Elevator security systems and security methods

Abstract

This invention provides an elevator security system and method that can reliably detect cargo misplacement and easily provide evidence images. [Solution] The system includes an in-car camera that takes images of the inside of the elevator car, an impact sensor that detects an impact occurring inside the elevator car, a camera image storage unit that stores camera images captured by the in-car camera, an evidence image storage unit that, when an impact exceeding a certain value is detected by the impact sensor, extracts and stores camera images before and after the impact as evidence images from the camera image storage unit, and a notification unit that notifies the building manager or security company when an impact exceeding a certain value is detected by the impact sensor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator security system and a security method.

Background Art

[0002] When carrying luggage using an elevator, so-called "luggage impact" may occur where the luggage in transit hits the car wall or car door, damaging or breaking the wall or door. There are even cases where the elevator is damaged or even destroyed by such "luggage impact". Also, there are cases of intentional damage. Such acts of damaging the elevator not only give a bad impression in terms of design, but may also affect the safe operation of the elevator depending on the damaged location.

[0003] Conventionally, a system for monitoring the inside of the elevator car using a surveillance camera installed inside the elevator car is known. For example, a device that issues an alarm to the user and transmits data to the server when an impact is applied to the installed items inside the car, and a method of detecting the rampage of passengers with a camera and increasing the resolution of the recorded video of the camera have been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the conventional example, based on the image of the in-car camera, when luggage approaches, a warning is issued from the in-car display device, or when the rampage of passengers is detected by the camera, the video is recorded. It does not detect acts of directly damaging or destroying the elevator.

[0006] Furthermore, even if surveillance cameras are installed in elevators, there is a problem in that damage cannot be recognized until the damage to the elevator is actually inspected.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide an elevator security system and security method that can reliably detect when a load is placed on the elevator and can easily provide evidence images. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An embodiment for achieving the above objective comprises an in-car camera, an impact sensor, a camera image storage unit, an evidence image storage unit, and a notification unit.

[0009] An in-car camera captures images of the inside of the elevator car, and an impact sensor detects impacts inside the car. When an impact is detected, the camera images captured by the in-car camera are stored in the camera image storage unit. If the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, camera images before and after the impact are stored as evidence images in the evidence image storage unit. If the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, the building manager or security company is notified. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A diagram showing a first embodiment of an elevator security system to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] A block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment. [Figure 3] A flowchart showing the processing procedure of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] A diagram showing a second embodiment of an elevator security system to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 5] A flowchart showing the processing procedure of the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] <First Embodiment> Configuration of the First Embodiment As shown in Figure 1, a security camera 2 is installed inside the elevator car 1 located at the upper rear of the car, collecting camera images of the inside of the car 1. A door camera 4 is installed above the car door 3, capturing images of the area from around door 3 to the landing area when passengers board and alight. An in-car control panel 5 and an in-car speaker 6 are installed on the wall next to door 3. An impact sensor 7 is installed below the in-car control panel 5, which detects impact sounds, such as when a passenger 8 collides a trolley 9 with door 3. Note that the location of the impact sensor 7 is not limited to below the in-car control panel 5, but can be anywhere that can detect impact sounds inside the elevator car.

[0012] The in-car security camera 2, door camera 4, in-car control panel 5, in-car speaker 6, and impact sensor 7 are each connected to the elevator control device 10.

[0013] The elevator control device 10 includes a camera image recording unit 11, an evidence image storage unit 12, an impact sound detection unit 13, a notification unit 14, a warning sound output unit 15, and a two-dimensional code creation unit 16.

[0014] The camera image recording unit 11 records camera images captured by the in-car security camera 2 and the door camera 4 during normal operation.

[0015] When the impact sensor 7 detects an impact, the evidence image storage unit 12 stores the camera images in the camera image recording unit 11 from a few minutes before to a few minutes after the impact as evidence images.

[0016] The impact sound determination unit 13 receives impact sound data from the impact sensor 7 and determines whether the impact sound is above a predetermined value. If an impact sound above a predetermined value is detected, it extracts camera images from the camera image recording unit 11 from several minutes before to several minutes after the detection and stores them as evidence images in the evidence image storage unit 12.

[0017] When the impact sound determination unit 13 detects an impact sound equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the notification unit 14 notifies the administrator terminal 20 and the remote monitoring center 30 that an impact has occurred inside the car 1.

[0018] When an impact is detected, the warning sound output unit 15 notifies the user 8 inside the car 1 through the in-car speaker 6.

[0019] The two-dimensional code creation unit 16 issues a URL or a two-dimensional code that can view the evidence image in the evidence image storage unit 12.

[0020] 《Processing Procedure of the First Embodiment》 During the normal operation of the elevator, the in-car security camera 2 or the door camera 4 records the in-car camera image (S). Also, the impact sensor 7 monitors whether an impact has been detected (S2).

[0021] When the impact sensor 7 detects an impact, the camera image is extracted from the camera image recording unit 11 from several minutes before to several minutes after the detection and stored as an evidence image in the evidence image storage unit 12 (S3).

[0022] Next, the notification unit 14 notifies the administrator terminal 20 of the impact detection (S4). It also notifies the remote monitoring center 30. Furthermore, if necessary, the warning sound output unit 15 notifies the user 8 inside the car 1 through the in-car speaker 6.

[0023] When the evidence image is recorded, the two-dimensional code creation unit 16 issues a URL or a two-dimensional code that can view the image (S5).

[0024] The notification unit 14 sends the created URL or two-dimensional code to the administrator terminal 20 and the remote monitoring center 30 (S6).

[0025] When the recording area of the camera image recording unit 11 is full (S7 YES), the old image is deleted (S8).

[0026] Thus, according to the first embodiment, impact can be reliably detected by camera images when an impact occurs, and evidence images before and after the impact can be easily provided as evidence by accumulating them. Furthermore, since a two-dimensional code generation unit 16 is provided that issues a URL or two-dimensional code that allows viewing of the evidence images in the evidence image storage unit 12, the evidence images can be easily viewed from the administrator terminal 20 or the remote monitoring center 30.

[0027] <Second Embodiment> 《Configuration of the Second Embodiment》 As shown in Figure 4, a landing camera 41 is installed at the landing 40, and a building entrance camera 44 is installed at the building entrance 43 of the building 42. In addition, a parking lot camera 46 is installed in the parking lot 45. The camera images from these landing cameras 41, building entrance camera 44, and parking lot camera 46 are supplied to the building-side security system 50 and stored as security images.

[0028] The image analysis unit 31 of the remote monitoring center 30 performs image analysis based on the evidence images stored in the evidence image storage unit 12 of the elevator control device 10 and the security images stored in the building-side security system 50 to identify the user 8 who placed the load.

[0029] Processing procedure of the second embodiment Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the processing on the basket 1 side is the same as the flowchart shown in Figure 3, so its explanation is omitted.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4, during normal operation, the landing camera 41 captures images of the area around the landing 40. The building entrance camera 44 captures images of the area near the building entrance. The parking lot camera 46 captures images of the parking lot 45. The captured data is output as camera images to the building-side security system 50.

[0031] When the impact sensor 7 inside the elevator car 1 detects an impact (S11YES), the remote monitoring center 30 receives the camera images from the elevator control device 10, specifically from the in-car security camera 2 and the door camera 4 (S12).

[0032] Additionally, camera images from the landing camera 41, building entrance camera 44, and parking lot camera 46 are input from the building-side security system 50 (S13).

[0033] The image analysis unit 31 analyzes each input camera image to identify the user 8 who placed the load (S14). Then, it stores them as evidence images (S15).

[0034] Thus, according to the second embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, impact can be reliably detected by camera images when an impact occurs, and evidence can be easily provided by accumulating evidence images before and after the impact. In particular, according to the second embodiment, since it can be linked with the building-side security system 50, the reliability of the evidence images is improved.

[0035] The image analysis unit 31 may be located within the elevator control device 10 instead of the remote monitoring center 30. In this case, the elevator control device 10 is connected to the building-side security system 50 and receives images from the landing camera 41, the building entrance camera 44, and the parking lot camera 46.

[0036] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1...Car, 2...In-car security camera, 3...Door, 4...Door camera, 5...In-car control panel, 6...In-car speaker, 7...Impact sensor, 8...User, 9...Cart, 10...Elevator control device, 11...Camera image recording unit, 12...Evidence image storage unit, 13...Impact sound detection unit, 14...Notification unit, 15...Warning sound output unit, 16...2D code creation unit, 20...Manager terminal, 30...Remote monitoring center, 31...Image analysis unit, 40...Landing, 41...Landing camera, 42...Building, 43...Building entrance, 44...Building entrance camera, 45...Parking lot, 46...Parking lot camera, 50...Building-side security system

Claims

1. An in-car camera that takes images inside the car, An impact sensor detects when an impact occurs inside the cage, A camera image storage unit that stores camera images captured by the in-car camera, When the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, the evidence image storage unit extracts and stores camera images from the camera image storage unit as evidence images before and after the time of the impact, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the building manager or security company when the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, An elevator security system that, when the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, uses the in-car camera to capture an image of the face of the user who caused the impact and identify the user.

2. An in-car camera that takes images inside the car, An impact sensor detects when an impact occurs inside the cage, A camera image storage unit that stores camera images captured by the in-car camera, When the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, the evidence image storage unit extracts and stores camera images from the camera image storage unit as evidence images before and after the time of the impact, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the building manager or security company when the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, An elevator security system that, when an impact exceeding a certain value is detected by the aforementioned impact sensor, works in conjunction with a building-side security system having building-side security cameras installed in and around the building to track and identify the user who caused the impact using camera images from the in-car camera and the building-side security cameras.

3. The elevator security system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an access information notification unit that generates access information to make the evidence images in the evidence image storage unit viewable and notifies the administrator or security company of this information.

4. The elevator security system according to claim 3, wherein the access information is a URL or a two-dimensional code.

5. The elevator security system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the notification unit outputs a voice alert to the user inside the elevator car when the impact sensor detects an impact.

6. The inside of the elevator car is imaged by an in-car camera. The impact sensor detects the impact inside the car, Camera images captured by the aforementioned in-car camera are stored, When the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, camera images taken before and after the impact are stored as evidence images. If the aforementioned impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, it will notify the building manager or security company responsible for managing the building. An elevator security method in which, when an impact exceeding a certain value is detected by the impact sensor, the in-car camera captures an image of the face of the user who caused the impact and identifies the user.

7. The inside of the elevator car is imaged by an in-car camera. The impact sensor detects the impact inside the car, Camera images captured by the aforementioned in-car camera are stored, When the impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, camera images taken before and after the impact are stored as evidence images. If the aforementioned impact sensor detects an impact exceeding a certain value, it will notify the building manager or security company responsible for managing the building. An elevator security method in which, when an impact exceeding a certain value is detected by the aforementioned impact sensor, the system works in conjunction with a building-side security system having building-side security cameras installed in and around the building to track and identify the user who caused the impact using camera images from the in-car camera and the building-side security cameras.

Images