Network camera system and control method therefore

• US 20060255986A1
• Filed: 05/04/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sato, Hiroshi, Mitarai, Yusuke, Matsugu, Masakazu, Takanezawa, Tetsuhiro, Mori, Katsuhiko, Kato, Masami, Ohsawa, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,938 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 341/67
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/196 using television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2624 for obtaining an image which is composed of whole input images, e.g. splitscreen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A network camera system is provided that detects an occurrence of a condition change at a periphery of an image pickup apparatus, obtains a direction of the detected condition change, and notifies a user of the occurrence of the condition change and a direction of the condition change on a display of a terminal device.

Claims

1. A network camera system configured to display an image picked up by an image pickup apparatus on a terminal device via a network, the system comprising:

a detection unit configured to detect an occurrence of a condition change at a periphery of the image pickup apparatus;

an obtaining unit configured to obtain a direction of the condition change that is detected by the detection unit; and

a notification unit configured to notify an occurrence of the condition change and the direction of the condition change relative to a shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus on a display of the terminal device.

2. The network camera system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device displays a predetermined icon or an image in a superposed manner so as to show the direction of the condition change.

3. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device displays the icon or the image in a superposed manner in a direction of the condition change relative to a center of a video display area of the terminal device.

4. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device displays scroll bars that represent an operational range and a current value with respect to panning and tilting of the image pickup apparatus and the icon or the image at a position corresponding to a condition change area on the scroll bars.

5. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein the icon has a shape that can specify the direction of the condition change.

6. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein the icon or the image corresponds to a kind of the condition change.

7. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the icons or the images is displayed in a superposed manner in a number of the condition changes.

8. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein the icon or the image is not displayed in the superposed manner if an image of the condition change area is included in a video display area of the terminal device.

9. The network camera system according to claim 2, wherein in displaying the icon or the image in the superposed manner, a size of the icon or the image can be changed.

10. The network camera system according to claim 1,

wherein the image pickup apparatus displays an image picked up after changing a shooting direction on the terminal device via the network, and

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the direction of the condition change relative to the shooting direction.

11. The network camera system according to claim 10, wherein the detection unit comprises at least one of an optical sensor, a voice sensor, and a temperature sensor or a combination thereof.

12. The network camera system according to claim 10, wherein the image of the condition change area is cut off from an image of all areas previously picked up and stored that can be photographed by the image pickup apparatus.

13. The network camera system according to claim 10, wherein the terminal device is configured to control the image pickup apparatus via the network and change the shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus to the direction of the condition change by selecting the icon or the image.

14. The network camera system according to claim 1,

wherein the image pickup apparatus cuts off an arbitrary area of the photographed image and displays the cut off area on the terminal device via the network;

wherein the obtaining unit obtains the direction of the condition change relative to the cut off area.

15. The network camera system according to claim 14, wherein the detection unit includes one of an optical sensor, a voice sensor, a temperature sensor, or an image analysis unit or a combination thereof.

16. The network camera system according to claim 14, wherein the image is the cut off image of the condition change area.

17. The network camera system according to claim 14, wherein the image displayed on the terminal device can be changed to the cut off an image of the area that includes the condition change area by selecting the icon or the image.

18. A method for controlling a network camera system configured to display an image picked up by an image pickup apparatus on a terminal device via a network, the method comprising:

detecting an occurrence of a condition change at a periphery of the image pickup apparatus;

obtaining a direction of the condition change that is detected by the detection unit; and

notifying an occurrence of the condition change and the direction of the condition change relative to a shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus on a display of the terminal device.

19. An image pickup apparatus adapted to send a photographed image to a terminal device via a network, the apparatus comprising:

a detection unit configured to detect an occurrence of a condition change at a periphery of the image pickup apparatus;

an obtaining unit configured to obtain a direction of the condition change that is detected by the detection unit or information for obtaining the direction of the condition change; and

a transmission unit configured to transmit to the terminal device an occurrence of the condition change relative to a shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus and the direction of the condition change or the information for obtaining the direction of the condition change.

20. A terminal device adapted to receive and display an image picked up by an image pickup apparatus via a network, the device comprising:

an obtaining unit configured to obtain a direction of a condition change at a periphery of the image pickup apparatus; and

a notification unit configured to notify an occurrence of the condition change and the direction of the condition change relative to a shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus on a display of the terminal device.

21. A computer readable medium containing computer-executable instructions, the medium utilizable in an image pickup apparatus adapted to transmit a photographed image to a terminal device via a network, the medium configured to cause the terminal device to perform processing, the medium comprising:

computer-executable instructions for detecting an occurrence of a condition change at a periphery of the image pickup apparatus;

computer-executable instructions for obtaining a direction of the condition change that is detected or information for obtaining the direction of the condition change; and

computer-executable instructions for transmitting to the terminal device an occurrence of the condition change relative to a shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus and the direction of the condition change or the information for obtaining the direction of the condition change.

22. A computer readable medium containing computer-executable instructions, the medium utilizable in a terminal device configured to receive and display an image picked up by an image pickup apparatus via a network, the medium comprising:

computer-executable instructions for obtaining a direction of a condition change at a periphery of the image pickup apparatus; and

computer-executable instructions for notifying an occurrence of the condition change and the direction of the condition change relative to a shooting direction of the image pickup apparatus on a display of the terminal device.

23. An image taking apparatus comprising:

an image taking unit configured to take an image and output an image signal of the image;

a sensor unit configured to detect information about an area wider than an image angle of the image taking unit;

an extraction unit configured to extract a subject candidate at least out of the information obtained by the sensor unit; and

a determination unit configured to determine whether the extracted subject candidate is in or out of an image taking area of the image taking unit based on the information from the sensor unit and an image angle of the image taking unit.

24. The image taking apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the extraction unit extracts the subject candidate by further using the image signal output from the image taking unit.

25. The image taking apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising a notification unit configured to notify a result determined by the determination unit.

26. The image taking apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising a moving member detecting unit configured to detect whether the subject candidate is a moving member, and if it is determined that the subject candidate is a moving member, output movement anticipation information;

wherein the notification unit further notifies the movement anticipation information;

wherein the movement anticipation information includes at least one of information about a movement speed and direction of the subject candidate, time until the subject candidate is framed-out to the outside of the image taking area if the subject candidate is in the image taking area of the image taking unit, and time until the subject candidate is framed-in to the inside of the image taking area if the subject candidate is outside of the image taking area of the image taking apparatus.

27. The image taking apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the notification unit is a display unit, and indicates the subject candidate with a marker.

28. The image taking apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the notification unit is a sound output unit and notifies the determined result by sound.

29. The image taking apparatus according to claim 25, wherein, if the subject candidate is out of the image taking area of the image taking unit, the notification unit notifies a positional relationship between the image taking unit and the image taking area.

30. The image taking apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising a control unit configured to control the image taking unit so that the subject candidate enters the image taking area of the image taking apparatus if it is determined that the subject candidate is out of the image taking area.

31. The image taking apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the sensor unit is one of an image taking unit, a sound receiving unit, a temperature sensor, or an infrared sensor.

32. The image taking apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the image taking unit and the sensor unit are configured to select an output area of an image signal from the same image taking element.