Monitoring camera system, monitoring camera control device and monitoring program recorded in recording medium

• US 20030185419A1
• Filed: 03/24/2003
• Published: 10/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Minolta Corporation Limited (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Sumitomo, Hironori
• Granted Patent: US 7,536,028 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/147 Details of sensors, e.g. sensor lenses fingerprint or palmprint sensors G06V40/13; vascular sensors G06V40/145; eye sensors G06V40/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19641 Multiple cameras having overlapping views on a single scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums

Abstract

A monitoring system according to the present invention has a plurality of cameras respectively monitoring a monitor area and having a changeable imaging magnification, monitoring section detecting an object to be monitored in the monitor area, and control section selecting at least one camera capable of obtaining an enlarged image to contribute to identification of the object to be monitored as camera for enlargement from the plural cameras when the object to be monitored is detected and selecting at least one camera other than the camera for enlargement as camera for wide area from the plural monitoring camera. The camera for wide area is set to a first imaging magnification to obtain a wide area image of the monitor area and the camera for enlargement is set to a second imaging magnification larger than the first imaging magnification to obtain an enlarged image of the detected object to be monitored.

Claims

1. A monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of cameras each of which monitors a monitor area and has a changeable imaging magnification;

monitoring section which detects an object to be monitored in the monitor area; and

control section which selects at least one camera capable of obtaining an enlarged image to contribute to identification of the object to be monitored as camera for enlargement from the plural cameras when the object to be monitored is detected and selects at least one camera other than the camera for enlargement as camera for wide area from the plural monitoring camera, said control section setting the camera for wide area to a first imaging magnification to obtain a wide area image of the monitor area, and setting the camera for enlargement to a second imaging magnification larger than the first imaging magnification to obtain an enlarged image of the detected object to be monitored.

2. A monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein imaging direction of each camera is changeable, and said control section turns the imaging direction of the camera for enlargement to the object to be monitored.

3. A monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the object to be monitored includes a person or an abnormal status in the monitor area.

4. A monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said monitoring section detects the object to be monitored based upon an image captured by at least one of the plurality of cameras.

5. A monitoring system as claimed in claim 4 wherein said monitoring section detects a face of a person based upon an image captured by at least one of the plurality of cameras, and said control section selects the camera capable of obtaining the enlarged image to contribute to identification of the face of the person as the camera for enlargement from the plural cameras.

6. A monitoring system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said enlarged image includes an enlarged image of the face of the person.

7. A monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said monitoring section detects the object to be monitored based upon an output from a sensor disposed in the monitor area.

8. A monitoring camera control device communicably connected with a plurality of cameras for monitoring a monitor area, imaging magnification of each camera being changeable, said camera control device comprising:

selecting section which selects at least one camera capable of obtaining an enlarged image to contribute to identification of an object to be monitored as the camera for enlargement from the plural cameras when the object to be monitored in the monitor area is detected by at least one camera and selects at least one camera other than the camera for enlargement as the camera for wide area from the plural monitoring cameras; and

control section which sets a camera for wide area to a first imaging magnification to obtain a wide area image of the monitor area and sets a camera for enlargement to a second imaging magnification larger than the first imaging magnification to obtain an enlarged image of the detected object to be monitored.

9. A camera control device as claimed in claim 8 wherein imaging direction of each camera communicably connected with the camera control device is changeable, and said control section turns the imaging direction of the camera for enlargement to the object to be monitored.

10. A camera control device as claimed in claim 8 wherein the object to be monitored includes a person or an abnormal status in the monitor area.

11. A camera control device as claimed in claim 8 wherein an operation of the control section is described in a program, and said program is read by a computer in the control section.

12. A program product embodied in a computer readable medium which controls a plurality of cameras monitoring a monitor area, said program product comprising the instructions for:

determining whether at least one camera detects an object to be monitored in the monitor area;

selecting at least one camera capable of obtaining an enlarged image to contribute to identification of the detected object to be monitored as camera for enlargement from the plural cameras upon determining that at least one camera detects the object to be monitored;

selecting at least one camera other than the camera for enlargement as camera for wide area from the plural monitoring cameras;

setting the camera for wide area to a first imaging magnification to obtain a wide area image of the monitor area; and

setting the camera for enlargement to a second imaging magnification larger than the first imaging magnification to obtain an enlarged image of the detected object to be monitored.

13. A program product as claimed in claim 12 further comprising the instruction for:

turning imaging directions of the camera for enlargement to the object to be monitored.

14. A program product as claimed in claim 12 wherein the object to be monitored includes a person or an abnormal status in the monitor area.