction and or velocity to predict its new position
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system

Abstract

A monitoring device that is capable of setting both of the tour monitoring time and the unmoving object monitoring time without restriction. A tour monitoring unit causes an image pickup unit to perform a tour monitoring. An unmoving object monitoring unit performs an unmoving object detection process and an unmoving object determination process at positions subjected to the tour monitoring. A control unit performs a control such that the tour monitoring is performed at a position different from the position where the unmoving object detection process is performed after the unmoving object detection process is performed and the unmoving object determination process is performed after the tour monitoring is performed at the different position.

Claims

1. A monitoring device comprising:

a tour monitoring unit adapted to cause an image pickup unit to cyclically monitor a plurality of previously registered monitoring spots;

an unmoving object monitoring unit adapted to monitor an unmoving object at the monitoring spot for a predetermined unmoving object monitoring time based on a previously captured background image before the image pickup unit is moved from the predetermined monitoring spot by said tour monitoring unit;

a storage unit adapted to store an unmoving object monitoring position when said unmoving object monitoring unit starts counting the unmoving object monitoring time;

a first determination unit adapted to determine whether the predetermined unmoving object monitoring time for the unmoving object elapses or not while said tour monitoring unit causes the image pickup unit to cyclically monitor a plurality of the spots;

a moving unit adapted to forcibly move the image pickup unit to the unmoving object monitoring position stored in said storage unit at a predetermined timing if the image pickup unit is moved to another monitoring spot at which the unmoving object is not yet found by said tour monitoring unit when said first determination unit determines that the predetermined unmoving object monitoring time for the unmoving object elapses; and

a second determination unit adapted to determine whether the unmoving object is unidentified at the unmoving object monitoring position to which the image pickup unit is moved by said moving unit,

wherein the predetermined unmoving object monitoring time is longer than the tour monitoring time during which the image pickup unit cyclically monitors any one of the monitoring spots.

2. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined timing represents a period for which the image pickup unit is moved by said tour monitoring unit to the monitoring spot created for the first time after the predetermined unmoving object monitoring time has elapsed.

3. The monitoring device according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm issuing unit adapted to issue an alarm when said second determination unit determines that the unmoving object is unidentified.

4. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

said tour monitoring unit moves the image pickup unit to the monitoring spot where the tour monitoring is interrupted after said second determination unit determines whether the unmoving object is unidentified and said tour monitoring unit continues the tour monitoring.

5. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

said tour monitoring unit continues cyclically monitoring the monitoring spot determined by said second determination unit after said second determination unit determines whether the unmoving object is unidentified.

6. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined timing represents a timing at which the monitoring time elapses.

7. The monitoring device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input unit adapted to receive inputs from a user, wherein the user can input the predetermined unmoving object monitoring time and the tour monitoring time;

wherein the input unit allows a user to input a predetermined unmoving object monitoring time that is longer than the input tour monitoring time during which the image pickup unit cyclically monitors any one of the monitoring spots.