Streaming and storing video for audio/video recording and communication devices

• US 10,158,902 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2017
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roth, Joshua, Phillips, Trevor, Gluckman, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Ricky
• Application Number:
  US15/715,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20180091569A1
• Time in Patent Office: 448 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19619 Details of casing
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19665 Details related to the storage of video surveillance data television signal recording H04N5/76
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19669 Event triggers storage or change of storage policy
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19695 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors start video recording or forwarding but do not generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/414 Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/186 : Video door telephones

Abstract

Streaming and storing video for audio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure are provided. In one embodiment, a method for an A/V recording and communication device comprises: recording video image data; executing a write operation to write the video image data at a write rate; executing a read operation to read the video image data at a first read rate that is greater than the write rate; continuing to read the video image data at the first read rate until the read operation catches up to the write operation; reading the video image data at a second read rate equal to the write rate; and transmitting streaming video to a client device, wherein a beginning portion of the streaming video is streamed at a first stream rate and thereafter streaming at a second stream rate less than the first stream rate.

Claims

1. A method for an audio/video (A/V) recording and communication device, the A/V recording and communication device including a camera, a processor, a memory, and a communication module, the method comprising:

recording, with the camera, video image data of an area about the A/V recording and communication device;

executing, by the processor, a write operation to write the video image data into the memory at a write rate;

while writing the video image data into the memory, detecting an event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device;

after detecting the event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device, executing, by the processor, a read operation to read the video image data out of the memory at a first read rate that is greater than the write rate, and the processor continuing to write the video image data into the memory at the write rate;

the processor continuing to read the video image data out of the memory at the first read rate until the read operation catches up to the write operation;

after the read operation catches up to the write operation, the processor reading the video image data out of the memory at a second read rate equal to the write rate, and the processor continuing to write the video image data into the memory at the write rate;

transmitting, by the communication module, streaming video to a client device, wherein a beginning portion of the streaming video is streamed at a first stream rate and thereafter the streaming video is streamed at a second stream rate less than the first stream rate, and wherein the A/V recording and communication device comprises a doorbell having a front button.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first stream rate is equal to the first read rate and the second stream rate is equal to the second read rate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a rolling buffer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the read operation begins at a beginning of the rolling buffer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the rolling buffer comprises a plurality of blocks, and the beginning of the rolling buffer comprises whichever of the blocks contains an oldest portion of the video image data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, with the communication module, a connection request to a network device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device comprises detecting that the front button of the doorbell has been pressed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device comprises detecting motion.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the A/V recording and communication device further comprises a speaker and a microphone.

10. An audio/video (A/V) recording and communication device, comprising:

a camera configured to record video image data of an area about the A/V recording and communication device;

a memory;

a communication module configured to transmit streaming video to a client device; and

a processor;

wherein the processor is configured to

execute a write operation to write the video image data into the memory at a write rate;

while writing the video image data into the memory, detect an event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device;

after detecting the event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device, execute a read operation to read the video image data out of the memory at a first read rate that is greater than the write rate, and continue to write the video image data into the memory at the write rate;

continue to read the video image data out of the memory at the first read rate until the read operation catches up to the write operation; and

after the read operation catches up to the write operation, read the video image data out of the memory at a second read rate equal to the write rate, and continue to write the video image data into the memory at the write rate;

wherein the communication module is configured to stream a beginning portion of the streaming video to the client device at a first stream rate and thereafter to stream the streaming video to the client device at a second stream rate less than the first stream rate, wherein the A/V recording and communication device comprises a doorbell having a front button.

11. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 10, wherein the first stream rate is equal to the first read rate and the second stream rate is equal to the second read rate.

12. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 10, wherein the memory comprises a rolling buffer.

13. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 12, wherein the read operation begins at a beginning of the rolling buffer.

14. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 13, wherein the rolling buffer comprises a plurality of blocks, and the beginning of the rolling buffer comprises whichever of the blocks contains an oldest portion of the video image data.

15. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 10, wherein the communication module is further configured to send a connection request to a network device.

16. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 10, wherein detecting the event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device comprises detecting that the front button of the doorbell has been pressed.

17. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 10, wherein detecting the event in the area about the A/V recording and communication device comprises detecting motion.

18. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 10, further comprising a speaker and a microphone.