Image storing and processing device

• US 6,226,329 B1
• Filed: 11/06/1998
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Niles Parts Co., Ltd. (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Niles Parts Co., Ltd. (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Masamichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Application Number:
  US09/187,223
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.26, 348/143, 348/148-149, 348/153-155, 348/159, 348/403.1, 348/425.1, 386/27, 386/33, 386/109
• US Class Current: 375/240.26
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 29/00 Safety means for rail/road crossing traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

An image storing and processing device is provided in which image information is efficiently stored of an event that may unpredictably happen at any time, and in which retrieval thereof is facilitated and further storage capacity is sharply improved. An analog video signal inputted from an external pick-up device 6 is converted to a digital video signal with an A/D conversion part 1, which digital video signal is then compressed in an image data compression part 2, and the resulting compression data is stored in a memory part 3. The stored image compression data is transferred to an image data expansion part 4 and is selected and expanded, and resulting image expansion data is converted to an analog signal in a D/A conversion part 5 and is then sent to a television monitor 9 for display thereof. A trigger signal input part 8 receives a trigger signal generated in response to the foregoing event happening, and a control part 7 controls the operation to compress and store only a necessary image, whereby the necessary image is selected and displayed on a television monitor 9. Only the necessary image is stored and is converted to compressed data in such a manner to improve storage efficiency.

Claims

1. An image storing and processing device comprising:

A/D conversion means for converting a video signal from a pick-up device to a digital video signal;

image compression means for compressing said digital video signal and outputting image compression data;

memory means for storing said image compression data;

image expansion means for selecting the stored image compression data from the memory means for image expansion, and outputting the image compression data as image expansion data; and

D/A conversion means for converting the image expansion data to an analog image signal;

wherein said memory means includes a plurality of groups of memory areas divided in response to a previously set number of storable images, and a control means forces the memory means to store compressed image data while updating each of the memory areas of the same group at a predetermined time interval when no trigger signal is inputted, and controls the operation such that storage location is altered to the memory area of another group in response to an input of a trigger signal.

2. The image storing and processing device according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls said image compression means so that a compression rate of the image compression means is increased when an amount of data exceeds the memory capacity corresponding to one page of a picture image.

3. The image storing and processing device according to claim 2, wherein two of said pick-up devices are each installed where they can photograph vehicles in a railroad crossing, a sensor is provided for detecting an inrush of a vehicle into the railroad crossing, and changeover means is provided for generating said trigger signal with an opening/closing control signal of a crossing gate provided at the railroad crossing and a detection signal from said sensor and for changing over the pick-up devices with a detection signal from the sensor.

4. The image storing and processing device according to claim 1, wherein two of said pick-up devices are each installed where they can photograph vehicles in a railroad crossing, a sensor is provided for detecting an inrush of a vehicle into the railroad crossing, and changeover means is provided for generating said trigger signal with an opening/closing control signal of a crossing gate provided at the railroad crossing and a detection signal from said sensor and for changing over the pick-up devices with a detection signal from the sensor.

5. An image storing and processing device comprising:

two pick-up devices each installed at a position in a railroad crossing where vehicles can be photographed;

a sensor for detecting an inrush of a vehicle into the railroad crossing;

changeover means for changing over said pick-up devices with a detection signal of said sensor;

A/D conversion means for converting a video signal from the pick-up device changed over by said changeover means to a digital video signal;

image compression means for compressing said digital video signal to output image compression data;

memory means for storing said image compression data;

image expansion means for expanding the stored image compression data retrieved from said memory means into image expansion data;

D/A conversion means for converting said image expansion data to an analog video signal; and

control means for generating a trigger signal with an opening/closing control signal of a crossing gate provided on the railroad crossing and the detection signal of the sensor and forcing the memory means, to store said image compression data in the memory means in response to the trigger signal.

6. A monitoring device for a railroad crossing, comprising:

a first video pick-up device located near a railroad crossing for photographing a vehicle passing through the railroad crossing in a first lane;

a second video pick-up device located near the railroad crossing for photographing a vehicle passing through the railroad crossing in a second lane;

a sensor means for detecting a vehicle passing through the railroad crossing and outputting a detection signal indicating which lane the detected vehicle is in;

changeover means for changing over an image processing device based on the detection signal so that a video signal is received only from the pick-up device photographing the detected vehicle;

A/D conversion means for converting the received video signal from the pick-up device photographing the detected vehicle to a digital video signal;

image compression means for compressing said digital video signal to output image compression data;

memory means for storing said image compression data;

image expansion means for expanding the stored image compression data retrieved from said memory means into image expansion data;

D/A conversion means for converting said image expansion data to an analog video signal; and

control means for generating a trigger signal with an opening/closing control signal of a crossing gate provided on the railroad crossing and the detection signal of the sensor and forcing the memory means to store said image compression data in the memory means in response to the trigger signal.

7. The monitoring device according to claim 6, wherein said control means controls said image compression means so that a compression rate of the image compression means is increased when an amount of data exceeds the memory capacity corresponding to one page of a picture image.