JP2002027425A - Image distribution device and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To process and distribute images for a client whose accessible range is limited within the imaging region of a camera which can image a wider region than the imaging angle so as not to be able to clearly view the image of outside of the accessible region. SOLUTION: A camera server (2) which can distribute images obtained by a camera (1) has a memory part (18) which holds region information on a first region distributing images with a first image quality and on a second region distributing images with a second image quality lower than the first one, an image compressing part (16) which judges if the images from the camera includes the images of second region, which in case of excluding the images, processes to have the first image quality, and which in, case of including the images, processes to have the second image quality and additionally processes the first region images to have the first image quality, and a transmission controller (14) which distributes the processed images.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video distribution device and method, and more particularly, to a video distribution device for distributing a video obtained from an imaging device which can be remotely controlled by a plurality of external devices to the plurality of external devices. About the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a system capable of observing an image of a video camera from multiple points in a remote place, not only a camera image is simply observed but also a pan / tilt angle and a zoom magnification of the camera can be remotely controlled. is there. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-42279, WWW (World Wide) on the Internet is disclosed.
Through a Web server, a computer-controllable camera is connected, and real-time video captured from the camera is delivered to one or more PCs (hereinafter, referred to as “clients”) also connected to the Internet, and also transmitted by a client. Systems that allow camera control have been proposed.

In these systems, by giving different control authority depending on the connected client,
It is possible to set a client that can control the camera for shooting over the entire area where the camera can shoot, or a client that limits the camera control only for shooting a part of the area that can be shot. Has become.

[0004] In such a system in which a camera can be remotely controlled and a video can be delivered to a plurality of persons, there is a case where a certain range is not desired to be shown to a specific client. For example, photographing a part of a camera installed outdoors may cause privacy and copyright infringement. For this reason, for specific clients, privacy is improved by providing a shooting prohibited range in the operation range of the camera to be controlled to limit the shooting range of the camera, or by reducing the image resolution of the shooting prohibited range and transmitting it. Addressing the issue of copyright infringement. In addition, when performing maintenance of the server, a camera that captures an image is controlled using a client that can be controlled over the entire range.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional control, when a camera capable of capturing an image or operating a camera is limited to the entire range, the image capturing range is limited to only a part. And it can be sent to other clients, creating privacy and copyright infringement issues. As described above, a problem arises when a privileged client and a non-privileged client simultaneously view a video, and the system is not a system that can flexibly cope with detailed needs generated in actual system operation.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and enables a client whose viewing range is limited, within a shooting range of a camera capable of shooting an area wider than the angle of view, to be viewed. An object of the present invention is to process and distribute a video so that the video outside the range cannot be clearly seen.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a video distribution apparatus of the present invention capable of distributing an image obtained from an imaging device which can be remotely controlled by a plurality of external devices to the plurality of external devices is provided. Delivering, for each of the external devices, a first area for delivering the video with a first image quality in a photographable area of the imaging device, and delivering the video with a second image quality lower than the first image quality. Holding means for holding area information relating to a second area to be set, and whether or not an image obtained from the imaging device includes an image of the second area based on the area information held by the holding means Determining means for each of the external devices of the distribution destination, and processing the image from the imaging device to have the first image quality when it is determined that the external image is not included by the determining means. If it is determined that Processing means for processing an image from the device so as to have the second image quality, and further processing the image in the first area so as to have the first image quality; and processing the image processed by the processing means Distribution means for distributing.

[0008] Further, according to the video distribution method of the present invention for distributing a video obtained from an imaging device which can be remotely controlled by a plurality of external devices to at least one of the plurality of external devices, The first of the photographable areas of the device
A setting step of setting area information relating to a first area for distributing the video with a second image quality and a second area for distributing the video with a second quality lower than the first image quality; and the setting step. Based on the area information set in, a determination step of determining for each external device of the distribution destination whether the video obtained from the imaging device includes the video of the second area,
When it is determined that the image is not included in the determining step, it is determined that the image from the imaging device is included in the first processing step of processing the image from the imaging device to have the first image quality. A second processing step of processing the image from the imaging device to have the second image quality, and further processing the image of the first area to have the first image quality; And a distribution step of distributing the video processed in the first or second processing step.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the processing for making the image of the first area have the first image quality when the image is judged to be included by the judgment means, Obtaining difference data between the first quality image in the first area and the second quality image in the first area;

[0010] In the processing for making the image of the first area have the first image quality in the second processing step,
Difference data between the video of the first quality in the first area and the video of the second quality in the first area is obtained. Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, when it is determined by the determination unit that the image data is included, the distribution unit distributes the video of the second image quality, and then distributes the difference data. Then, when it is determined in the determining step that the image is included, in the delivering step, the video of the second image quality is delivered, and then the difference data is delivered.

Preferably, the holding means further holds a grade set for each external device, and the second image quality differs according to the grade. Further, the video distribution method further includes a step of setting a grade for each external device, and the second image quality differs according to the grade.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided another image distribution apparatus capable of distributing an image obtained from an imaging device remotely controllable by a plurality of external devices to the plurality of external devices. A plurality of image qualities and, among the photographable areas of the imaging device, the area information regarding the area for distributing the video with any of the plurality of image qualities, respectively,
Holding means for holding each of the plurality of external devices, and, based on the area information held in the holding means, whether to deliver a video obtained from the imaging device with a single image quality or with a plurality of image quality A determination means for determining each of the external devices of the transmission destination, and when it is determined that the image is distributed with a single image quality by the determination means, processing the video from the imaging device to have the image quality, If it is determined that the image is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the image is processed so as to have the lowest image quality. And a distribution unit for distributing the video processed by the processing unit.

Further, another video distribution method of the present invention for distributing a video obtained from an imaging device which can be remotely controlled by a plurality of external devices to at least one of the plurality of external devices,
A plurality of predetermined image qualities are set for each of the plurality of external devices by associating region information relating to a region for distributing the video with any of the plurality of image qualities of the image capturing device of the imaging device. The setting step, based on the area information set in the setting step, whether to deliver the video obtained from the imaging device with a single image quality, or whether to deliver a plurality of image quality for each external device of the transmission destination A judging step of judging, a first processing step of processing a video from the imaging device to have the image quality when it is judged in the judging step that the image is to be distributed with a single image quality, and the judging step If it is determined that the image is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the image is processed so as to have the lowest image quality, and further, the image of the region to be distributed with higher image quality becomes the image quality corresponding to the region. like Having a second processing step of management, and a distribution step for distributing the image processed in the first or second treatment step.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, when the determination means determines that the image is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the image of the area to be distributed with higher image quality is set to have the image quality corresponding to the area. In the processing, the difference data between the higher-quality video and the video having one lower quality than the higher quality is obtained, and the video of the area to be distributed with higher quality in the second processing step corresponds to the corresponding area. In the processing for achieving the image quality to be obtained, difference data between a video having a higher image quality and a video having an image quality one step lower than the image quality is obtained.

Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, when the determination means determines that the image is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the distribution means distributes the video of the lowest image quality,
After that, the difference data is distributed stepwise, and when it is determined in the determination step that the image data is to be distributed with a plurality of image quality,
In the distribution step, the video with the lowest image quality is distributed, and then the difference data is distributed stepwise.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the determination means makes a determination based on the area information and a control state of the imaging apparatus. The judgment is made based on the control state.

Preferably, the control state includes a pan / tilt state, and more preferably, a zoom state.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the video distribution device further includes a setting unit for setting area information for each of the external devices.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a camera device including a camera platform and a camera head, and reference numeral 2 denotes a camera server device. The camera device 1 can receive a camera control command from the camera server device 2, and can change pan, tilt, and zoom according to the camera control command.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a network, which may be any digital network such as the Internet or an intranet having a sufficient band for passing a camera control signal and a compressed video signal described later. Here, TCP / IP (UDP / I) is used as the network protocol.
P) The protocol shall be used. In the following, an address will refer to an IP address. It is also assumed that both the camera server device 2 and a client device 4 described below are assigned IP addresses.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a client device (display operation terminal) for receiving video data transmitted by the camera server device 2. The camera server device 2 and the client device 4 are connected via a network 3.

The client device 4 reads and holds software for receiving an image from an internal storage medium or an external storage medium.
Can be received and the display device 5 can display the image.

The camera server device 2 distributes an image captured by the camera device 1 to the client device 4, receives a camera control command from the client device 4, and controls the zoom magnification and the camera platform of the camera device 1.

Although a plurality of client devices and display devices can be connected to the network 3, only one of them is shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating in detail the functional configuration of the camera system 10 including the camera device 1 and the camera server device 2 and the client system 20 including the client device 4 and the display device 5 shown in FIG. .

The camera server system 10 includes a video camera 11, a camera platform of the video camera 11, a movable camera platform device 12 for controlling a pan / tilt angle, a viewing angle (zoom magnification) of the video camera 11, and a movable camera platform device 12. Camera / head control unit 13 for controlling pan / tilt angle of camera, video camera 1
1, a video input unit 15 for receiving the video data, a video compression unit 16 for compressing the captured video data, and a communication control for distributing the compressed video data to the network 3 and receiving a command from the client system 20 via the network 3. A command interpreting / executing unit 17 for interpreting the received command and controlling each unit of the camera server system 10, and a storage device 18 used for data transfer between the units
Consists of

The video input unit 15 takes in the NTSC video signal from the video camera 11, performs A / D conversion, and passes it to the video compression unit 16. The video compression unit 16 compresses the received digital video signal using Motion JEPG, and compresses the digital video signal. The transmitted video signal is transmitted from the communication control unit 14 onto the network 3. It should be noted that here, as a video compression format,
Although ionJPEG compression is used, the present invention is not limited to a compression format. Similarly, the signal system output by the video camera 11 is not limited to the NTSC video signal. In some cases, the video camera 11 directly outputs digital data. In this case, the video input unit 1
In A.5, there is no need to perform A / D conversion.

Next, the client system 20 will be described.

The compressed video data transmitted from the camera server system 10 is transmitted to the network 3 and the communication control unit 21.
, Is decompressed by the video decompression unit 25, and is displayed on the video display unit 26. Also, the client system 20
It is assumed that camera control, image storage / save operation, and the like can be performed by operating the above user interface. The display control section 24 controls these screen displays and operations.

The video display unit 26 includes a bitmap display, and a Windows (registered trademark) 95 or X-Wi that can form a user interface screen as shown in FIG.
Some window system such as “now” is running on the client system 20.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 30 denotes an image display panel for displaying an image, and reference numerals 32, 33, and 34 denote camera control scroll bars. By operating these, the pan, tilt, and zoom of the camera can be controlled. it can.

It is assumed that a plurality of clients access the camera server system 10 at the same time. In this case, confusion occurs when a plurality of clients try to operate the camera at the same time. Therefore, the concept of control authority is introduced, and only a user having the control authority can control the camera.

For example, when a client is the camera device 1
Requesting the control right to the camera server device 2, and if there is no client having the control right of the camera device 1 at that time, the control right is requested to the client requesting the control right. Is given. The control right is given for a certain time, and the camera device 1 can be controlled while having the control right. If another client has the control right of the camera device 1 when requesting the control right, the control right is given after the control right of the client is cut off. The time when the control right is given, the priority of the client, and the like can be variously set. For a detailed description of the control right, see also
-42279.

Thus, the scroll bars 32, 33,
The camera control by 34 is effective only while the control right of the camera device 1 is given to the client device 4. The user can request the control right by pressing the operation start button 31. In response to the pressing of the operation start button 31, the client device 4 sends a request for a control right to the camera server device 2, and if the control right can be obtained, the operation with the scroll bars 32, 33, 34 becomes possible.

Next, the concept of image distribution control according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 51 denotes a photographable range of the video camera 11. The imageable range 51 is a model of a limit value by hardware such as a zoom lens of the video camera 11 and a movable range of the movable pan head device 12. Reference numeral 52 denotes an image visible range permitted for a certain client. This is a range in which the administrator may view the client in a case where a problem such as privacy or copyright may occur when the client can view the entire imageable range 51.
This is set according to the place where the camera is installed, the form of operation, and the like. 53 is set according to the setting of the video visible range 52,
The video is not visible to the client. Reference numeral 54 denotes a field of view when the zoom lens of the video camera 11 is at the wide-angle end, and moves by pan / tilt control of the movable pan head device 12. The information of each of the above ranges is held by the camera server device 2.

The video visible range 52 can be determined according to the client. FIG. 5 shows an example of information of the video visible range 52 set for each client.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the concept of image processing when transmitting a video being captured by the video camera 11 to the client system 20. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 indicate the same ranges.

In the example shown in FIG. 6A, only a part of the image (field of view) 54 being photographed by the camera device 1 covers the image visible range 52 of the client, and the remaining image region is the image invisible range 53. Belongs to

The camera server device 2 always has the camera device 1
The photographing range and the video visible range are calculated to determine whether or not the current photographed video is within the video visible range. Then, when transmitting the captured video, the camera server device 2 performs a resolution reduction process on the image 53 ′ in the video invisible range in the captured video (FIGS. 6B and 54) and compresses the image. Further, the image 52 'in the video visible range is compressed without any particular processing.

As a method of reducing the resolution of the image, any known method such as a mosaic process, a process for blurring the focus, a process for applying a certain mask, and a process for giving a certain noise to the image may be used.

Further, the camera server device 2 is provided for a client such as an administrator who is not restricted by a visible image range.
Image data corresponding to the image shown in FIG. 6C is also created at the same time. In this case, difference image data may be created for an image in the video invisible range 53 ′. The difference image data is difference data for generating a higher quality image than the above-described image compression data. Note that the image in the video visible region 52 'is already at a high resolution, so that image data for this region is not needed here. The method of creating the difference image data varies depending on the method used to reduce the resolution of the image. For example, in the case of performing a mosaic process, the thinned-out pixel data is used as difference image data.

When the photographed image is within the visible region of the image, it is not necessary to reduce the resolution, so that the compressed image data is only high-resolution image data, and it is necessary to prepare differential image data. Instead, high-resolution image data is transmitted to all clients. In this case, it can be indicated that there is no difference image data.

On the other hand, if the current shooting range of the camera is within the video invisible range of a certain client, data of low image quality on the entire screen is sent to the client.

The obtained compressed video data is transmitted as a video packet having a configuration as shown in FIG. 7, and it is necessary to obtain low-resolution image data (image data 1) and high-quality image data. And differential image data. Only low-resolution image data (image data 1) is transmitted to the client subjected to the visibility restriction.
The functions of the present invention are realized by further adding image difference data to a client that is not restricted by the visible range. The difference image data is not limited to one, and when classified into each client as shown in the table of FIG. 5 (user level), the resolution is gradually increased according to the user level of the connecting client. It is also possible to create and transmit the difference image data so as to be as follows. With such a mechanism, it is possible to gradually increase the image quality of the image according to the user level of the client.

Next, an image displayed on the display device 5 of the client and a graphical user interface (GUI) based on the image data compressed as a result of the image data processing will be described.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an image displayed on the client. In particular, FIG. 8A shows a screen displayed by a client who is restricted in the video visible range, and FIG.
7 shows a screen displayed on a client that is not restricted by a video viewable range.

In FIG. 8 (a), reference numeral 52 "indicates that in FIG.
Area corresponding to the video visible range 52 of the video camera 11
Is displayed as it is. Also,
An area 53 ″ is an area corresponding to the video invisible range 53, and displays an image processed by mosaic processing, defocus processing, or the like in the camera server device 2, and has lower image quality than the image captured by the video camera 11. The image has become.

On the other hand, the image of the client which is not restricted by the image visible range shown in FIG.

Further, when the clients are classified according to the user level, a GUI as shown in FIG. 9 may be displayed for the client having the higher user level. In this case, for example, a high-resolution image is displayed by default, and by selecting a desired image quality from a menu, the camera server system 10
Select the image quality sent step by step from. In this way, a client with a high user level can check an image displayed on a client with a low connection level.

Next, the operation of the camera server device 2 and the client device 4 for performing the image distribution control will be described.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a process performed on the camera server device 2 and the client device 4 in the present embodiment.

Here, the process means a process of a multitask operating system such as Windows NT or UNIX (registered trademark). In the steady state, FIG.
All processes 41, 42, 47, 48, 4 indicated by 0
9 is operating.

In the camera server device 2, the following four processes operate. That is,

1) Camera control server process 41: A camera control command issued by the client process 49 is received, and a command is issued to the camera / head control unit 13 to perform control.

2) Camera state notification process 42: The state of the camera, such as pan / tilt angle, is detected and notified to the client process 49.

3) Video server process 47: Manages the destination of the camera video.

4) Video acquisition / transmission process 48: Capture / transmission of camera video.

The destination list 44 and the camera status register 43 are shared memories used for transferring data between processes. Reference numeral 45 denotes user level information of the client, which is used as data when the connecting client is approved. Reference numeral 46 denotes camera visible range information. In order to change the data to be created by performing different processing on the video data according to the operation state of the camera, consistency between processes is obtained by using such a shared memory.
The operations of these processes 41, 42, 47 and 48 will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. On the other hand, a client process 49 is operating on the client device 4, and details of the operation will be described later with reference to FIG.

A packet of the data to be communicated has a format as shown in FIG. 14 and is transmitted via the network 3. Strictly speaking, the format used for packets such as TCP / IP and UDP / IP will be used, but FIG. 11 describes only the packet information necessary for the description of the embodiment.

First, the camera control server process 41 and the camera status notification process 42 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the camera control server process 41 is started (step S400), it is initialized (step S40).
1) generates a camera state notification process 42 (step S402), and waits for a camera control connection request (FIG. 14A) from the client process 49 (step S40).
3). If there is a connection request from the client process 49, connection acceptance processing (Ack is returned) is performed (Step S).
404), a camera control command transmitted from the connected client process 49 (FIG. 14 (2) to FIG. 14 (2)).
(4)) is waited for (step S405). In the connection receiving process (step S404), a timer is set,
After a certain period of time (referred to as "control time") (YES in step S406), the camera control connection is disconnected (step S407).

Camera control commands (FIG. 14 (2)-
When (4)) is received (YES in step S408), the zoom magnification of the video camera 11 and the pan / tilt angle of the movable camera platform device 12 are controlled through the camera / head controller 13 in response to the command (step S409). If the control command received in step S405 is not a camera control command (NO in step S408), a corresponding process is performed in step S410, and the process proceeds to step S405.
Return to Until the control time elapses, a camera control command is received from the client process 49, and camera control according to the command is performed through the command interpreting unit 17 and the camera / pan head control unit 13.

In this embodiment, the camera control commands include a pan angle change command (PANθ), a tilt angle change command (TILφ), and a zoom magnification change command (ZOMα) for the sake of explanation in this embodiment. . θ, φ,
α is a parameter representing a pan angle, a tilt angle, and a zoom magnification, respectively.There are various other camera control commands such as backlight correction, auto focus, and manual focus value setting, but the description thereof is omitted here. I do.

When the control waiting time has expired (YES in step S406), the connection is disconnected (step S40).
7) and a camera control connection end command (FIG. 14).
(7)) is returned to the client process 49. Then, in step S403, it waits for a connection request to come again.
The camera control server process 41 similarly receives a camera control connection request from an arbitrary client process and implements camera control, but cannot simultaneously connect to a plurality of client processes. Therefore, this connection is a connection-oriented connection such as TCP / IP.

On the other hand, while the camera state notification process 42 generated in step S402 is operating, the camera state is constantly checked. That is, the pan / tilt angle of the camera,
The zoom magnification (θ, φ, α) is obtained by inquiring of the camera / head controller 13 and written into the camera status register 43 (step S422).

At the same time, in the present embodiment, the acquired camera state is compared with the camera visible range information 46, and the current state of the video camera 11 (pan angle, tilt angle, zoom magnification) is determined by the current camera state. The camera control server process 41, the video server process 47, and the like grasp whether or not the captured image is within the video visible range. If the imaging range of the video camera 11 includes the video invisible range of the client, FIG.
By the processing in step S526, of the video data to be transmitted, processing is performed on the video data in the video invisible range to limit the visual field range of the video.

Further, the camera status (the format shown in FIG. 14 (8)) is notified to the client process 49 to which the image is transmitted (step S426).

Next, the video server process 47 and the video acquisition / transmission process 48 will be described with reference to the flow of FIG.

When the video server process 47 is started (step S500), it is initialized (step S50).
1) Generate a video acquisition / transmission process 48 (step S)
502), and waits for an event from the client process 49 (step S503). The event received in step S503 is a video display start request command (FIG. 14).
If (6)) (YES in step S504), the source address of the packet included in the video display start request packet is acquired, added to the video destination list 44 (step S505), and Ack is returned. (Step S50
6).

If the event received in step S503 is a video display end request command (step S5
04, NO in step S507), and similarly obtains the source address of the packet included in the video display end request packet and deletes it from the video destination list 44 (step S508). It should be noted that the video transmission destination list 4
4 holds an address of a video transmission destination in a list format. If neither the video display start request command nor the video display end request command is received, the process proceeds to step S50.
The processing corresponding to the command received in step 9 is performed, and the flow returns to step S503 to wait for the next event.

On the other hand, when the video acquisition / transmission process 48 is activated (step S520), after initialization (step S521), it captures the video from the video camera 11 (step S522), and as described above, stores the video visible range information. Then, low-resolution data and high-resolution data are created based on the current camera position information (step S526), compressed (step S523), and camera position information is added to the compressed video data (step S524). FIG.
It is packetized into the format of (9) and transmitted to the client whose address is registered in the video transmission destination list 44 in step S505 (step S525). Step S5
Operations 22 to S525 are repeatedly performed.

Next, the operation of the client process 49 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, at the time of starting the process, the address (IP address, here, “AD
DR_C ") (step S)
600), after initialization (step S601), a video display start request is transmitted to the camera server device corresponding to ADDR_C (step S602). The packet format of the video display start request is as shown in FIG.

Here, if Ack is not returned from the camera server device 2 corresponding to ADDR_C (step S
Since the operation is abnormal such as an incorrect address (NO at 603), the client process 49 ends (step S604). If Ack is returned, the display is successful (YES in step S603), and therefore an event, ie, operation of the user interface by the user or various packets from the camera server device 2 is waited for (step S6).
05).

Here, when the user presses the operation start button 31 on the GUI shown in FIG. 3 (YE in step S606).
S), and confirms a control right flag indicating whether or not the user has already started camera control (step S607),
If the control is already being performed, the process returns to step S605. If no operation is being performed, a camera control connection request (FIG. 14A) is issued to the camera control server process 41 (step S60).
8) Wait for permission (Ack) (step S609). If Ack is returned here (YE in step S610)
S), the connection to the camera control server process 41 is established, the control right flag in the storage unit 29 of the client device is turned on (step S611), and the camera control operation by the scroll bars 32, 33, and 34 shown in FIG. Enable. Note that the camera control server process 41 is configured as shown in FIG.
The connection request is accepted only when waiting for the camera control connection request in step S403 of FIG.

When the connection is established and the "control time" ends, a camera control connection end request (FIG. 14 (7)) is returned from the camera control server process. When this request is received in step S605 (step S605). YE in S614
S), the control right flag is turned off (step S61)
5), the camera control operation by the scroll bars 32, 33, and 34 shown in FIG. 3 is invalidated (step S616).

While the camera control operation using the scroll bars 32, 33, and 34 is valid, a camera control command corresponding to the camera control operation using the scroll bars 32, 33, and 34 is generated (YES in step S617).
It is issued to the camera control server process 41 (step S618). The process of generating the instruction is not directly related to the present invention, and will not be described here.

Further, a client process termination request (step S
In response to “YES” at 626, a video display end request (FIG.
4 (7)) (step S627), and terminates the client process 49 (step S628).

When the packet arrives (step S625), if it is video data (FIG. 14 (9)) (YES in step S629), the compressed video data in the video data is read out, and decompression processing is performed. After that, the display video on the video display panel 30 is updated using the video frame data (step S630). If the arriving packet is the camera status notification (FIG. 14 (8)) (YES in step S635), the notch display positions of the scroll bars 32, 33, and 38 for operating the pan / tilt angle and the zoom magnification are included in the packet. Change to the corresponding position using the included parameters. In this state, if another client process is controlling the camera, that information is being updated.

The compressed image data created in this way is transmitted from the server to the client as video data as shown in FIG. 14 (9).

As described above, the client at the level subject to the restriction of the video visible range first receives only the low-quality image data, and further receives and displays the high-quality image data only for the video within the video visible range. Accordingly, the image visible range is displayed with high image quality, and the image invisible range is displayed with low resolution, thereby implementing the image visible range limiting function. Similarly, for high-level clients, such as administrators,
By transmitting the difference image data simultaneously with the low-resolution image data, it is possible to always obtain a high-quality image regardless of the limitation. As described above, it becomes easier to reflect the needs of the user who installs the camera server device.

In the above embodiment, the case where a video camera is used as the camera device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the type of camera, but uses various image pickup devices capable of changing a photographing area. Is possible.

[0086]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or a recording medium) in which program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments are recorded to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (a computer) of the system or the apparatus. Or a CPU or MPU) reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium,
Needless to say, this is achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
In addition, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also based on the instructions of the program code,
The operating system (OS) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. , The CPU provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing is also included.

When the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned storage medium, the storage medium described above (FIGS. 11, 12 and 1)
The program code corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0090]

As described above, according to the present invention, a client whose viewable range is limited within the photographable range of a camera capable of photographing an area wider than the angle of view,
The video can be processed and distributed so that the video outside the viewable range cannot be clearly seen.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal functional configuration of the system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface screen displayed on the client device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a shooting area of the camera device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a table showing video visible range information for each client according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an outline of image data created in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of a video data packet in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of image data displayed on the client side in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI screen in a client having a privilege according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a process performed in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a camera control server process and a camera state notification process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing of a video server process and a video acquisition / transmission process in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a client process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a protocol packet used in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 camera device 2 camera server device 3 network 4 client device 5 display device 10 camera server system 20 client system 30 video display panel 31 operation start button 32, 33, 34 camera control scroll bar 51 photographable range 52 video visible range 53 video invisible Range 54 fields of view

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C022 AA01 AB62 AB65 AB66 AB68 AC27 5C023 AA07 AA09 AA27 AA37 BA01 BA19 CA02 DA04 EA05 5C064 BA01 BB02 BB03 BC06 BC18 BC23 BC25 BD02 BD05 BD08

Claims (23)

[Claims] An image distribution device capable of distributing an image obtained from an imaging device that can be remotely controlled by a plurality of external devices to the plurality of external devices, wherein the imaging device is capable of photographing for each of the external devices. Of the area,
Holding means for holding area information relating to a first area for distributing the video with a first image quality and a second area for distributing the video with a second image quality lower than the first image quality; A determination unit configured to determine, for each of the external devices to be distributed, whether or not the image obtained from the imaging device includes the image of the second region, based on the area information held in the holding unit; If it is determined by the means not to include,
The video from the imaging device is processed to have the first image quality, and if it is determined that the image is included, the video from the imaging device is processed to have the second image quality, and A video distribution apparatus comprising: processing means for processing a video in a first area to have the first image quality; and distribution means for distributing the video processed by the processing means. 2. A process for making the image of the first area have the first image quality when the image is judged to be included by the judgment means, wherein the first image quality of the first area is included. The video distribution device according to claim 1, wherein difference data between the video of the first area and the video of the second image quality in the first area is obtained. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the distribution unit distributes the video of the second image quality, and then distributes the difference data when the determination unit determines that the image data is included. 3. The video distribution device according to 2. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit further holds a grade set for each external device, and the second image quality differs according to the grade. Video distribution device. 5. A video distribution device capable of distributing an image obtained from an imaging device remotely controllable by a plurality of external devices to said plurality of external devices, comprising: a plurality of predetermined image qualities; Holding means for holding each of the plurality of external devices by associating area information relating to an area for distributing the video with any of the plurality of image qualities among the possible areas, and an area held by the holding means A determination unit that determines whether to distribute the video obtained from the imaging device with a single image quality or multiple image qualities for each external device based on the information, based on the information; When it is determined that the image is to be distributed with the image quality, the image from the imaging device is processed to have the image quality, and when it is determined that the image is distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the image has the lowest image quality. To process Further comprising: a processing unit for processing a video in a region to be distributed with higher image quality so as to have an image quality corresponding to the region, and a distribution unit for distributing the video processed by the processing unit. A video distribution device characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. A process of setting a video of an area to be distributed with higher image quality to an image quality corresponding to the area when the determination unit determines that the image is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities. 6. The video distribution device according to claim 5, wherein difference data is obtained between the video and an image having an image quality one step lower than the image quality. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the image data is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the distribution unit distributes the video having the lowest image quality, and then distributes the difference data step by step. The video distribution device according to claim 6. 8. The video distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit makes a determination based on area information and a control state of the imaging device. 9. The video distribution apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control state includes a pan / tilt state. 10. The video distribution apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control state includes a zoom state. 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting area information for each of said external devices.
0. The video distribution device according to any one of 0 to 0. 12. A video distribution method for distributing a video obtained from an imaging device remotely controllable by a plurality of external devices to at least one of the plurality of external devices, wherein the imaging device is provided for each of the external devices. Of the photographable area of,
A setting step of setting area information regarding a first area for distributing the video with a first image quality and a second area for distributing the video with a second image quality lower than the first image quality; A judging step of judging whether or not an image obtained from the imaging device includes an image of the second area for each external device at a distribution destination based on the area information set in the setting step; A first processing step of processing an image from the imaging device to have the first image quality when it is determined that the image data is not included in the step; ,
A second processing step of processing an image from the imaging device to have the second image quality, and further processing an image of the first area so as to have the first image quality; A distribution step of distributing the video processed in the second processing step. 13. The first processing in the second processing step.
In the process of setting the image of the area of the first area to the first image quality, the difference data between the image of the first area of the first area and the image of the second area of the first area The video distribution method according to claim 12, wherein 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if it is determined in the determining step that the image data is included, in the delivering step, the video of the second image quality is delivered, and then the difference data is delivered. 14. The video distribution method according to item 13. 15. The video distribution method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of setting a grade for each external device, wherein said second image quality is different according to the grade. . 16. A video distribution method for distributing video obtained from an imaging device remotely controllable by a plurality of external devices to at least one of the plurality of external devices, comprising: a plurality of predetermined image qualities; A setting step of setting each of the plurality of external devices by associating region information relating to a region for distributing the video with any of the plurality of image qualities among the photographable regions of the device, A determination step of determining whether to deliver a video obtained from the imaging device with a single image quality or a plurality of image quality based on the obtained region information, for each external device at a transmission destination; and A first processing step of processing an image from the imaging device so as to have the image quality when it is determined that the image is to be distributed in a single image quality; and distributing a plurality of image quality in the determination step. When it is cross-sectional, the image is processed so that the lowest quality, further stages, the image of the area to be delivered at a higher image quality, a processing such that the image quality corresponding to the area 2
And a distribution step of distributing the video processed in the first or second processing step. 17. In the second processing step, in the process of setting the image of the area to be distributed with higher image quality to the image quality corresponding to the area, the higher-quality image and one step higher than the image quality 17. The video distribution method according to claim 16, wherein difference data from low-quality video is obtained. 18. The method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined in the determining step that the image data is to be distributed with a plurality of image qualities, the distributing step includes distributing the video having the lowest image quality, and thereafter distributing the difference data stepwise. 18. The video distribution method according to claim 17, wherein: 19. The video distribution method according to claim 12, wherein in the determining step, the determination is performed based on area information and a control state of the imaging device. 20. The video distribution method according to claim 19, wherein the control state includes a pan / tilt state. 21. The video distribution method according to claim 19, wherein the control state includes a zoom state. 22. A storage medium storing a program executable by a computer device, wherein the computer device executing the program causes the computer device to function as the video distribution method according to claim 1. Description: Storage medium. 23. A storage medium holding a program code for realizing the video distribution method according to claim 12.