Patent ID: 7697025

Claim:
A monitoring system for monitoring a predetermined location, comprising: an entire image display portion for storing in a storage unit image data derived from a first camera unit capable of taking images from different imaging directions, and position information associated with each set of image data, said entire image display portion displaying either compressed images of said image data having been compressed from said first camera unit or compressed images of said image data read from said storage unit and then being compressed, at a position based on position information associated with a set of said displayed image data, with the position information of a respective set of image data being assembled therein; a specified image display portion for deriving moving image data from a second camera unit capable of taking images from changeable directions and displaying said moving image data; and a movement range image display portion for storing in a storage unit image data, derived from different positions from said first camera unit over all image-taking directions in a maximum movement range thereof, with position information associated with each set of said image data derived from different positions from said first camera unit over all image-taking directions in a maximum movement range thereof, said third image display portion displaying either compressed images of said image data derived from the first camera unit over all image-taking directions in a maximum movement range thereof having been compressed from said first camera unit or compressed images of said image data derived from the first camera unit over all image-taking directions in a maximum movement range thereof read from said storage unit and then being compressed, at a position based on associated position information, with the position information of a respective set of said image data sets derived from the first camera unit over all image-taking directions in a maximum movement range thereof being assembled therein, wherein a predetermined range is selected with a first indicating display and superimposed on said entire image display portion, and said moving image data is derived within said predetermined range, wherein the movement range image display portion does not display all images from the first camera unit that are within the movement range, the movement range image display portion displays only particular images within the movement range the particular images selected from the group consisting of images showing four sides of the movement range, images showing the four corners of the movement range, and images showing the four corners and center of the movement range, and wherein the movement range image display portion, the entire image display portion, and the specified image display portion are displayed simultaneously in mutually different regions that do not overlap one another.