Method for generating a flexible display field for a video surveillance systesm

• US 20070074129A1
• Filed: 06/12/2006
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Baumann, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 7,797,640 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A method for generating a flexible display field on a monitor includes providing a display field with a main window, into which a plurality of information windows are incorporatable and which has a basic grid with a regular raster, allocating individual grid fields to a respective information window for displaying in an assigned grid field, setting a grid stage of a basic field via a central first user control device for the main window, switching the main window between a regular grid occupancy in which a size of each incorporated information window corresponds to a size of one grid field of the basic field, and an irregular grid occupancy in which a size of at least one information window corresponds to a size of an integral multiple of one grid field of the basic grid, and initiating a switchover of a user by a selection and a change in size of an information window and also a video management system and a software program are provided.

Claims

1. A method for generating a flexible display field on a monitor, comprising the steps of providing a display field with a main window, into which a plurality of information windows are incorporatable and which has a basic grid with a regular raster;

allocating individual grid fields to a respective information window for displaying in an assigned grid field;

setting a grid stage of a basic field via a central first user control device for the main window;

switching the main window between a regular grid occupancy in which a size of each incorporated information window corresponds to a size of one grid field of the basic field, and an irregular grid occupancy in which a size of at least one information window corresponds to a size of an integral multiple of one grid field of the basic grid; and

initiating a switchover of a user by a selection and a change in size of an information window.

2. A method as defined in claim 1;

and further comprising providing, for the change in size, two user control devices; and

assigning a second user control device to each information window.

3. A method as defined in claim 2;

and further comprising embodying the second user control device as a frame which is variable interactively in size by a computer mouse, of the information window.

4. A method as defined in claim 3;

and further comprising effecting the switchover as soon as the frame is dragged with the computer mouse along a diagonal of an adjacent grid field.

5. A method as defined in claim 3;

and further comprising, on crossing over a user-controllable corner of the frame, visually highlighting the corner.

6. A method as defined in claim 1;

and further comprising assigning the information windows in terms of data to grid spaces in the basic grid or another matrix; and

preserving this assignment if at least one of the grid stage and the grid occupancy is modified.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein at a transition from the regular grid occupancy to the irregular grid occupancy, hiding a portion of the information windows by an enlarged information window.

8. A method as defined in claim 1;

and further comprising embodying the information windows at least in part with a video image field.

9. A method as defined in claim 8;

and further comprising providing the information window, besides a video image field, with an additional field selected from the group consisting of an information field control field, a user control field, and both.

10. A method as defined in claim 9;

and further comprising embodying the additional field as information strips with one vertical strip and one horizontal strip.

11. A method as defined in claim 10;

and further comprising configuring an element selected from the group consisting of the information window, the video image field, information strips and combinations thereof, with a uniform width-to-height ratio.

12. A method as defined in claim 11;

and further comprising selecting the uniform width-to-height ratio of 4;

3.

13. A video management system having a first interface for parallel in feeding from a plurality of video sources, and a second interface for connection to display device, said video management system being configured to operate in accordance with a method comprising the steps of providing a display field with a main window, into which a plurality of information windows are incorporatable and which has a basic grid with a regular raster;

allocating individual grid fields to a respective information window for displaying in an assigned grid field;

setting a grid stage of a basic field via a central first user control device for the main window;

switching the main window between a regular grid occupancy in which a size of each incorporated information window corresponds to a size of one grid field of the basic field, and an irregular grid occupancy in which a size of at least one information window corresponds to a size of an integral multiple of one grid field of the basic grid; and

initiating a switchover of a user by a selection and a change in size of an information window.

14. A video management system as defined in claim 13, wherein said video management system is embodied as a system selected from the group consisting of a personal computer with an insertable card, an embedded system, and a server that is capable of networking.

15. A software program with program code means, configured for performing a method comprising the steps of providing a display field with a main window, into which a plurality of information windows are incorporatable and which has a basic grid with a regular raster;

allocating individual grid fields to a respective information window for displaying in an assigned grid field;

setting a grid stage of a basic field via a central first user control device for the main window;

switching the main window between a regular grid occupancy in which a size of each incorporated information window corresponds to a size of one grid field of the basic field, and an irregular grid occupancy in which a size of at least one information window corresponds to a size of an integral multiple of one grid field of the basic grid; and

initiating a switchover of a user by means of a selection and a change in size of an information window, wherein the program is executed on a computer.