Automatic surveillance camera equipment and alarm system

Abstract: A automatic surveillance camera equipment contains an infrared ray detecting sensor (1) having a plurality of sensing zones and for detecting an intruder within a watching area and transmitting its signal to a control device, a control device (2) for sending a command signal to a camera unit (5) in response to the signal from the infrared ray detecting sensor, the camera unit supplying a response signal to a camera (7) in response to the command signal from the control device. The camera synchronizes a strobe (8) and the camera shutter with each other by the response signal from the camera unit, automatically shoots, and automatically rewinds a film. These parts are together in a protective case. The equipment performs photography of an intruder on each of the sensing zones of the infrared sensor when the intruder enters the watching area. An alarm system is directly communicated to the outside through a telephone line to transmit a signal.

Description: Field of The Invention The present invention relates to a automatic surveillance camera equipment which can shoot a plurality of sensing zones one by one by using an infrared ray detecting sensor, and relates to an alarm system including said equipment. Description of The Related Art Hitherto, crime-prevention camera systems have been employed which shoot watching areas by using video cameras or movie cameras at periodic intervals. In addition, crime-prevention camera systems also have been employed which sense entering of an intruder by a sensor, send a signal to a crime-prevention camera through a control device to film the intruder. Such a device is described in JP-A-3 020 728. GB 2 202 954 describes such a device which also simultaneously transmits an alarm to a control center, and JP-A-4 218 888 describes such a device with a back-up power unit. However, in the case of the above method which shoots a watching area with a conventional video camera or movie camera at periodic intervals, unnecessarily wasteful pictures frequently have been shot. Moreover, in the method using a video camera, a watching area of shooting needs illuminating always at a required level, and resolution of an image which is formed by a signal is low, thus, it is difficult to ascertain a person etc. shown in the photograph even if he is in proper illuminance, and there is also a problem in that the photograph is difficult to be accepted as legitimate evidence. In addition, in the conventional system, the automatic surveillance camera equipment takes one or more pictures continuously at its position every time of sensing, but can not shoot at a position where the intruder has moved further. There also has been a problem its function stops when electrical wiring is cut off by an intruder. The present inventor has studied about the above-mentioned. problems, and has found that photography may be properly, safely performed by containing an infrared ray detecting sensor having a plurality of sensing zones, a control device, a camera unit, and a camera and so on together in a protective case even if an intruder moves, thus the present invention has been attained. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a automatic surveillance camera equipment as described in claim 1. When an intruder enters a watching area, the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention allows an infrared ray detecting sensor which has a plurality of sensing zones and senses an object over a wide range, to detect an intruder every time the intruder moves from a zone to another zone and to send a signal to a control device, thereby, the device feeds a command signal to a camera unit, then the camera unit transmits a response signal to a camera in response to the command signal, the camera shoots a predetermined number of pictures by synchronizing a strobe and a camera shutter with each other, thus a variety of information of his figure and attitude shown by him within a watching area, can be exactly obtained. Additionally, the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention may house major devices such as an infrared ray detecting sensor, a control device, a camera unit, a camera etc. together in a protective case, and may further contain a battery in the protective case if necessary. Moreover, the equipment also may be interlinked so that an alarm bell sounds when an intruder touches a protective case to break the equipment, there is therefore no possibility that the system may be smashed by the intruder. In the case where an emergency battery is built into an equipment, which is operative even if power supply from outside stops in power failure and so on, then the equipment's function is never disabled even though wiring is cut by an intruder. The automatic surveillance camera equipment usually operates the above infrared ray detecting sensor and control device by connecting them to an outside power source, and a built-into battery automatically starts to operate each of the devices in the equipment in an emergency, e.g., when an intruder cuts off its wiring to an outside power source. The automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention can obtain distinct images by a negative color film, and also can shoot pictures of an intruder without being suspected by him, with an infrared strobe and film being charged. Moreover, a camera records a date, hour, and minute of his intrusion on the film, which may be therefore presented as evidence. And further, an exposed roll film preferably may be automatically rewound so as to be hold in a patrone when another film is loaded into a camera, thus enabling the exposed film to be protected in case of breakage of the camera, and a voltage applied to a strobe preferably is raised to about 3⊘⊘ volts so as to strengthen the lighting to be able to shoot up to a more distant range, this threatening an intruder and also has an effect of preventing the equipment from being damaged by the intruder. In addition, the operations such as starting and release are performed by employing a ciphered identification number system with a ten-key pad to prohibit being used by outsiders, and it is also possible to operate an equipment from outside by using an outside light emitting device (for example, an infrared ray emitting device) and transmitting a signal to a light-receiving section (element) equipped with the automatic surveillance camera equipment, instead of wiring. Additionally, the automatic surveillance camera equipment maybe incorporated into a transmitting/receiving system, which includes a receiver for automatically receiving a signal of a notice from an infrared ray detecting sensor through a transmitter over a telephone line, for accumulating data from its information, and for performing an indication and printing corresponding to a predetermined processing of data. The system allows direct connection to a manager being outside, a security company, and a police station, thus a crime-prevention system of a larger scale also may be formed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a situation where a automatic surveillance camera equipment A according to the present invention is arranged. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing components of the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of an embodiment of the automatic surveillance camera equipment A according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing sensing zones of a pyroelectricity type infrared ray detecting sensor used in the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention. Fig. 5 (a), Fig. 5 (b) and Fig. 5 (c) are side views showing sensing zones of a pyroelectricity type infrared ray detecting sensor used in the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention will be described in more detail in reference with illustrative embodiments hereafter, while it is not limited to those embodiments. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a situation where a automatic surveillance camera equipment A according to the present invention is arranged. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing components of the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of an embodiment of the automatic surveillance camera equipment A according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a pyroelectricity type infrared ray detecting sensor having a plurality of sensing zones, which senses infrared rays radiated from a body of an intruder 13 when the intruder 13 enters a watching area, then sends a signal to a control device 2, and an alarm bell 3 simultaneously sounds by a command signal from the control device 2. In addition, the control device 2 notifies a control center 11 through a telephone line such as NTT (Nippon Telegram and Telephone Corporation) synchronous with sending a command signal 4 to a camera unit 5 in response to the signal transmitted from the infrared ray detecting sensor 1. On receiving the notice, the control center 11 notifies their user 12 by telephone and requests dispatch of a patrol car. The camera unit 5 transmits a signal to a camera 7 when receiving the command signal 4 from the control device 2, then automatically performs photography by synchronizing a strobe 8 and a camera shutter each other. In response to the signal from the camera unit 5, the camera 7 pursues the intruder 13 at several times every time when the intruder 13 moves within the watching area, so as to take predetermined number of picture of his figures and attitudes continuously. The infrared ray detecting sensor 1 preferably has a plurality of sensing zones, and a thermal type sensor such as a thermopile, a thermistor bolometer, and a pyroelectricity element can be usually used. Especially, a pyroelectricity type infrared ray detecting sensor includes a three-dimensional watching area, for example, as shown in Fig. 4 , Fig. 5 (a), Fig. 5 (b) and Fig. 5 (c), and more particularly includes sensing zones B at every predetermined angle X respectively, over a horizontal range as shown in Fig. 4 of a plan view, and sensing zones C at each of predetermined angle Y 1 , Y 2 , Y 3 , ...,respectively, over a vertical range as shown in Fig. 5 of a side view. In particular, a passive infrared ray detecting sensor may be used as a pyroelectricity type infrared ray detecting sensor. Moreover, depending on the situation of a mounting position of the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention, it is also possible to set the maximum watching distance in the horizontal direction or in the vertical direction. As the infrared ray detecting sensor can sense an intruder every time when he moves between sensing zones, using the infrared ray detecting sensor allows taking a plurality of pictures of his figures and attitudes within a watching area at a variety of angle. The camera 7 is in such a way that an exposed roll film may be automatically rewound so as to be automatically held in a patrone when another film is loaded into the camera. Moreover, a date, hour, and minute of the photography is automatically recorded on the exposed film, and a pilot lamp lights on when automatically continuous photography has been completed. The camera 7 is equipped with a rated 3⊘⊘ volts strobe 8 so as to supply electric power raised to 3⊘⊘ volts. Alternatively, the camera, strobe, and so on can be replaced with an infrared camera and infrared strobe which are capable of shooting even in a dark field condition. In addition, the equipment of the embodiment contains all major devices such as the infrared sensor 1, control device 2, camera unit 5, camera 7, strobe 8, battery 14 etc. within the protective case 9 together in order to prevent the automatic surveillance camera from being broken down or removed by an intruder 13. When the intruder touches with protective case 9 to break down the case 9, a vibration sensor(is not shown) operates and threatening alarm bell 1⊘ sounds to make him escape. Moreover, each of said devices can start and operate with the aid of a backup device including a built-in charging battery 14 even in power outage, and also the equipment can cope with the situation when wiring is cut off by an intruder. A negative color film is loaded in camera 7 so as to shoot the intruder exactly. In Fig. 3, reference numeral 15 shows a light-receiving section (element). The light-receiving section 15 is equipped with the automatic surveillance camera equipment A, and it is possible to operate the camera equipment A from outside by transmitting a signal from an outside light emitting device (not shown) to the light-receiving section 15. In the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention, the infrared ray detecting sensor senses an intruder when he enters, then transmits a command signal to the camera unit through the control device, and the camera quickly responds to the command signal and can fast performs automatically continuous photography of distinct image pictures having high resolution without overlooking any minute evidence by synchronizing the strobe and camera shutter each other. Especially, the infrared ray detecting sensor of the present invention has a plurality of sensing zones which can sense over a wide angle, senses and outputs a signal every time when an intruder moves between zones, therefore, the sensor is very effective in catching motion of the intruder exactly in all its directions and grasping his figures and behavior. The automatic surveillance camera equipment of the present invention does not take a plurality of pictures of the same attitude at a time of sensing continuously like a conventional crime-prevention camera system, but shoots only when the intruder moves between zones, thus, film can be economically used. When an intruder enters in night, a strobe and a camera shutter are synchronized each other by a command signal transmitted from an infrared sensor even in the darkness where there is no illuminating facilities, then distinct pictures of high resolution may be obtained. Loading an infrared film and infrared strobe enables photography to be made without being suspected by an intruder. Additionally, the automatic surveillance camera equipment according to the present invention contains major devices such as an infrared sensor, a control device, a camera, a camera unit, a strobe etc. together in a protective case, and further a battery in the protective case if necessary, and this allows wiring to the outside of the equipment to be unnecessary, then can prevent the equipment from being in function failure due to cutting off wiring by an intruder, and also costs of wiring may be reduced.

Claims: An automatic surveillance camera equipment, comprising: an infrared ray detecting sensor (1) for detecting an intruder within a watched area and transmitting an output signal to a control device; a camera unit (5) having a camera (7) and a strobe unit (8), a control device (2) for sending command signals to the camera unit (5) in response to signals from the infrared ray detecting sensor (1) ; the camera unit (5) supplying control signals to the camera (7) in response to the command signals from the control device (2); the camera synchronizing the strobe and the camera shutter with each other on the control signals from the camera unit (5) to effect automatic camera shooting; characterized by:- the sensor (1) being adapted to sense in a plurality of sensing zones, whereby the equipment is arranged to perform photography of an intruder in each of the sensing zones of the infrared ray detecting sensor when the intruder enters the watched area. An automatic surveillance camera equipment according to claim 1 having a built-in battery (14) which operates automatically when an exterior power supply stops. An automatic surveillance camera equipment according to claim 1 or claim 2 having a protective case (9) accommodating the infrared ray detecting sensor (1), the control device (2), and the camera unit (5). An automatic surveillance camera equipment according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a film is automatically rewound when another film is loaded in the camera (7), and said exposed film is automatically held into a patrone. An automatic surveillance camera equipment according to any one of the preceding claims having an alarm bell (10) which operates simultaneously when an intruder enters the watched area. An automatic surveillance camera equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 4 further comprising a vibration sensor and an alarm bell (10) which are operative when an intruder touches the protective case.

Inventors: AMAIKE MASAHIKO, NAGASHIMA HISAO, NAGASHIMA HOGARA, SAKAI YOSHIKAZU, AMAIKE,MASAHIKO, NAGASHIMA, HISAO, NAGASHIMA, HOGARA, SAKAI, YOSHIKAZU
Applicants: NGK INSULATORS LTD, NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G08B15
IPC codes: G08B15, G08B13, H04N7, G08B21, G03B15