Network camera and network image surveillance system

• US 10,069,889 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2014
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hanwha Vision Company Limited (Hanwha Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hanwha Techwin Co., Ltd. (Hanwha Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Hak Je
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Widhalm de Rodriguez, Angela M
• Application Number:
  US14/509,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20150195324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,427 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/12 Shortest path evaluation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/48 Routing tree calculation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A network camera and a network image surveillance system including the network camera are provided. The network camera may include: an image and audio encoding unit configured to convert an optical image incident from a lens, compress an audio signal from a microphone in a predetermined format, and generate compressed streaming data by encoding the converted image and the compressed audio signal; a network controlling unit configured to monitor an input and output status of the compressed streaming data, control a configuration of a packet of the compressed streaming data in accordance with a network quality of system (QoS), control synchronizing the compressed streaming data with a video frame, and transmit the synchronized streaming data; and a network routing unit configured to route input and output of the data via at least one network port and implement redundancy by using a Spanning Tree Protocol (STP).

Claims

1. A network camera comprising:

an image and audio encoding unit configured to convert an optical image incident from a lens, compress an audio signal from a microphone in a predetermined format, and generate compressed streaming data by encoding the converted image and the compressed audio signal;

a network controlling unit configured to monitor an input and output status of the compressed streaming data, control a configuration of a packet of the compressed streaming data in accordance with a network quality of system (QoS), control synchronizing the compressed streaming data with a video frame and transmit the synchronized streaming data; and

a network routing unit configured to route input and output of the compressed streaming data via at least one network port and implement redundancy by using a Spanning Tree Protocol (STP),

wherein the network routing unit comprises;

an internal port configured to communicate internally with the network controlling unit; and

two external ports configured to communicate with network communication units including two physical layers, and transmit the compressed streaming data received from the network controlling unit via the internal port to the network communication units via a first external port from among the two external ports, the compressed streaming data being transmitted to an external port of a second network camera via the first external port of the network camera, and the compressed streaming data being sequentially transmitted from a network camera that is farthest from a network camera performing a root router function to an adjacent camera during a predetermined time, and

wherein the two external ports are further configured to transmit, if an error occurs in the first external port, the compressed streaming data via a second external port from among the two external ports in a routing direction opposite to a direction in which the compressed streaming data is transmitted via the first external port.

2. The network camera of claim 1, wherein a plurality of network cameras select the network camera performing the root router function from among the plurality of network cameras by exchanging a Configuration Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) frame in synchronization with a video frame, and network cameras connected to the network camera performing the root router function set a routing port and a routing direction based on a root path cost.

3. The network camera of claim 2, wherein the two external ports are used as the routing port.

4. The network camera of claim 2, wherein the plurality of network cameras form a ring topology structure.

5. The network camera of claim 1, wherein the physical layer is implemented by using an optical cable.

6. The network camera of claim 1, wherein the physical layer is implemented by using an Ethernet cable.

7. The network camera of claim 1, wherein the network controlling unit further comprises a memory configured to store the compressed streaming data transmitted by the image and audio encoding unit.

8. The network camera of claim 1, wherein the network controlling unit is further configured to control a priority of the compressed streaming data according to whether the compressed streaming data is an I frame, a B frame, or a P frame.

9. The network camera of claim 1, wherein the network routing unit is further configured to perform a network distribution by supporting a virtual local area network (VLAN) function.

16. The network camera of claim 1, wherein a network camera performing a root router function is identified via a process of exchanging a root path cost by using a Bridge identifier (ID) in a Configuration Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) frame and a cost table.

10. A network image surveillance system comprising:

a server;

a monitoring terminal;

a switch; and

at least one network camera,

wherein the at least one network camera comprises;

an image and audio encoding unit configured to generate compressed streaming data by converting an optical image incident from a lens, compressing an audio signal received from a microphone in a predetermined format, and encoding the converted optical image and the compressed audio signal;

a network controlling unit configured to monitor and receive an input and output status of the compressed streaming data, control a configuration of a packet of the received compressed streaming data in accordance with a network quality of system (QoS), and transmit the compressed streaming data in synchronization with a video frame of the image; and

a network routing unit configured to route an input and output of the data via at least one network port and implement redundancy by using a Spanning Tree Protocol (STP),

wherein the server, the monitoring terminal, the switch, and the at least one network camera form a ring topology structure,

wherein the network routing unit comprises an internal port configured to communicate internally with the network controlling unit, and two external ports configured to communicate with the network communication units including two physical layers and transmit data received from the network controlling unit via the internal port to the network communication units via a first external port from among the two external ports, the data being transmitted to an external port of a second network camera via the first external port of the at least one network camera, and the data being sequentially transmitted from a network camera that is farthest from a network camera performing a root router function to an adjacent camera during a predetermined time, and

wherein the two external ports are further configured to transmit, if an error occurs in the first external port, data via a second external port from among the two external ports in a routing direction opposite to a direction in which the data is transmitted via the first external port.

11. The network image surveillance system of claim 10, wherein a plurality of network cameras select the network camera performing the root router function from among the plurality of network cameras by exchanging a Configuration Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) frame in synchronization with a video frame of the image, and the network cameras connected to the network camera performing the root router function set a routing port and a routing direction based on a root path cost.

12. The network image surveillance system of claim 11, wherein, if a network is disconnected during transmitting data to the set routing port in the set routing direction, a new network camera performing a root router function is selected by using the STP, and a new routing port and a new routing direction are set based on a BPDU frame transmitted by the network camera performing the root router function.

13. The network image surveillance system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of network cameras form a ring topology structure.

14. The network image surveillance system of claim 10, wherein the physical layer is implemented by using an optical cable.

15. The network image surveillance system of claim 11, wherein the two external ports are used as the routing port.

17. The network image surveillance system of claim 10, wherein a network camera performing a root router function is identified via a process of exchanging a root path cost by using a Bridge identifier (ID) in a Configuration Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) frame and a cost table.