Image data transfer processor and surveillance camera system

• US 20070177015A1
• Filed: 01/30/2007
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd. (Winbond Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hatano, Toshinobu, Takakura, Kentaro, Nagata, Taichi, Arakawa, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 7,876,360 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

An image data processor converts an image signal into an image data. The multi-codec unit converts the image data into a transfer data. A communication unit receives a transfer request from an outside terminal device and transmits the transfer data to the outside terminal device. A time-sharing control unit controls to drive the image data processor and the multi-codec unit in a time-sharing manner in accordance with the transfer request. A transfer data selecting unit for selecting the transfer data corresponding to the transfer request from a group of the transfer data generated by the image data processing unit and the multi-codec unit which are controlled to drive in the time-sharing manner by the time-sharing management unit, and transmitting the selected transfer data to the communication unit

Claims

1. An image data transfer processor comprising:

an image data processing unit for converting an image signal into an image data;

a multi-codec unit for converting the image data into a transfer data;

a communication unit for receiving a transfer request from an external terminal device and transmitting the transfer data to the terminal device;

a time-sharing management unit for controlling to drive the image data processing unit and the multi-codec unit in a time-sharing manner in accordance with the transfer request; and

a transfer data selecting unit for selecting the transfer data corresponding to the transfer request from the transfer data generated by the image data processing unit and the multi-codec unit which are controlled to drive in the time-sharing manner by the time-sharing management unit, and transmitting the selected transfer data to the communication unit.

2. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the time-sharing management unit controls to drive the image data processing unit and the multi-codec unit in the time-sharing manner based on a cycle equal to or shorter than a frame cycle of the image signal in accordance with the transfer request.

3. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the multi-codec unit converts the image data into the transfer data through compressing the image data.

4. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the image signal is a plurality of image signals.

5. The image data transfer processor according to claim 4, wherein

the image signal is a plurality of image signals obtained by a plurality of photographing devices.

6. The image data transfer processor according to claim 5, wherein

the time-sharing management unit generates a photographing control signal for controlling to drive the plurality of photographing devices in the time-sharing manner, and

the communication unit transmits the photographing control signal to the photographing devices.

7. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the image data processing unit converts the image signal into a plurality of image data in which an image data having a size equal to that of the image signal and at least one of image data having a size different to that of the image data are combined,

the multi-codec unit selectively converts the image data having an image size corresponding to the transfer request into the transfer data, and

the transfer data selecting unit transmits the transfer data having the image size corresponding to the transfer request to the communication unit.

8. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the image data processing unit converts the image signal into the image data so that the image data with an aspect ratio different from that of the image signal is included therein.

9. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the time-sharing management unit controls the multi-codec unit in the time-sharing manner under such a condition as S·

T≧

S₀·

t₀+S₁·

t₁+. . . +S_n-1·

t_n-1, provided that a largest size of the image data is S, a maximum frame rate is T when the largest size of the image data is S, the sizes of n number of image data are S₀, S₁, . . . S_n-1, and the frame rates of the respective image data are t₀, t₁, . . . t_n-1.

10. The image data transfer processor according to claim 4, wherein

the image signal is a plurality of image signals having formats different from each other,

the image transfer processor further comprises an image signal processing unit for converting the inputted image signals to a predetermined format which can be processed in the image data processing unit by rearranging pixel values thereof and outputting the format-converted image signals to the image data processing unit.

11. The image data transfer processor according to claim 10, further comprising an image signal switchover unit, wherein the image signal switchover unit selects one of the plurality of image signals and outputs the selected image signal to the image signal processing unit.

12. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, wherein

the image data processing unit executes at least one of enlargement and reduction of an original image to thereby generate the image data.

13. The image data transfer processor according to claim 1, further comprising an image data input unit, wherein the image data input unit converts another image data having a format different from that of the image data into a data which can be processed in the image data processing unit.

14. The image data transfer processor according to claim 10, further comprising:

a memory device; and

a memory controller, wherein

the image signal processing unit stores the format-converted image signal in the memory device via the memory controller,

the image data processing unit reads the format-converted image signal from the memory device via the memory controller and converts the read image signal into the image data, and then, stores the image data in the memory device via the memory controller,

the multi-codec unit reads the image data from the memory device via the memory controller and converts the read image data into the transfer data, and then, stores the transfer data in the memory device via the memory controller, and

the transfer data selecting unit reads the transfer data from the memory device via the memory controller and outputs the read transfer data to the communication unit.

15. The image data transfer processor according to claim 14, wherein

the image signal is a plurality of image signals,

the image data processing unit converts a plurality of image data from the plurality of image signals,

the multi-codec unit stores a differential data between each frame and a frame prior to the each frame in the memory device via the memory controller, and

when the image data in the next frame of the respective frames of the plurality of image data is converted into the transfer data, the multi-codec unit reads the differential data between the relevant frame and the previous frame, the image data of the previous frame and the image data of the next frame from the memory device via the memory controller, and executes the processing based on these data.

16. The image data transfer processor according to claim 15, wherein

the multi-codec unit stores the image data of the next frame in a recording region different from that of the last frame of the next frame in the memory device every time when the plurality of image data is converted into the transfer data.

17. A surveillance camera system comprising:

the image data transfer processor according to claim 1;

at least one of photographing device for supplying the image signal to the image data transfer processor;

a display unit for outputting the image data;

a display device for displaying the image data outputted by the display unit; and

an operation unit for receiving the transfer request made by an operator based on his/her visual confirmation of the image data displayed on the display device and outputting the received transfer request to the transfer data selecting unit.

18. The surveillance camera system according to claim 17, wherein

the image data processing unit resizes the image data selected by the operation unit into the size of the transfer request when the size of the image data is different from that of the transfer request, and

the multi-codec unit converts the resized image data into the transfer data.

19. The surveillance camera system according to claim 17, wherein

a plurality of photographing devices is provided as the photographing device, and

the time-sharing management unit drives the photographing device which outputs the image signal received the transfer request and halts the photographing device which outputs the image signal not received the transfer request.

20. The surveillance camera system according to claim 17, wherein

a plurality of photographing devices is provided as the photographing device, wherein

the transfer data selecting unit of each of the image data transfer processors transmits the transfer request received from the operation unit to the other image data transfer processor, and receives the transfer data transmitted by the other image data transfer processor in response to the transfer request thereby received via the communication unit,

the multi-codec unit converts the received transfer data into the image data,

the image data processing unit resizes the image data converted from the received transfer data, and

the display unit outputs the resized image data to the display device.