Monitoring system for detecting consecutive events

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10733449-B2
Application number	US-201816174640-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2018
Priority date	Nov 6, 2017
Publication date	Aug 4, 2020
Grant date	Aug 4, 2020

Abstract

A monitoring system includes an imaging device, a controller, storage, and a notifying section. The imaging device captures an image of an imaging area to generate captured image data indicating a captured image. The controller detects events based on the captured image data. The events include a pre-event and a post-event detected after the pre-event has ended. The controller changes a first flag from an off state to an on state upon detecting the pre-event, and holds the first flag in the on state even after the pre-event has ended. The controller changes the second flag from the off state to the on state upon detecting the post-event, and directs the notifying section to notify of consecutive event occurrence information indicating that consecutive events have occurred.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A monitoring system for detecting events, the monitoring system comprising:
a first imaging device configured to capture an image of a first imaging area to generate first captured image data indicating a first captured image;
a controller configured to detect the events based on the first captured image data;
storage configured to store data indicating a first flag and a second flag; and
a notifying section configured to notify of information, wherein
the events include a pre-event and a post-event detected after the pre-event has ended,
the first flag and the second flag are both in an off state before the pre-event is detected, and
the controller
changes the first flag from the off state to an on state upon detecting the pre-event,
stores the first captured image data in the storage upon changing the first flag to the on state,
holds the first flag in the on state even after the pre-event has ended,
changes the second flag from the off state to the on state upon detecting the post-event, and
directs the notifying section to notify of consecutive event occurrence information indicating that consecutive events have occurred.

2. The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein
the pre-event is an imaging obstruction act in which imaging is obstructed in the first imaging area.

3. The monitoring system according to claim 2 , wherein
the controller calculates a first obstruction area rate indicating what percentage of the first imaging area is occupied by a first obstruction area in which the imaging obstruction act is taking place, and detects the imaging obstruction act as the pre-event according to whether or not the first obstruction area rate is equal to or greater than a threshold.

4. The monitoring system according to claim 3 , further comprising
a second imaging device configured to capture an image of a second imaging area which differs from the first imaging area and generate second captured image data indicating a second captured image, wherein
the controller detects the pre-event based on the first captured image data and the second captured image data.

5. The monitoring system according to claim 4 , wherein
the controller calculates a second obstruction area rate indicating what percentage of the second imaging area is occupied by a second obstruction area in which the imaging obstruction act is taking place, and
the controller detects the pre-event when the first obstruction area rate is equal to or greater than the threshold and the second obstruction area rate is less than the threshold.

6. The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein
the post-event indicates a detection target removal act for a detection target placed in the first imaging area.

7. The monitoring system according to claim 6 , wherein
the storage further stores detection target information indicating whether or not the detection target is removable by an outside party, and
the controller detects the post-event when the detection target information indicates that the detection target is removable by the outside party.

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Sakashita Fumiya
• Hiranuma Yoichi
• Sakaguchi Shoichi
• Fujiwara Shohei

Classifications

• H04N23/60

  Control of cameras or camera modules · CPC title

• G06V20/40 Primary

  in video content (extracting overlay text G06V20/62; video retrieval G06F16/70; processing of video elementary streams in video servers H04N21/234; processing of video elementary streams in video clients H04N21/44) · CPC title

• G06V20/52

  Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects (recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69) · CPC title

• G06V20/44

  Event detection · CPC title

• H04N7/181 Primary

  for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources · CPC title