Transport means surveillance system

• US 20080158358A1
• Filed: 04/25/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TN International
• Original Assignee: TN International
• Inventors: Chanson, Daniel, Finker, Dimitri
• Application Number:
  US11/796,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20080158358A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/305 using a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/196 using television cameras

Abstract

Transport means surveillance system.

It comprises:

• at least one camera (8) onboard the transport means (2);
• a means of detecting movement (31) in the surrounds of the transport means;
• an onboard server (14) that can hold images from the camera (8) and information from the means of detecting movement (31) close to the transport means;
• a telecommunication means (18, 20) to transmit data provided by the server (14) to a surveillance centre (46);
• a means (30) of detecting when the transport means stops,
• the server switching the camera on or off and activating or deactivating the means of detecting movement close to the transport means as a function of information that it receives from the means (30) of detecting when the transport means is stopped.

Claims

1. Surveillance system close to a transport means characterised in that it comprises:

at least one camera (8) onboard the transport means (2), the field of vision (10) of this camera covering the entire surrounds of the transport means;

a means of detecting movement (31) in the surrounds of the transport means;

an onboard server (14) that can hold images of the camera (8) and information from the means of detecting movement close to the transport means;

a telecommunication means (18, 20) to transmit data provided by the server (14) to a surveillance centre (46) at a distance from the transport means;

a means (30) of detecting when the transport means stops,

the server switching the camera on or off and activating or deactivating the means of detecting movement close to the transport means as a function of information that it receives from the means (30) of detecting when the transport means is stopped.

2. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that in a normal operating mode (52),

the server (14) switches the camera on and activates the means of detecting movement close to the transport means when it receives information from the means of detecting that the transport means is stopped, the server (14) then transmitting data to the surveillance centre (46) through the telecommunication means (18, 20) when a movement has been detected in the surrounds of the transport means,

the server switches the camera off and deactivates the means of detecting movement close to the transport means when it has received information from the means (30) of detecting that the transport means is stopped, informing it that the transport means has started moving.

3. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that in a hibernation mode (70), the server (14) switches the camera (8) off and deactivates the means of detecting movement close to the transport means, regardless of whether the transport means is moving or stopped.

4. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that in a forced operating mode (64) the server switches the camera on continuously, regardless of whether the transport means is moving or stopped, the server (14) then transmitting data continuously to the surveillance centre through the telecommunication means (18, 20).

5. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that the means of detecting movement close to the transport means is composed of either an infrared detector (31), or by the server (14) processing images that it receives from the camera (8) so as to detect a movement in its field of vision.

6. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that data transmitted through the telecommunication means (18, 20) include images close to the transport means.

7. Surveillance system according to claim 6, characterised in that data transmitted by the telecommunication means (18, 20) comprise data chosen from the group comprising the GPS coordinates of the transport means, the condition of the system power supply batteries (24), timestamping of images, a transport means identification number, a camera identification number, the state of the transport means (stopped or moving), the normal operating mode (system in hibernation or in forced operation) and sounds, in addition to images.

8. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that the means of detecting that the transport means have stopped are composed either of a vibration detector (30), or a remote ultrasound detector.

9. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that the means of detecting movement close to the transport means detect movement in the field of vision of the camera.

10. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises means (32) of storing images taken by the camera (8).

11. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that the camera (8) is capable of recording images from a brightness starting from 0.0003 lux.

12. Surveillance system according to claim 11, characterised in that it comprises infrared projectors (47).

13. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises two cameras (8) located at diagonally opposite corners of the transport means (2).

14. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises four cameras (8) located at the four corners of the transport means (2).

15. Surveillance system according to claim 1, characterised in that each camera comprises a head (8) connected to a processor, a single processor being provided for all cameras if there are several cameras, the processor being arranged in a box (12) that contains the onboard server (14), so that nothing is outside the box except for the camera heads.