Communication resource control system and communication resource control method

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a communication resource control system that can transmit camera image data according to its importance over time, taking into account available communication resources. [Solution] In order to solve the above problems, one representative communication resource control system of the present invention is a communication resource control system comprising a packet forwarding device that controls packet forwarding of a network to which multiple cameras are connected, a command device that controls monitoring, and a communication control device that controls communication resources, The communication control device includes an importance table that defines the importance of the video for each time unit based on one or more historical items of time, period, or number of times the video was monitored and controlled by the command device. Communication resource control is performed to prioritize the allocation of communication resources to cameras that have captured images with an importance level in the aforementioned importance table that is above a predetermined threshold.

Description

Technical Field

[0003] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication resource control system and a communication resource control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when a trouble such as an operation failure occurs in railway operation, the command center collects on-site information and grasps the trouble and implements a solution. The on-site information collection is mainly performed by collecting voice information from on-site station staff and image data of a camera. In such a situation, in order to perform more advanced operation management in the future, it is necessary to collect high-definition camera videos from cameras installed in stations and vehicles. On the other hand, when high-definition camera videos are collected in the command center, there is a concern about video disturbances due to insufficient communication resources. In addition, in the case of a railway trouble, initially, attention is paid to the camera video at the trouble occurrence location, but gradually, it becomes necessary to view the camera videos around the trouble occurrence location as well. For example, the cameras to be viewed in the command center may change over time.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, in order to enable real-time use of video data with a large amount of information while saving space, the following technology is disclosed. "The camera of the camera device for railway vehicles is provided in the leading vehicle constituting the train, and performs shooting in front of the leading vehicle and outputs video data. The primary storage unit can store video data of a predetermined capacity while sequentially updating the video data. And when a predetermined trigger condition is satisfied, the control unit extracts, from the video data stored in the primary storage unit, the video data corresponding to the trigger condition, and transfers it, together with information indicating the type of the trigger condition, to the storage storage unit as storage storage data having a capacity of not more than a predetermined capacity considering wireless communication. Further, the storage storage unit stores the transferred storage storage data, and the wireless communication unit wirelessly transmits the storage storage data to the ground side at a predetermined transfer timing."

Prior Art Documents

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-58921 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] Patent Document 1 avoids network communication resource shortages by transmitting video data below a predetermined capacity when a problem occurs, triggering the transmission of that data. However, limiting the transmitted data to below a predetermined capacity raises concerns about degradation of video quality. Furthermore, during a problem, the cameras and video data that the control room needs to view are expected to change over time. Therefore, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 makes it difficult to appropriately transmit camera image data, whose needs change over time, to the control room while taking communication resources into consideration.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a communication resource control system that can transmit camera image data according to its importance over time, taking into account the available communication resources. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, one representative communication resource control system of the present invention is: In a communication resource control system comprising a packet forwarding device that controls packet forwarding of a network to which multiple cameras are connected, a command device that controls monitoring, and a communication control device that controls communication resources, The communication control device includes an importance table that defines the importance of the video for each time unit based on one or more historical items of time, period, or number of times the video was monitored and controlled by the command device. Communication resource control is performed to prioritize the allocation of communication resources to cameras that have captured images with an importance level in the aforementioned importance table that is above a predetermined threshold. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication resource control system that can transmit camera video data according to its importance over time, taking into account the available communication resources. Other issues, configurations, and effects not mentioned above will be clarified by the description of the embodiments for carrying out the invention below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of the overall network configuration in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of the network configuration inside the railway vehicle 6 in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the equipment configuration inside the control room 1 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a packet forwarding device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of a packet format according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of a table format according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the command monitor control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the communication resource control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the packet forwarding unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a network configuration diagram that serves as the basis for the example operation. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of a table format illustrating the actions taken when a problem occurs. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of importance tables according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a packet transfer device table according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a communication resource table according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration for implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the communication resource control system of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following disclosure. In each of the figures described below, common members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0011] <First Embodiment> (Overall Network) First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall network in the communication resource control system of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall network configuration in the first embodiment. ] In FIG. 1, in the command room 1, a command device 100, a communication control device 200, and a packet transfer device 300 are installed and connected to each other by a wired network.

[0012] Also, in the station building 2, one or more cameras 400 and a packet transfer device 300 are installed, and these are connected via the in-station building network 3. The in-station building network may be configured by any of wired, wireless, or a combination thereof.

[0013] Furthermore, a railway network 5 is deployed along the railway tracks, and railway vehicles 6 can wirelessly connect to the railway network 5 at any location. Here, the railway network may consist of wireless devices using opposing antennas, a wired network connecting opposing antennas, or LCX (coaxial leaky cable).

[0014] Furthermore, the packet forwarding devices 300 in the control room 1, the packet forwarding devices 300 in the station premises network 3, and the packet forwarding devices 300 in the railway line network 5 can communicate with each other via the backbone network 4.

[0015] (Network within train cars) Next, the network configuration within the railway vehicle will be described with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the network configuration within the railway vehicle 6 in the first embodiment. One or more cameras 400 and packet forwarding devices 300 are installed inside the railway vehicle 6, and these are connected to the network via the in-vehicle network 7. The in-vehicle network 7 may consist of wired, wireless, or a combination of both. The cameras 400 within the in-vehicle network 7 are connected wirelessly to the railway network 5 via the packet forwarding devices 300.

[0016] (Equipment configuration in the control room) Next, the equipment configuration within the control room 1 will be described with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the equipment configuration within the control room 1 according to the first embodiment. As explained in Figure 1, within the control room 1, the command device 100, the communication control device 200, and the packet forwarding device 300 are connected by a wired network. The command device 100 is connected to the input device 105 via the input interface 101 and to the monitor 106 via the output interface 102. Furthermore, the commander in the control room 1 can operate the input device 105 to display images from various cameras 400 on the monitor 106, and by viewing these images, they can grasp the situation on site. Furthermore, the command monitor control unit 110 can detect which camera 400's video feed the commander is viewing on the monitor 106 by operating the input device 105. The command monitor control unit 110 can also receive video data sent from the camera 400 via the wired network interface 103 and perform packet communication with the communication control device 200.

[0017] Meanwhile, the communication control device 200 is connected to the input device 205 and the monitor 206 via the input / output interface 201. The communication resource control unit 210 can also receive input from the input device 205 and output to the monitor 206 via the input / output interface 201. Furthermore, it can transmit resource control packets, as described later, to the command device 100 and various packet forwarding devices 300 via the wired network interface 203.

[0018] (Packet forwarding device) Next, the configuration of the packet forwarding device will be described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the packet forwarding device 300 according to the first embodiment. The packet forwarding device 300 has multiple network interfaces 303, and the packet forwarding unit 310 can operate as a router and packet switch, forwarding packets received from one network interface 303 to another network interface 303. Furthermore, when the packet forwarding unit 310 operates as a Layer 3 router / switch, it has a standard IP routing table and can forward packets accordingly. The packet forwarding unit 310 can receive resource control packets from the communication control device 200 via any of the network interfaces 303 and perform QoS control such as securing / releasing communication resources and priority control accordingly.

[0019] (Packet format) Next, with reference to Figure 5, the packet format used in the communication resource control system of this disclosure will be described. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a packet format according to the first embodiment. The change notification packet 710 is a program in which the command monitor control unit 110 of the command device 100 notifies the communication resource control unit 210 of a change in the monitor being viewed by the commander. The packet type field 711 in the change notification packet 710 contains information indicating that the packet type of this packet is a change notification packet. The change time field 712 contains information about the time when the monitor was changed. The selected camera field 713 contains an ID that identifies the selected camera. For example, a MAC address or IP address can be used as the identification ID. The notification device ID field 714 may contain a notification device ID that identifies the notification device that notified the occurrence of the trouble. The notification device ID field 714 is optional and not a required element, but it can be used in the embodiments described later. For example, a MAC address or IP address can be used as the notification device ID.

[0020] Next, the resource control packet 720 is a packet that the communication resource control unit 210 transmits to the packet forwarding unit 310 of the packet forwarding device 300. This packet notifies the packet forwarding device 300 of a change in resource control during packet forwarding. The packet type field 721 within the resource control packet 720 contains information indicating that the packet type is a resource control packet. The selected camera field 722 contains an ID identifying the selected camera. The resource control command 723 contains instructions for resource control applied to that camera. Furthermore, a single resource control packet 720 can store instructions for resource control for multiple cameras; in this case, multiple pairs of selected camera fields 722 and resource control commands 723 will be stored.

[0021] (Table format) Next, the table format will be described with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the table format according to the first embodiment. The browsing history table 810 is an internal table of the communication resource control unit 210. The browsing history table 810 is updated when the communication resource control unit 210 receives a change notification packet 710 sent from the command monitor control unit 110. Specifically, the change time stored in the change time field 712 of the change notification packet 710 is stored in the change time field 811 of the browsing history table 810, and the change time stored in the selected camera field 713 of the change notification packet 710 is stored in the camera field 812 of the browsing history table 810. The browsing history table 810 is updated by adding these stored columns.

[0022] The viewing time table 820 is an internal table of the communication resource control unit 210. The viewing time table 820 shows the time each camera 400 was viewed on the monitor 106 of the command device 100 during each time slot. Each row of this table corresponds to a camera 400, and each column corresponds to a time slot. Here, a time slot is a period divided according to some rule based on the elapsed time since the occurrence of a problem was notified by the notification device. In the first embodiment, it is simply a period divided into fixed intervals of time. When a particular time slot ends, the communication resource control unit 210 refers to the viewing history table 810 to calculate the time the video of each camera 400 was viewed on the monitor 106, and updates the columns of the viewing time table 820.

[0023] The importance table 830 is an internal table of the communication resource control unit 210. The importance table 830 stores the importance of each camera in each time slot, with each row of this table corresponding to a camera 400 and each column corresponding to a time slot.

[0024] (Command Monitor Control Unit) Next, the command monitor control unit will be described with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the command monitor control unit 110 according to the first embodiment. When the command monitor control unit is activated (111), for example, when a commander in the command room switches the video feed of camera 400 that is being viewed using the input device 105 of the command device 100 (112), a change notification packet 710 is generated (113). The change time field 712 of this change notification packet 710 stores the time when the monitor was changed, and the selected camera field 713 stores an ID that identifies the selected camera. In the first embodiment, the camera identification ID is an IP address. Then, this change notification packet 710 is sent to the communication resource control unit 210 operating on the communication control device 200 (114). Thereafter, each time the camera data viewed using the input device 105 is switched, the process from 112 to 114 is repeated.

[0025] (Communication Resource Control Unit) Next, the communication resource control unit will be described with reference to Figure 8. Figure 8 is an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the communication resource control unit 210 according to the first embodiment. The communication resource control unit has two threads operating in parallel: thread 211 which waits for the receipt of change notification packets 710 transmitted by the command monitor control unit 110, and thread 231 which processes at time slot boundaries as time progresses.

[0026] Thread 211 is a thread that is started in response to a change notification packet. As explained in the table format in Figure 6, when it receives a change notification packet 710 (212), it stores the change time stored in the change time field 712 in the packet into the change time field 811 of the browsing history table 810, and stores the change time stored in the selected camera field 713 in the change notification packet 710 into the camera field 812 of the browsing history table 810, thereby adding a column to update the browsing history table 810 (213).

[0027] Thread 231 is a thread that starts after a notification of a problem has been triggered and a change notification packet has been received, triggered by time. It waits until the boundary between the current time slot and the next time slot has elapsed (232), and when the boundary time is reached, it calculates the time that each camera's video was viewed on monitor 106 from the viewing history table 810 for the time slot immediately preceding the boundary (current). Then it updates the column for the corresponding time slot in the viewing time table 820. Furthermore, for this time slot, it updates the importance of the corresponding time slot in the importance table 830 based on the corresponding time slot in the viewing time table 820 (233). Subsequently, it continues to refer to the column for the next time slot in the importance table 830 (234) and determines whether there are enough communication resources if resources are allocated to all cameras whose importance exceeds the threshold (235).

[0028] Here, the threshold may be a value set in advance by the network administrator or similar. Furthermore, the total amount of communication resources the network can tolerate and the amount of communication resources used by each camera are assumed to be pre-configured values.

[0029] If there are enough communication resources to allocate resources to all cameras whose importance exceeds the threshold (result of 235 is YES), then communication resources will be allocated to all cameras (236). If there are insufficient communication resources (result of 235 is NO), then communication resources will be allocated in order of importance, within the limits of the network's capacity (237). Based on these results, a resource control packet 720 is generated (238). In this packet, the selected camera field 722 stores an ID identifying the camera to which communication resources have been determined to be allocated, and the resource control command 723 stores the command "RESERVE" which means resource allocation.

[0030] Then, this resource control packet 720 is sent to all packet forwarding devices 300 in the system (239). After that, this thread 231 waits until the boundary of the next time slot (232) and repeats the same process thereafter.

[0031] (Packet forwarding section) Next, the packet forwarding unit will be described with reference to Figure 9. Figure 9 is an example of a flowchart showing the operation of the packet forwarding unit 310 according to the first embodiment. When the packet forwarding unit 310 is activated (311), it enters a state of waiting to receive a resource control packet 720 from the communication resource control unit 210. Upon receiving the resource control packet 720 (312), it confirms that the resource control command 723 for the camera specified in the selected camera field 722 is assigned the "RESEARVE" command, and secures communication resources for that camera (313).

[0032] To secure communication resources, existing methods should be used. For example, one possible method is to "secure the amount of traffic that can be forwarded by the packet forwarding device 300 for each specific traffic using bandwidth control, and use best-effort communication without guarantees on the remaining bandwidth for traffic other than the specified traffic," or to "prioritize the forwarding of specified traffic using priority control."

[0033] (Example of operation) Next, we will explain an example of operation with reference to Figures 10 and 11. Figure 10 is a network configuration diagram that serves as the basis for the example of operation. The command room 1 houses a command device 100, a communication control device 200, and a packet forwarding device 300A, all of which are connected to each other via a wired network. Furthermore, packet forwarding device 300A in the control room 1, packet forwarding device 300X in the station network 3X at station premises 2X, packet forwarding device 300Y in the station network 3Y at station premises 2Y, and packet forwarding device 300Z in the railway line network 5 are connected via the backbone network 4, enabling them to communicate with each other via packets.

[0034] Furthermore, cameras 400A and 400B are installed at station 2X within station X, and camera 400E is installed at station 2Y within station Y. In addition, two railway vehicles, 6M and 6N, are running along the line. Railway vehicle 6M is equipped with a packet forwarding device 300M and camera 400C inside the vehicle and is running from station Y to station X. On the other hand, railway vehicle 6N is equipped with a packet forwarding device 300N and camera 400D inside the vehicle and is running from station X to station Y.

[0035] Next, we will explain the operation when a problem occurs near camera 400A within station 2X of station X. Figure 11 is an example of a table format that explains the operation when a problem occurs near camera 400A within station 2X of station X. Figure 11 shows an example of the operation that generates the severity table 830-0. Let's assume that, starting with the occurrence of a problem, camera 400A is viewed first, then camera 400B is viewed 50 seconds later, and then camera 400A is viewed again at the switch time of 90, 40 seconds later. The viewing history table at this time will look like 810-0. If we assume that the length of time slot 1 is 100 seconds, then within time slot 1, camera 400A is viewed for 60 seconds and camera 400B for 40 seconds, so the column shown in time slot 1 of viewing time table 820-0 is generated. Let's assume that thereafter, by referring to the viewing history table in the same way, a viewing time table 820-0 consisting of four columns as shown in 820-0 is generated.

[0036] Here, the duration for time slots 2, 3, and 4 is set to 100 seconds, and the camera viewing rate for each time slot is used to generate the importance table 830-0 from the viewing time table 820-0. In this case, for example, during the 100 seconds of time slot 1, cameras 400A and 400B were viewed for 60 seconds and 40 seconds, respectively, so their importance levels are set to 0.6 and 0.4, and they are registered in the time slot 1 column of importance table 830-0. Similarly, importance table 830-0, consisting of four columns as shown in 830-0, is generated by referring to the viewing time table 820-0 thereafter.

[0037] Next, let's assume that after the importance table 830-0 has been set as described above, another problem occurs near camera 400A. At this time, the communication resource control unit 210, following the flowchart 231 in Figure 8, will allocate communication resources to the cameras 400 whose importance is above the threshold for the next time slot at the boundary of the time slot. This threshold is set in advance by the network administrator and is set to 0.3 in this embodiment. For example, in the importance table 830-0 in Figure 11, in time slot 2, cameras 400B and 400C have an importance threshold of 0.3 or higher, so communication resources will be allocated to these cameras 400B and 400C, and the communication resources for the other cameras will be released.

[0038] Then, in order to notify the packet forwarding device 300 of the result, the communication resource control unit 210 sends a resource control packet 720 to the packet forwarding device 300 (processing of sequence 239 shown in Figure 8). In this embodiment, the communication resource control unit 210 is assumed to have an internal packet forwarding device table 860 as shown in Figure 13. This table consists of a packet forwarding device field 861 and an IP address field 862. When sending the resource control packet 720, the communication resource control unit 210 sends the resource control packet 720 to all packet forwarding devices 300 listed in the packet forwarding device table 860.

[0039] In this embodiment, the packet forwarding unit 310 within the packet forwarding device 300, upon receiving the resource control packet 720, will use the existing priority control. Therefore, traffic from the IP address of the camera for which communication resources have been secured will be forwarded preferentially over other traffic. As an example, the packet forwarding unit 310 internally holds a Type of Service (TOS) value table 890 as shown in Figure 14. For IP traffic from the camera specified in the camera field 891, it rewrites the value set in the TOS field in the IP packet header to the value specified in the TOS value field 892 before forwarding, thereby achieving priority control. In the example of the TOS value table 890 in Figure 14, traffic from cameras 400B and 400C has a TOS value of "3," so it will be forwarded with a higher priority than other traffic with a TOS value of "0." From then on, packet forwarding will be performed with this setting until the next resource control packet 720 is received. Alternatively, the TOS value table 890 may be initialized when the next time slot arrives, and all traffic may be treated as having a TOS value of "0."

[0040] Furthermore, if the decision on communication resource control continues based on the importance table 830-0 for subsequent time slots, the result of communication resource allocation will be as shown in the communication resource allocation result 840 in Figure 11.

[0041] According to this embodiment, communication resources are preferentially allocated to cameras that are predicted to be needed in advance, based on the past experience of dispatchers viewing camera footage. Therefore, it is possible to avoid image quality degradation due to insufficient communication resources for high-priority cameras. In addition, dispatchers in control room 1 can simply switch monitors to troubleshoot problems using the same procedures as before the introduction of this system, and the necessary communication resource control procedures are stored in the form of a priority table, which can be used for future troubleshooting.

[0042] <Second Embodiment> Next, with reference to Figure 12, the configuration of the importance table according to the second embodiment of this disclosure will be described. Figure 12 shows an example of a plurality of importance tables according to the second embodiment of this disclosure. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the entire network shown in Figure 1 includes multiple importance tables, as shown in Figure 12. In the following description, components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are simplified or omitted.

[0043] In the second embodiment, multiple severity tables 830 are maintained, and depending on the trouble that occurs, a severity table 830 is selected, and communication resources are allocated based on it.

[0044] For example, in the second embodiment, different severity tables 830 are used for each event type based on the location and time of the trouble that triggers troubleshooting. Assume that multiple notification devices 450 (so-called emergency stop buttons) that notify of trouble occurrences are installed within the station premises 2X and 2Y in Figure 10. When a notification device 450 is used by station staff or passengers, it notifies the command device 100 of a signal. In response, the command monitor control unit 110 in the command device 100 displays the occurrence of trouble on the monitor 106 and stores the notification device ID of the notification device that sent the notification.

[0045] Subsequently, similar to the first embodiment, the camera being viewed by the commander is changed, and in response, the command monitor control unit 110 sends a change notification packet 710 to the communication resource control unit 210 (processing 114 of the sequence in Figure 7). At this time, the notification device ID (Option) stored in the notification device ID field 714 (Figure 5) within the change notification packet 710 is added before transmission. In the second embodiment, the communication resource control unit 210 has in advance an event type table 850 used to determine which severity table to refer to from among multiple severity tables (Figure 12). The event type table 850 classifies the event ID field 851 based on a notification device ID field 852 indicating which notification device 450 the trouble notification originated from, a time ID field 853 indicating the time period in which the event occurred, etc. Therefore, when the communication resource control unit 210 receives a change notification packet 710, it can refer to the event type table 850 to determine the event ID. As an example, the following explanation assumes that the event ID is determined using only the notification device ID, and that event ID = eve1 is determined.

[0046] The communication resource control unit 210, similar to the first embodiment, updates the browsing history table 810, the browsing time table 820, and the importance table 830 while determining communication resource control. Here, as shown in Figure 12, it selects the browsing history table 810-1 with event ID=eve1 from among the multiple browsing history tables 810-1, 810-2, and 810-3 and updates the browsing history table 810-1 (processing 213 in the sequence of Figure 8). Subsequently, it selects the browsing time table 820-1 with event ID=eve1 from among the multiple browsing time tables 820-1, 820-2, and 820-3 and updates the table. Similarly, it selects the importance table 830-1 with event ID=eve1 from among the multiple importance tables 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3 (processing 233 in the sequence of Figure 8) and determines the communication resource allocation (processing 234-238 in the sequence of Figure 8).

[0047] According to the second embodiment, a severity table appropriate to each type of trouble is generated based on the type of trouble that triggers the trouble-shooting activation, and communication resources can be controlled based on this table, enabling more situation-appropriate communication resource control.

[0048] <Third Embodiment> According to the disclosure described above, the severity table 830 is updated in response to the occurrence of an actual problem and constitutes a severity table 830 that is used for controlling communication resources in similar problems that occur thereafter. However, in the initial instance when the importance table has not been set, the importance table 830 does not exist and communication resource control is not performed (fair processing is performed for all cameras). For example, if a new notification device 450 is installed in station premises 2X, 2Y in Figure 10, the importance table 830 corresponding to the new notification device 450 will be added in a blank state, and communication resource control will not be performed the first time a problem is triggered by this new notification device 450.

[0049] Therefore, in the third embodiment, the system is configured so that on-site personnel or commanders can manually set at least one initial value in the browsing history table 810, browsing time table 820, and importance table 830 in advance using the input device 205, and communication resource control is possible based on this setting. According to this third embodiment, a new notification device 450 is installed, and even if there are no actual trouble incidents, the initial values ​​can be set based on on-site experience, making it possible to appropriately control communication resources from the moment a trouble first occurs.

[0050] <Fourth Embodiment> Next, with reference to Figure 13, the configuration of the packet forwarding device table according to the fourth embodiment of this disclosure will be described. Figure 13 shows an example of a packet forwarding device table according to the fourth embodiment of this disclosure. In the first embodiment, the communication resource control unit 210 transmitted resource control packets 720 to all packet forwarding devices 300 in the system based on the importance table 830, but the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, in order to reduce the number of resource control packets 720 transmitted, the communication resource control unit 210 transmits resource control packets 720 only to packet forwarding devices 300 that require the results of communication resource control. Specifically, resource control packets 720 will be notified only to packet forwarding devices 300 through which IP traffic from the camera 400, which is subject to communication resource allocation, will pass before reaching the command device 100. In the following description, components identical or equivalent to those in the first embodiment described above will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be simplified or omitted.

[0051] In the fourth embodiment, the communication resource control unit 210 internally maintains a packet forwarding table 870 (Figure 13) which is a table of "packet forwarding devices 300 that IP traffic from the target camera will pass through before reaching the command device 100". The packet forwarding table 870 consists of a camera field 871 that identifies the target camera and a corresponding packet forwarding device field 872. The packet forwarding table 870 is an example in the network shown in Figure 10, and for example, it means that the packet forwarding devices 300 that IP traffic from camera 400C (located in railway vehicle 6M) will pass through before reaching the command device 100 are packet forwarding devices 300M, 300Z, and 300A. When the communication resource control unit 210 transmits a resource control packet 720 (processing 239 in the sequence shown in Figure 8), it transmits it only to the specified packet forwarding devices. If necessary, the IP address of each packet forwarding device 300 can be obtained by referring to the packet forwarding device table 860 in Figure 13.

[0052] According to the fourth embodiment, the network load can be reduced by limiting the transmission of resource control packets 720. In particular, since the packet forwarding device 300 inside the vehicle uses wireless communication, the effect of reducing the network load by this embodiment is significant.

[0053] <Fifth Embodiment> Next, with reference to Figure 14, the configuration of the communication resource table according to the fifth embodiment of this disclosure will be described. Figure 14 shows an example of a communication resource table according to the fifth embodiment of this disclosure. In the first embodiment, a high priority was given to the traffic of cameras for which resources were secured by priority control, and the priority of the traffic of other cameras was given a lower priority to secure relative resources. The fifth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a certain amount of resources are secured for cameras for which resources have been secured, and best-effort resources are applied to other cameras. In the following description, components identical or equivalent to those in the first embodiment described above will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be simplified or omitted.

[0054] In the fifth embodiment, the packet forwarding unit 310 within the packet forwarding device 300 internally possesses the communication resource table 880 shown in Figure 14. When the packet forwarding unit 310 receives a resource control packet 720 transmitted from the communication resource control unit 210, for cameras for which resources have been allocated, it stores the camera field 881 of the communication resource table 880 in the camera specified in the selected camera field 722 of the resource control packet 720, and stores the throughput field 882 in the throughput value required to stream video from the camera. Then, it stores an entry with the priority field 883 set to "1" in the communication resource table 880, and updates the communication resource table 880 by adding the column in this way. The required throughput value is assumed to be set in advance as a configuration parameter. From this point forward, traffic from the camera specified in camera field 881 will be allocated the throughput specified in throughput field 882. On the other hand, other traffic, i.e., traffic other than that with the throughput specified by the communication resource table, will be best-effort communication using surplus resources other than those allocated for throughput.

[0055] According to the fifth embodiment, it becomes possible to accurately secure the communication resources required for each camera, and it becomes easier to ensure the necessary image quality for images from high-priority cameras.

[0056] (Hardware configuration) Next, with reference to Figure 15, an example of a hardware configuration for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The hardware configuration examples of the functional units such as the command monitor control unit 110, communication resource control unit 210, and packet forwarding unit 310 according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be configured in any suitable computing system. These functional units 500 include a storage device 501, memory 510, CPU 520, UI device 130, and communication device 140. These components can be interconnected via a bus 550.

[0057] The storage device 501 can be made up of an appropriate non-volatile storage element such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or a hard disk drive, and can store programs 502 and data 503. Furthermore, the memory 510 can be composed of volatile memory elements such as RAM. The CPU 520 may consist of one or more CPUs, or it may be a single CPU system. The CPU 520 executes programs, such as by reading programs 502 stored in the storage device 501 into the memory 510, and performs overall control of the device itself, as well as various judgments, calculations, and control processes. In other words, the command monitor control unit 110, the communication resource control unit 210, and the packet forwarding unit 310 each store a command monitor control program, a communication resource control program, and a packet forwarding program in their respective storage devices, and perform their functions as functional units by executing these programs.

[0058] The input / output interface 530 may include user output devices such as video display devices, speakers, and televisions, and user I / O devices such as user input devices such as keyboards, mice, keypads, touchpads, trackballs, buttons, light pens, or other pointing devices.

[0059] Network interface 540 corresponds to the wired network interfaces 103 and 203 and network interface 303 described in Figures 3 and 4.

[0060] The embodiments described above are explained in detail for the purpose of clearly illustrating the present invention and are not necessarily limited to those comprising all the configurations described. For example, it is possible to replace some of the configurations of the embodiments with other configurations, and it is also possible to add other configurations to the configurations of the embodiments. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace some of the configurations of the embodiments with other configurations.

[0061] Furthermore, this disclosure includes the following aspects: (Aspect 1) In a communication resource control system comprising a packet forwarding device that controls packet forwarding of a network to which multiple cameras are connected, a command device that controls monitors, and a communication control device that controls communication resources, The communication control device includes an importance table that defines the importance of the video for each time unit based on one or more historical items of time, period, or number of times the video was monitored and controlled by the command device. Communication resource control is performed to prioritize the allocation of communication resources to cameras that have captured images with an importance level in the aforementioned importance table that is above a predetermined threshold. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0062] (Aspect 2) In the communication resource control system described in Embodiment 1, The command device includes a command monitor control unit that generates a change notification packet and transmits it to the communication control device when the camera is changed on the monitor. The communication control device includes a browsing history table and a browsing time table, and a communication resource control unit that, upon receiving the change notification packet from the command monitor control unit, generates a resource control packet and transmits it to the packet forwarding device. The packet forwarding device includes a packet forwarding unit that, upon receiving the resource control packet, performs QoS control in response to the receipt of the resource control packet. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0063] (Aspect 3) In the communication resource control system described in Embodiment 2, The aforementioned communication resource control unit, Upon receiving the aforementioned change notification packet, the browsing history table is updated, and in parallel with this update, at regular time slots, the browsing time table and the importance table are updated based on the updated browsing history table, and a resource control packet is generated and transmitted to the packet forwarding device to allocate communication resources for cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold, based on the updated importance table. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0064] (Aspect 4) In the communication resource control system described in Embodiment 3, When the communication resource control unit generates the resource control packet, if allocating resources to all cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold would result in insufficient communication resources, it will allocate resources in order of importance. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0065] (Appendix 5) In the communication resource control system described in embodiments 2 to 4, The aforementioned communication control device includes multiple browsing history tables, browsing time tables, and importance tables for each event type. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0066] (Aspect 6) In the communication resource control system described in aspects 1 to 5, The initial values ​​in the aforementioned importance table can be set arbitrarily. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0067] (Aspect 7) In the communication resource control system described in embodiments 2 to 6, The communication control device includes a packet forwarding table which lists the packet forwarding devices that IP traffic from a camera to which communication resources are preferentially allocated passes through before reaching the command device, and transmits resource control packets only to the designated packet forwarding devices. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0068] (Pattern 8) In the communication resource control system described in embodiments 2 to 7, The packet forwarding unit of the packet forwarding device includes a communication resource table. The packet forwarding unit secures traffic with the throughput specified by the communication resource table, and for traffic other than the throughput specified by the communication resource table, it performs best-effort communication using surplus resources. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

[0069] (Aspect 9) In the communication resource control method in the communication resource control system described in Embodiment 1, When the command device controls the monitor, the command device transmits to the communication control device one or more historical items of the time, period, or number of times the video subject to monitor control. The communication control device updates the importance table based on the history information and preferentially allocates communication resources to cameras that have captured images with an importance level in the importance table equal to or higher than a preset threshold. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

[0070] (Aspect 10) In the communication resource control method described in Embodiment 9, The command device includes a command monitor control unit that generates a change notification packet and transmits it to the communication control device when the camera is changed on the monitor. The aforementioned communication control device includes a browsing history table and a browsing time table. When the communication control device receives the change notification packet from the command monitor control unit, it generates a resource control packet and transmits it to the packet forwarding device. When the packet forwarding device receives the resource control packet, it performs a step of QoS control in response to the receipt of the resource control packet. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

[0071] (Aspect 11) In the communication resource control method described in Embodiment 10, The communication resource control unit is Upon receiving the change notification packet, the following steps are performed: update the browsing history table; in parallel with this update step, update the browsing time table and the importance table based on the updated browsing history table at regular time slots; and based on the updated importance table, generate resource control packets to allocate communication resources for cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold, and send them to the packet forwarding device. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

[0072] (Aspect 12) In the communication resource control method described in Embodiment 11, The communication resource control unit, when generating the resource control packet, takes the step of determining whether there are enough communication resources if resources are allocated to all cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold. If it is possible to allocate resources to all cameras exceeding the threshold, resources are allocated to all cameras whose importance exceeds the threshold; if it is not possible to allocate resources to all cameras exceeding the threshold, resources are allocated in order of importance, from highest to lowest. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising: [Explanation of Symbols]

[0073] 100...Command device, 110...Command monitor control unit, 200...Communication control device, 210...Communication resource control unit, 300...Packet forwarding device, 303...Network interface, 310...Packet forwarding unit, 400...Camera

Claims

1. In a communication resource control system comprising a packet forwarding device that controls packet forwarding of a network to which multiple cameras are connected, a command device that controls monitors, and a communication control device that controls communication resources, The communication control device includes an importance table that defines the importance of the video for each time unit based on one or more historical items of time, period, or number of times the video was monitored and controlled by the command device. Communication resource control is performed to prioritize the allocation of communication resources to cameras that have captured images with an importance level in the aforementioned importance table that is above a predetermined threshold. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

2. In the communication resource control system according to claim 1, The command device includes a command monitor control unit that generates a change notification packet and transmits it to the communication control device when the camera is changed on the monitor. The communication control device includes a browsing history table and a browsing time table, and a communication resource control unit that, upon receiving the change notification packet from the command monitor control unit, generates a resource control packet and transmits it to the packet forwarding device. The packet forwarding device includes a packet forwarding unit that, upon receiving the resource control packet, performs QoS control in response to the receipt of the resource control packet. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

3. In the communication resource control system according to claim 2, The aforementioned communication resource control unit, Upon receiving the aforementioned change notification packet, the browsing history table is updated, and in parallel with this update, at regular time slots, the browsing time table and the importance table are updated based on the updated browsing history table, and a resource control packet is generated and transmitted to the packet forwarding device to allocate communication resources for cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold, based on the updated importance table. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

4. In the communication resource control system described in claim 3, When the communication resource control unit generates the resource control packet, if allocating resources to all cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold would result in insufficient communication resources, it will allocate resources in order of importance. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

5. In the communication resource control system according to claim 2, The aforementioned communication control device includes multiple browsing history tables, browsing time tables, and importance tables for each event type. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

6. In the communication resource control system according to claim 1, The initial values ​​in the aforementioned importance table can be set arbitrarily. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

7. In the communication resource control system according to claim 2, The communication control device includes a packet forwarding table which lists the packet forwarding devices that IP traffic from a camera to which communication resources are preferentially allocated passes through before reaching the command device, and transmits resource control packets only to the designated packet forwarding devices. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

8. In the communication resource control system according to claim 2, The packet forwarding unit of the packet forwarding device includes a communication resource table. The packet forwarding unit secures traffic with the throughput specified by the communication resource table, and for traffic other than the throughput specified by the communication resource table, it performs best-effort communication using surplus resources. A communication resource control system characterized by the following:

9. In the communication resource control method in the communication resource control system described in claim 1, When the command device controls the monitor, the command device transmits to the communication control device one or more historical items of the time, period, or number of times the video subject to monitor control. The communication control device updates the importance table based on the history information and preferentially allocates communication resources to cameras that have captured images with an importance level in the importance table equal to or higher than a preset threshold. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

10. In the communication resource control method described in claim 9, The command device includes a command monitor control unit that generates a change notification packet and transmits it to the communication control device when the camera is changed on the monitor. The aforementioned communication control device includes a browsing history table and a browsing time table. When the communication control device receives the change notification packet from the command monitor control unit, it generates a resource control packet and transmits it to the packet forwarding device. When the packet forwarding device receives the resource control packet, it performs QoS control in response to the receipt of the resource control packet. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

11. In the communication resource control method according to claim 10, The communication resource control unit is Upon receiving the change notification packet, the following steps are performed: update the browsing history table; in parallel with this update step, update the browsing time table and the importance table based on the updated browsing history table at regular time slots; and based on the updated importance table, generate resource control packets to allocate communication resources for cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold, and send them to the packet forwarding device. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

12. In the communication resource control method described in claim 11, The communication resource control unit, when generating the resource control packet, takes the step of determining whether there are enough communication resources if resources are allocated to all cameras whose importance exceeds a threshold. If it is possible to allocate resources to all cameras exceeding the threshold, resources are allocated to all cameras whose importance exceeds the threshold; if it is not possible to allocate resources to all cameras exceeding the threshold, resources are allocated in order of importance, from highest to lowest. A communication resource control method characterized by comprising:

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