JP2001258020A - Camera control system and camera server, control methods thereof, operation processing programs thereof, and storage medium storing these operation processing programs - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide, when a real-time captured image cannot be obtained from a camera, images selectively corresponding to each imaging direction stored in a camera server in advance as a substitute image. I do. In a camera control system that controls a camera based on a control command from a client, a detection unit that detects an operation state of the camera, a storage unit that stores images of the camera in a plurality of imaging directions, When the detecting means detects that the camera is not operating normally, an image corresponding to a control command from the client is selected from the storage means, and the selected image is transmitted to the client. And output means for outputting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera control system for controlling a remote camera via a network, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera control system (remote monitoring system) for remotely controlling an imaging direction of a video camera connected to a network such as the Internet or a LAN and acquiring an image of the captured video camera has been proposed. Proposed by the applicant.

[0003]

In such a camera control system, there is a case where a desired real-time captured image cannot be obtained from the camera due to a failure of the camera or a disconnection of a communication path.

In the present invention, in consideration of the above, when a real-time captured image cannot be obtained from a camera, an image corresponding to each imaging direction previously stored in a camera server is selectively provided as a substitute image. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a camera control system for controlling a camera based on a control command from a client. Means, storage means for respectively storing images of the camera in a plurality of imaging directions, and an image corresponding to a control command from the client when the detection means detects that the camera is not operating normally. And output means for selecting the selected image from the storage means and outputting the selected image to the client.

According to the present invention, in a camera server for controlling a camera based on a control command from a client, a detecting means for detecting an operation state of the camera, and an image corresponding to a plurality of imaging directions of the camera. And a storage unit for storing an image corresponding to a control command from the client from the storage unit when the detection unit detects that the camera is not operating normally. Output means for outputting the output image to the client.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a camera control system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a video camera capable of controlling an imaging direction, an imaging condition of a zoom magnification, and the like. The camera server 102 is configured by an information processing terminal such as a personal computer, and executes control such as an imaging direction of the video camera 101 based on a video camera control command received via a network.

[0009] The client 109 is a video camera 10
After acquiring the first control right, a camera control command is transmitted to the camera server 102 via the network. The client 109 is configured by an information processing terminal such as a personal computer, and as shown in FIG.
.. Are connected to the network. In the present embodiment, for simplicity of description, a single camera server (or a video camera connected to the camera server) is connected to the network, but a plurality of camera servers may be connected.

Here, the configuration of the camera server 102 will be described. The ROM 113 stores a program for executing the operation processing of the camera server 102. RAM 112
Reads the program stored in the ROM 113 and provides the CPU 105 with a work area. CPU105
Controls the operation processing in the camera server 102.

The camera control circuit 103 controls the imaging direction of the video camera 101 via the RS232C interface. In addition, the camera 101 is connected to the current camera 10.
Information about the control state such as pan, tilt, and zoom of No. 1 is acquired. Further, the video capture 104 captures video information captured by the video camera 101. Further, the secondary storage device 107 includes a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic storage medium, or the like, and stores the video data captured by the video capture 104.

The HTTP server 106 has a client 1
In response to the request from the server 09, the data is transferred to the client that has requested data such as video data. The communication interface 108 inputs and outputs data to and from the client 109 via a network. The timer 114 measures time.

Next, the configuration of the client 109 will be described. The ROM 110 stores a program for executing the operation processing of the camera client 109.
WWW, a client software for information retrieval to access various data on the Internet
The browser 110a is also stored. WWW Browser 1
10a displays an image based on the data acquired from the camera server 102, and executes an applet program (a Java program embedded in a WWW page) sent from the camera server 102. 116 is R
The CPU 117 controls the entire client 109 by reading out a program stored in the ROM 110 onto the RAM 116.

The bitmap display 118 is a monitor for displaying an image based on the video data transmitted from the camera server 102. In addition, the mouse 115
Functions as a pointing device. The communication interface 111 inputs and outputs data to and from the camera server 102 via a network.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a camera operation window displayed on the bitmap display 118 of the client 109.

Reference numeral 201 denotes an input unit for inputting an HTML document to make a connection request to a desired camera server 102. When accessing the camera server 102, for example, a description such as http://www.foo.co.jp/ is made.
Note that the HTTP server 106 (= www.foo.co.jp) converts text information to ww in response to a request from such a browser.
w Send to browser 110.

An image display window 202 displays an image transmitted from the camera server 102.

Buttons 203a, 203b, 203c, 2
03d is the cursor 2 by the operation of the mouse 115.
05 is clicked to generate a movement command to move the imaging direction of the connected video camera 101 upward, downward, left, and right, respectively. Button 204 is
By performing N, a signal for executing a request to acquire control of pan, tilt, and zoom of the currently connected video camera 101 is generated.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the image data stored in the secondary storage device 107.

In FIG. 3, ID information 301 indicates an identification number of the image data 307. The pan angle information 302 is
This is information on a pan angle component of the imaging direction of the camera 101 when an image is captured. Also, tilt angle information 3
03 is information on a tilt angle component of the imaging direction of the camera 101 when the image is captured. The magnification information 304 is information on the zoom magnification of the camera 101 when the image is captured. In addition, shooting time information 30
Reference numeral 5 denotes information relating to the shooting date and time of the camera 101 when the image was captured. The shooting date and time is the time measured by the timer 114. Also, the subject name 306
Is data indicating what name the subject of the image is. The image data 307 includes the information 301 and 30 described above.
7 is stored together with the image data.

FIG. 4 is an example of a table stored in the secondary storage device 107. This table is stored in the client 10 when the camera 101 is not operating normally.
9 to determine the image to be transferred in response to the request of No. 9 and the ID of the image data stored in the secondary storage device 107 corresponding to the pan / tilt range of the camera 101.
The number is retained. In the present embodiment, based on the pan / tilt control command output from the client 109, the client 1
It is configured to pick up the image of the ID number to be output to the image 09.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation process of the camera server 102 for the client 109 in the present embodiment. The processing of the camera server 102 is executed by the CPU 105.

First, in S101, it is detected whether or not the operation of the camera 101 is normal. As a detection method, in the present embodiment, a check signal for checking whether or not the camera 101 is operating properly is output at predetermined time intervals, and whether or not a correct response is returned from the camera 101 is detected. And

If the communication with the camera 101 is normal, the process proceeds to step S 102, where the image currently captured by the camera 101 is output to the client 109.
On the other hand, if an error has occurred in communication with the camera 101, the process proceeds to S103.

In S103, it is confirmed whether or not a camera control signal for the camera 101 has been received from the client 109. If a camera control signal is received,
Proceed to S104.

In step S104, it is determined based on the received camera control signal whether the client 109 wants to obtain an image at any pan or tilt angle. And
Based on the pan and tilt angles determined by this determination, the image of the ID number including the determined pan and tilt angles is determined with reference to the table of FIG. Then, the image having the determined ID number is output to the client 109 as a substitute image.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an image corresponding to a desired imaging direction can be provided to a client even if a malfunction of the camera 101 occurs.

In the above-described embodiment, the alternative image is selectively output from a plurality of images corresponding to the pan and tilt angles (imaging directions). It is also possible to obtain a substitute image by obtaining an image and cutting out a required imaging range from a panoramic image obtained by synthesizing the images. Since the above-described panoramic image can be generated by a known technique, the description thereof is omitted.

According to the present invention, as an example, a recording medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU) of the system or the apparatus is provided.
Or MPU) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the function of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, C
D-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) Performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, The CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowcharts. Essential modules will be stored on the storage medium.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if a problem occurs in the camera 101, an image desired by the client can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a camera control system.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a display screen on the client side according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of an image according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows pan and tilt control commands and image data IDs.
The figure which shows an example of the table which shows the correspondence of information.

FIG. 5 is an operation processing flowchart of the camera server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shiro Ito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Takaya Ueda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yuji Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 5C022 AA01 AA12 AB62 AB65 AC27 AC42 AC69 5C054 AA01 DA08 EA01 GB02 GB11 GD01 HA01 5C064 BA07 BB03 BC16 BC23

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A camera control system for controlling a camera based on a control command from a client, comprising: a detection unit for detecting an operation state of the camera; and a storage unit for storing images of the camera in a plurality of imaging directions. If the detection unit detects that the camera is not operating normally, an image corresponding to a control command from the client is selected from the storage unit, and the selected image is transmitted to the client. Output means for outputting to the camera control system. 2. A camera server for controlling a camera based on a control command from a client, wherein: a detection unit for detecting an operation state of the camera; and a storage unit for storing images corresponding to a plurality of imaging directions of the camera. When the detection unit detects that the camera is not operating normally, an image corresponding to a control command from the client is selected from the storage unit, and the selected image is stored in the client. Output means for outputting to the camera server. 3. A control method of a camera control system for controlling a camera based on a control command from a client, wherein: a detecting step of detecting an operation state of the camera; and the camera is not operating normally by the detecting step. Is detected, an image corresponding to a control command from the client is selected from among images corresponding to each of the imaging directions of the camera stored in advance, and the selected image is transmitted to the client. And an output step of outputting. 4. A storage medium storing an operation processing program of a camera server for controlling a camera based on a control command from a client, wherein: a detection module for detecting an operation state of the camera; When it is detected that the camera is not operating properly, an image corresponding to a control command from the client is selected from among images stored in advance corresponding to the imaging directions of the camera, and the selected A storage medium storing a program having an output module for outputting an image to the client. 5. A program for executing an operation process of a camera server that controls a camera based on a control command from a client, wherein: a detection module for detecting an operation state of the camera; When it is detected that the camera is not operating, an image corresponding to a control command from the client is selected from among images corresponding to each of the imaging directions of the camera stored in advance, and the selected image is An output module for outputting to the client. 6. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the control command of the client includes a pan / tilt control command of the camera.