Home security system

• US 20030098789A1
• Filed: 11/21/2002
• Published: 05/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Security Video Camera Systems Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shintani, Yasuyuki, Murakami, Takashi, Aizu, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 6,759,957 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/506
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19634 Electrical details of the system, e.g. component blocks for carrying out specific functions
• 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: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19663 Surveillance related processing done local to the camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19673 Addition of time stamp, i.e. time metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system
• 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 25/06 using power transmission lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A home security system which includes sensors 11 to 18 that detect an alarming situation in different locations inside a facility, cameras 21 to 26 that capture images of different locations inside a facility, and a controller 30 that memorizes the associations between sensors 11 to 18 and cameras 21 to 26, and when any of the sensors 11 to 18 detects an alarming situation, has cameras that are associated with the sensors that have detected an alarming situation capture images based on the associations, and also updates the memorized associations.

Claims

1. A home security system that monitors an inside of a facility comprising:

a plurality of detection units operable to detect an alarming situation in different locations inside the facility;

a plurality of image capturing units operable to capture an image in different locations inside the facility;

an association memory unit operable to memorize associations between a plurality of the detection units and a plurality of the image capturing units;

an updating unit operable to update the associations memorized in the association memory unit; and

a control unit operable to, when one of a plurality of the detection units detects an alarming situation, have the image capturing unit which is associated with the detection unit that detects the alarming situation capture an image based on the associations memorized in the association memory unit.

2. The home security system according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of the detection units, a plurality of the image capturing units and the control unit communicate each other via an electric power line.

3. The home security system according to claim 2 further comprising an image display unit,

wherein the image capturing unit sends image data that indicates content of the captured image to the image display unit, and

the image display unit displays the image captured by the image capturing unit based on the image data.

4. The home security system according to claim 3,

wherein the association memory unit memorizes a plural sets of the associations,

the updating unit selects one of the plural sets of the associations, and

the control unit has the image capturing unit which is associated with the detection unit that detects an alarming situation capture an image based on the selected set of associations.

5. The home security system according to claim 4 further comprising a server that communicates with the image display unit and provides an image via a communication line,

wherein the image display unit sends the image data obtained from the image capturing unit to the server, and

the server provides the image based on the image data to a device that accesses the server via the communication line.

6. The home security system according to claim 5 further comprising a cellular phone that obtains the image data from the server by accessing the server via the communication line and displays the image based on the image data.

7. The home security system according to claim 6,

wherein the server communicates with the updating unit via the communication line, and

the cellular phone specifies one of the plural sets of the associations and directs the updating unit via the server to select the specified set of the associations.

8. The home security system according to claim 6,

wherein the cellular phone directs the updating unit via the server to update an association in a set of the associations.

9. The home security system according to claim 5,

wherein the server communicates with the updating unit via the communication line and notifies a device that accesses the server via the communication line of the set of the associations selected by the updating unit.

10. The home security system according to claim 4,

wherein the updating unit updates an association in a set of the associations.

11. The home security system according to claim 4,

wherein the updating unit notifies a plurality of the detection units of the set of the associations currently selected, and

the detection unit includes an informing device that informs the set of the associations based on the notification.

12. The home security system according to claim 4,

wherein the updating unit notifies a plurality of the image capturing units of the set of the associations currently selected, and

the image capturing unit includes an informing device that informs the set of the associations based on the notification.

13. The home security system according to claim 4,

wherein the image capturing unit specifies one of the plural sets of the associations and directs the updating unit to select the specified set of the associations.

14. The home security system according to claim 3,

wherein the image capturing unit compresses the image data before sending the image data to the image display unit.

15. The home security system according to claim 14,

wherein the image capturing unit notifies the image display unit of a data size of the image data, and

the image display unit judges whether it is necessary to compress the image data or not based on the notification, and when the image display unit judges that compressing is necessary, calculates necessary compression ratio and directs the image capturing unit to compress the image data in the compression ratio.

16. The home security system according to claim 3,

wherein the image capturing unit divides the image data before sending.

17. The home security system according to claim 16,

wherein when the image capturing unit sends each of the divided image data separately, the image capturing unit sends the image data which includes identification information that indicates a number for identifying each of the divided image data.

18. The home security system according to claim 1,

wherein the image capturing unit captures an image of a scene viewed within a range of approximately 180 degree angle in a horizontal direction.

19. The home security system according to claim 1,

wherein the detection unit is equipped with a human body detection sensor that detects a human body.

20. The home security system according to claim 1,

wherein the updating unit updates an association memorized in the association memory unit based on an interaction with a user.

21. A monitoring method in a home security system for monitoring an inside of a facility including a plurality of detection units operable to detect an alarming situation in different locations inside the facility and a plurality of image capturing units operable to capture an image in different locations inside the facility, the monitoring method comprising:

a memorizing step for memorizing in advance associations between a plurality of the detection units and a plurality of the image capturing units in a memory unit;

an updating step for updating the associations memorized in the memory unit; and

an image capturing step for, when one of a plurality of the detection units detects an alarming situation, having the image capturing unit which is associated with the detection unit that detects the alarming situation capture an image based on the associations memorized in the memory unit.

22. The monitoring method according to claim 21,

wherein the home security system includes a control unit operable to perform the image capturing step, and

a plurality of the detection units, a plurality of the image capturing units and the control unit communicate each other via an electric power line.

23. The monitoring method according to claim 22 further comprising:

an image transmission step for sending image data that indicates content of the captured image from the image capturing unit to an image display unit; and

a displaying step for the image display unit to display the image captured in the image capturing step based on the image data.

24. The monitoring method according to claim 23,

wherein in the memorizing step, a plural sets of the associations are memorized in the memory unit,

in the updating step, one of the plural sets of the associations is selected, and

in the image capturing step, the image capturing unit which is associated with the detection unit that detects an alarming situation captures an image based on the selected set of associations.

25. The monitoring method according to claim 24 further comprising:

a server transmission step for the image display unit to send the image data obtained in the image transmission step to a server; and

an image provision step for the server to provide the image based on the image data to a device that accesses the server via a communication line.

26. The monitoring method according to claim 25 further comprising:

an access step for a cellular phone to access the server via the communication line;

an image data obtaining step for the cellular phone to obtain the image data from the server; and

an image display step for the cellular phone to display the image based on the image data.

27. The monitoring method according to claim 26 further comprising a selection direction step for the cellular phone to specify one of the plural sets of the associations and to have the specified set of the associations be selected in the updating step.

28. The monitoring method according to claim 24,

wherein in the updating step, an association is updated in a set of the associations.

29. The monitoring method according to claim 23 further comprising a compression step for the image capturing unit to compress the image data before sending the image data to the image display unit.

30. The monitoring method according to claim 29 further comprising:

a size notification step for the image capturing unit to notify the image display unit of a data size of the image data;

a judging step for the image display unit to judge whether it is necessary to compress the image data or not based on the notification;

a calculation step for the image display unit to calculate necessary compression ratio when the image display unit judges that compressing is necessary in the judging step; and

a compression direction step for the image display unit to direct the image capturing unit to compress the image data in the compression ratio.

31. The monitoring method according to claim 23 further comprising a dividing and transmitting step for the image capturing unit to divide the image data before sending.

32. A program for a home security system for monitoring an inside of a facility including a plurality of detection units operable to detect an alarming situation in different locations inside the facility and a plurality of image capturing units operable to capture an image in different locations inside the facility, the program comprising:

a memorizing step for memorizing in advance associations between a plurality of the detection units and a plurality of the image capturing units in a memory unit;

an updating step for updating the associations memorized in the memory unit; and

an image capturing step for, when one of a plurality of the detection units detects an alarming situation, having the image capturing unit which is associated with the detection unit that detects the alarming situation capture an image based on the associations memorized in the memory unit.

33. The program according to claim 32,

wherein the home security system includes a control unit operable to perform the image capturing step, and

a plurality of the detection units, a plurality of the image capturing units and the control unit communicate each other via an electric power line.

34. The program according to claim 33 further comprising:

an image transmission step for sending image data that indicates content of the captured image from the image capturing unit to an image display unit; and

a displaying step for the image display unit to display the image captured in the image capturing step based on the image data.

35. The program according to claim 34,

wherein in the memorizing step, a plural sets of the associations are memorized in the memory unit,

in the updating step, one of the plural sets of the associations is selected, and

in the image capturing step, the image capturing unit which is associated with the detection unit that detects an alarming situation captures an image based on the selected set of associations.

36. The program according to claim 35 further comprising:

a server transmission step for the image display unit to send the image data obtained in the image transmission step to a server; and

an image provision step for the server to provide the image based on the image data to a device that accesses the server via a communication line.

37. The program according to claim 36 further comprising:

an access step for a cellular phone to access the server via the communication line;

an image data obtaining step for the cellular phone to obtain the image data from the server; and

an image display step for the cellular phone to display the image based on the image data.

38. The program according to claim 37 further comprising a selection direction step for the cellular phone to specify one of the plural sets of the associations and to have the specified set of the associations be selected in the updating step.

39. The program according to claim 35,

wherein in the updating step, an association is updated in a set of the associations.

40. The program according to claim 34 further comprising a compression step for the image capturing unit to compress the image data before sending the image data to the image display unit.

41. The program according to claim 40 further comprising:

a size notification step for the image capturing unit to notify the image display unit of a data size of the image data;

a judging step for the image display unit to judge whether it is necessary to compress the image data or not based on the notification;

a calculation step for the image display unit to calculate necessary compression ratio when the image display unit judges that compressing is necessary in the judging step; and

a compression direction step for the image display unit to direct the image capturing unit to compress the image data in the compression ratio.

42. The program according to claim 34 further comprising a dividing and transmitting step for the image capturing unit to divide the image data before sending.