360 Degree surveillance system and method

• US 20070097212A1
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: John Farneman
• Original Assignee: John Farneman
• Inventors: Farneman, John
• Application Number:
  US11/525,477
• Publication Number:
  US 20070097212A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A 360 degree surveillance system includes a 360-degree digital camera, a power source, a camera control system, a portable digital storage medium, a wireless communications system, and an archive digital storage medium. The digital camera has a fixed lens unit with a simultaneous 360-degree panoramic view, or a movable lens unit that is remotely controllable for pan, tilt and zoom. A remote control system is wirelessly linked to the wireless communications system. The wireless communications system sends the images to a computer network for viewing with a standard web browser, PDA, or dedicated monitoring system. The 360 degree surveillance system monitors an area with a camera; directs the camera with a control system; collects a plurality of images; stores the images on the portable storage medium; uploads the images to an archive storage medium; and creates a plurality of archived images on the archive storage medium.

Claims

1. A 360 degree surveillance system comprises:

a 360-degree field of view digital camera;

a power source attached to the digital camera;

a camera control system attached to the digital camera;

a portable digital storage medium attached to the digital camera and the power source;

a wireless communications system linked to the digital storage medium and the digital camera; and

an archive digital storage medium wirelessly linked to the wireless communications system.

2. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 1, where the digital camera has a fixed lens unit.

3. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 2, where the digital camera has a simultaneous 360-degree panoramic view.

4. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 1, where the digital camera has a movable lens unit.

5. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 4, where the movable lens unit is remotely controllable.

6. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 5, further comprising a remote control system wirelessly linked to the wireless communications system.

7. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 1, further comprising at least one acoustic sensor attached adjacent to the digital camera.

8. The 360 degree surveillance system of claim 5, further comprising a motion sensing system incorporated into the portable digital storage medium.

9. A method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system, comprising the steps of:

(a) monitoring an area with a digital camera;

(b) directing the digital camera with a camera control system;

(c) collecting a plurality of images;

(d) storing the plurality of images on the portable digital storage medium;

(e) automatically uploading the plurality of images to an archive digital storage medium; and

(e) creating a plurality of archived images on the archive digital storage medium.

10. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, where step (b) further comprises the step of:

(b1) automatically stewing the camera to track motion.

11. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, where step (b) further comprises the step of:

(b1) automatically slewing the camera to track sound.

12. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, where step (b) further comprises the step of:

(b1) manually slewing the camera.

13. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, where step (b) further comprises the step of:

(b1) selecting a camera with the camera control system.

14. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, where step (d) further comprises the step of:

(d1) assigning a unique identification code to each of the plurality of images.

15. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, where step (e) further comprises the step of:

(e1) detecting a link to the archive digital storage medium;

(e2) identifying which of the plurality of images have not been uploaded; and

(e3) uploading the identified images;

16. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

(g) accessing the archived images.

17. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 13, where step (b1) further comprises the step of:

(i) activating a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) control.

18. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 17, where the PTZ control is a graphical user interface having a plurality of direction buttons.

19. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 17, where the PTZ control is a joystick.

20. The method of operating a 360 degree surveillance system of claim 15, where step (e) further comprises the step of:

(e4) erasing the uploaded images from the portable digital storage medium.