MONITOR VIDEO ACCUMULATION SYSTEM

• US 20100026810A1
• Filed: 09/18/2007
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Fuchigami, Ikuo, Kajita, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,169,482 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19676 Temporary storage, e.g. cyclic memory, buffer storage on pre-alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/107 between spatial and temporal predictive coding, e.g. picture refresh
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/162 User input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/268 Signal distribution or switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A surveillance video accumulation system pertaining to the present invention includes a plurality of surveillance camera units and a video accumulation unit that are connected with each other via a network. Among pieces of video data that have been encoded according to a prediction encoding method and transmitted from all the surveillance camera units, the video accumulation unit accumulates video data transmitted from a selected one of the surveillance camera units. Before the selection, if specified as a surveillance camera unit that is expected to shoot a subject, each of the surveillance camera units encodes video data of the subject based only on intra frame prediction and transmits the encoded video data to the accumulation unit.

Claims

1-5. -5. (canceled)

6. A surveillance video accumulation system that includes a plurality of surveillance camera units and a video accumulation unit that are capable of exchanging data with each other,

the surveillance video accumulation system comprising:

a selector operable to select one of the surveillance camera units that is currently shooting a subject;

an accumulator operable to start receiving and accumulating video data from the one of the surveillance camera units when the selector selects the one, the video data having been encoded according to a prediction encoding method; and

a specifier operable to specify, based on the video data from the selected one of the surveillance camera units, one or more of the surveillance camera units that are different from the selected one and are expected to shoot the subject subsequently to the selected one, and transmit, to the one or more of the surveillance camera units, specification information showing that each of the one or more of the surveillance camera units has been specified by the specifier, and

each of the surveillance camera units comprising;

a specification information receiver operable to receive the specification information;

an encoder operable to encode video data of the subject according to a prediction encoding method, the encoder encoding video data of the subject according to a prediction encoding method that uses only intra frame prediction after the specification information receiver has received the specification information; and

a video data transmitter operable to transmit the video data encoded by the encoder to the video accumulation unit.

7. The surveillance video accumulation system of claim 6, wherein

the selector further transmits, to the one of the surveillance camera units, selection information showing that the one of the surveillance camera units has been selected by the selector,

each of the surveillance camera units further comprises a selection information receiver operable to receive the selection information, and

the encoder encodes the video data of the subject according to a prediction encoding method that uses either one of or both of intra frame prediction and inter frame prediction after the selection information receiver has received the selection information.

8. The surveillance video accumulation system of claim 6, wherein

the specifier specifies the one or more of the surveillance camera units by using a moving direction of the subject based on a motion vector included in the video data from the selected one of the surveillance camera units.

9. A surveillance camera unit comprising:

a specification information receiver operable to receive specification information;

a selection information receiver operable to receive selection information;

an encoder operable to encode video data of a subject of shooting according to a prediction encoding method, the encoder encoding the video data according to a prediction encoding method that uses either intra frame prediction or inter frame prediction after the selection information receiver has received the selection information, and encoding the video data according to a prediction encoding method that uses only intra frame prediction after the specification information receiver has received the specification information;

a video data transmitter operable to transmit the encoded video data outward; and

a specifier operable to specify, from among a plurality of surveillance camera units other than the surveillance camera unit, one or more of the surveillance camera units that are expected to shoot the subject subsequently to the surveillance camera unit, based on the video data that is being transmitted by the video data transmitter, and transmit, to the one or more of the surveillance camera units, the specification information showing that each of the one or more of the surveillance camera units has been specified by the specifier.

10. A surveillance video accumulation method for use in a surveillance video accumulation system that includes a plurality of surveillance camera units and a video accumulation unit that are capable of exchanging data with each other, the surveillance video accumulation method comprising:

a selection step of selecting one of the surveillance camera units that is currently shooting a subject;

an accumulation step of starting receiving and accumulating video data from the one of the surveillance camera units when the selection step selects the one, the video data having been encoded according to a prediction encoding method;

a specifying step of specifying, based on the video data from the selected one of the surveillance camera units, one or more of the surveillance camera units that are different from the selected one and are expected to shoot the subject subsequently to the selected one, and transmitting, to the one or more of the surveillance camera units, specification information showing that each of the one or more of the surveillance camera units has been specified by the specifying step;

a specification information receiving step, performed by the one or more of the surveillance camera units, of receiving the specification information;

an encoding step, performed by the one or more of the surveillance camera units, of encoding video data of the subject according to a prediction encoding method, the encoding step encoding the video data according to a prediction encoding method that uses only intra frame prediction after the specification information receiving step has received the specification information; and

a video data transmission step, performed by the one or more of the surveillance camera units, of transmitting the video data encoded by the encoding step to the video accumulation unit.