Dual lens camera unit

• US 10,075,681 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2014
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digital Ally Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Digital Ally Incorporated
• Inventors: Ross, Stanton E., Han, Peng
• Primary Examiner(s): DANG, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US14/517,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20150063776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 386223-224, 386239-248, 386228-229
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19645 Multiple cameras, each having view on one of a plurality of scenes, e.g. multiple cameras for multi-room surveillance or for tracking an object by view hand-over
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 15/026 by using processor, e.g. microcomputer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to a portable digital video system sized to be worn on the user'"'"'s body and equipped with a plurality of lens assemblies for recording video in a plurality of directions. In one embodiment, the invention includes a camera unit comprising a first lens assembly, a second lens assembly, a first housing containing the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly, a battery unit, a first storage memory, controller circuitry operable to receive video data from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly and store the video data in the first storage memory, and a second housing containing the battery unit and attached via a cable to the first housing unit. In some embodiments, the system is equipped with both volatile and non-volatile memory for continuous recording with permanent storage of key video segments.

Claims

1. A camera unit comprising:

a first lens assembly having a first optical axis;

a second lens assembly having a second optical axis;

a unitary, tubular lens housing containing both the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly,

wherein the second lens assembly is rotatably mounted inside the lens housing such that the second optical axis is configured to allow manual rotation about only a single axis of rotation relative to the first optical axis,

wherein the single axis of rotation is perpendicular to the first optical axis and perpendicular to the second optical axis,

a mounting clip permanently secured to the lens housing and configured to selectively secure the lens housing to the body of a law-enforcement officer;

a battery unit;

a first storage memory;

a second storage memory;

controller circuitry operable to;

receive video data from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly and store the video data and a timestamp for synchronizing the video data in the first storage memory; and

a battery housing containing the battery unit and attached via a cable to the lens housing.

2. The camera unit of claim 1, wherein the controller circuitry and first storage memory are located in the battery housing.

3. The camera unit of claim 1, further comprising an attached head-mounted display and wherein the controller circuitry is further operable to display video data on the head-mounted display.

4. The camera unit of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to:

receive a triggering signal; and

transfer, upon receiving the triggering signal, video data from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly from the first storage memory to the second storage memory,

wherein the triggering signal is received in response to a triggering event selected from the set consisting of a siren activation, a light bar activation, an accelerometer reading, a positional reading, a velocity reading, and a vehicle crash event.

5. The camera unit of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to:

receive a triggering signal; and

transfer, upon receiving the triggering signal, video data from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly from the first storage memory to the second storage memory,

wherein the triggering signal is received in response to a triggering event selected from the set consisting of a gunshot detection and a holster event.

6. The camera unit of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to:

receive a triggering signal; and

transfer, upon receiving the triggering signal, video data from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly from the first storage memory to the second storage memory,

wherein the triggering signal is received in response to a triggering event selected from the set consisting of a face detection event and a face recognition event.

7. The camera unit of claim 1, further comprising an RFID tag.

8. The camera unit of claim 1, wherein the lens housing has a miniaturized form factor.

9. The camera unit of claim 1, wherein the second optical axis is configured to allow rotation less than 360 degrees with respect to the first optical axis.

10. The camera unit of claim 9, wherein the angle of the second optical axis with respect to the first optical axis is constrained between 45 degrees and 315 degrees.

11. The camera unit of claim 9, wherein the angle of the second optical axis with respect to the first optical axis is constrained between 90 degrees and 270 degrees.

12. A method of controlling the operation of a camera unit comprising the steps of:

simultaneously storing imagery from a first lens assembly and a second lens assembly to a first storage memory,

wherein the second lens assembly is rotatably mounted inside a unitary, tubular lens housing such that the second optical axis is configured to allow manual rotation about only a single axis of rotation relative to the first optical axis,

wherein the single axis of rotation is perpendicular to the first optical axis and perpendicular to the second optical axis,

receiving a trigger signal in response to a triggering event;

transferring the imagery from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly from the first storage memory to a second storage memory;

storing a timestamp for synchronizing the imagery in the second storage memory; and

storing, in response to the trigger signal, said imagery from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly in the second storage memory.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the triggering event is selected from the set consisting of a siren activation, a light bar activation, an accelerometer reading, a positional reading, a velocity reading, and a vehicle crash event.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the triggering event is selected from the set consisting of a gunshot detection event and a holster event.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the triggering event is selected from the set consisting of a face detection event and a face recognition event.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of storing an identifier associated with the camera unit with the imagery from the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly.

17. A dual-lens camera apparatus, comprising:

a unitary, tubular lens housing including a plurality of non-paraxial lens assemblies,

wherein a first lens assembly and a second lens assembly of the plurality of non-paraxial lens assemblies have non-overlapping fields of view,

wherein the second lens assembly is rotatably mounted inside the lens housing such that the second optical axis is configured to allow manual rotation about only a single axis of rotation relative to the first optical axis,

wherein the single axis of rotation is perpendicular to the first optical axis and perpendicular to the second optical axis;

a mounting clip permanently secured to the lens housing and configured to selectively secure to the body of a law-enforcement officer;

a battery housing connected by a cable to the lens housing and providing power thereto;

a volatile memory; and

a non-volatile memory,

wherein the non-volatile memory stores video data simultaneously recorded by the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly and a timestamp for synchronizing the video data

wherein the video data simultaneously recorded by the first lens assembly and the second lens assembly is transferred to and stored in the non-volatile memory upon a triggering signal related to a triggering event.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the non-volatile memory is located in the battery housing.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a head-mounted display operable to display imagery from at least one of the plurality of lens assemblies.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a head mount assembly attachable to the lens housing.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising at least one supplementary sensor providing non-audiovisual data.