CAMERA IMAGE TRANSMISSION

• US 20100309318A1
• Filed: 06/04/2009
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Video Communications
• Original Assignee: Advanced Video Communications
• Inventors: Bund, Carsten
• Granted Patent: US 8,230,472 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card

Abstract

A data and image transmission system includes at least one interactive control server system, coupled to a communications network, to which a user may connect for interactive communication to at least one remote image-data acquisition system located behind a communications security firewall. The image-data acquisition system includes a tunnel client, and the interactive control server system includes a active connection to enable the interactive control server system and the image-data acquisition system to transmit and receive communications through the firewall. A set of rules and the operational specifications of the image-data acquisition system, operable on the interactive control server system, determine how the data from the image-data acquisition system is provided to the interactive control server system. Conflicts between the data received from the image-data acquisition system and the data requested by the user are resolved by a set of prioritizing rules to determine the data transmitted to the user.

Claims

1. An image-data acquisition system coupled to a communications network for providing a first specified data to an interactive control server system to be accessed by a user for acquiring a second specified data based on the first specified data, the system comprising:

a unique identifying information associated with the image-data acquisition system;

a dynamic domain name server (DNS) coupled to the communications network operable to periodically transmit an identifier message including at least the unique identifying information;

the image-data acquisition system coupled to a communications tunnel operable over the communications network, the communications tunnel established on the basis of the transmitted unique identifying information to allow data and commands to be received by and transmitted from the image-data acquisition system through a communications security firewall, wherein the communications security firewall presents data and commands from being otherwise received by the image-data acquisition system; and

a tunnel client coupled to the communications network to communicate through the communications security firewall to receive and transmit data through the communications tunnel.

2. The image-data acquisition system of claim 1 further comprising at least a digital video camera, a digital still camera and a sensor.

3. The image-data acquisition system of claim 2 in which the sensor is at least one of an audio detector and an environmental sensor.

4. A method of providing over a communications network a first specified data from an image-data acquisition system to an interactive control server system to be accessed by a user for acquiring a second specified data based on the first specified data, the method comprising:

associating a unique identifying information with the image-data acquisition system;

transmitting periodically from the image-data acquisition system an identifier message including at least the unique identifying information;

establishing a communications tunnel coupled to the image-data acquisition system operable over the communications network established on the basis of the unique identifying information to allow data and commands to be received by and transmitted from the image-data acquisition system through the communications security firewall;

communicating from the image-data acquisition system via a tunnel client through the communications tunnel to receive and transmit data over the communications network.

5. The method of claim 5 further comprising providing data from at least one of a digital video camera, a digital still camera and a sensor.

6. The method of claim 5 in which the sensor is at least one of an audio detector and an environmental sensor.

7. An interactive control server system coupled to a communications network for receiving a first specified data from a remote device and transmitting a second specified data to a remote user comprising:

a memory to store at least a portion of the first specified data;

a user database stored in the memory to maintain a list of prior approved users to determine if the user is an approved user;

a web application to exchange information with the approved user over the communications network;

a device database stored in the memory to maintain a list of prior approved devices allowed to communicate with the interactive control server system, the device database including the operational specifications of the of the approved devices;

a device dynamic domain name server to receive identification signals from the approved device over the communications network;

a tunnel server to transmit to and receive from the approved device over the communications network, formatted data, wherein the approved device is coupled to the communications network from behind a communications security firewall; and

a video server to transmit the second specified data reformatted for presentation to the approved user over the communications network.

8. The interactive control server system of claim 7 in which the information exchanged with the approved user comprises a request received from the approved user for access to data received from the approved device.

9. The data and image transmission system of claim 8 in which the approved user request further comprises instructions to specify at least one or more of commands to control the approved device, the data to be received, and presentation formal of data received from the approved device.

10. The interactive control server system of claim 9, further comprising a specification table stored in the memory used by the video server to convert the user requested control commands to operational instructions specific to the approved device, wherein the tunnel server is operable to convert the operational instructions to a data format suitable for transmission over the communications network to the approved device through the communications security firewall.

11. The interactive control server system of claim 10 further comprising:

the tunnel server to receive formatted data from the approved device in response to the approved user request; and

the video server to receive from the tunnel server and convert the formatted data to the specified presentation formal for transmission to the user.

12. The interactive control server system of claim 7 further comprising a set of rules operable on the device dynamic domain name server to determine how the first specified data received is provided according to the operational specifications of the approved device.

13. The interactive control server system of claim 12 in which conflicts between the data received from the approved device and the data requested for presentation by the approved user are resolved by a set of prioritizing rules to determine the data transmitted to the user.

14. A method of receiving by an interactive control server system coupled to a communications network a first specified data from a remote device and transmitting a second specified data to a remote user comprising:

providing a memory to store at least a portion of the first specified data;

storing a user database in the memory to maintain a list of prior approved users to determine if the user is an approved user;

providing a web application to exchange information with the approved user over the communications network;

storing a device database in the memory to maintain a list of prior approved devices allowed to communicate with the interactive control server system, the device database including the operational specifications of the approved devices;

receiving by a device dynamic domain name server identification signals from the approved device over the communications network;

transmitting to and receiving from the approved device over the communications network, formatted data, wherein the approved device is coupled to the communications network from behind a communications security firewall; and

transmitting from a video server the second specified data reformatted for presentation to the approved user over the communications network.

15. The method of claim 14 in which the information exchanged with the approved user comprises a request received from the approved user for access to data received from the approved device.

16. The method of claim 15 in which the approved user request further comprises instructions to specify at least one or more of commands to control the approved device, the data to be received, and presentation format of data received from the approved device.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising storing a specification table in the memory used by the video server to convert the user requested control commands to operational instructions specific to the approved device, wherein the tunnel server is operable to convert the operational instructions to a data format suitable for transmission over the communications network to the approved device through the communications security firewall.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

receiving by the tunnel server formatted data from the approved device in response to the approved user request; and

receiving and converting by the video server from the tunnel server the formatted data to the specified presentation formal for transmission to the user.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising providing a set of rules operable on the device dynamic domain name server to determine how the first specified data received is provided according to the operational specifications of the approved device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising resolving conflicts between the data received from the approved device and the data requested for presentation by the approved user by a set of prioritizing rules to determine the data transmitted to the user.

21. An data acquisition and distribution system coupled to a communications network for acquiring a first specified data from a remote image-data acquisition system and distributing a second specified data to a remote user comprising:

an image-data acquisition system comprising;

a unique identifying information associated with the image-data system;

a communications tunnel coupled to the image-data acquisition system operable over the communications network established on the basis of the unique identifying information to allow data and commands to be received by and transmitted from the image-data acquisition system through the communications security firewall, wherein the firewall prevents data and commands from being otherwise received by the image-data system;

a tunnel client coupled to the communications network to communicate through the firewall to receive and transmit data through the communications tunnel;

an interactive control server system coupled to the communications network for receiving the first specified data from the image-data acquisition system and transmitting a second specified data to a user comprising;

a memory to store at least a portion of the first specified data;

a user database stored in the memory to maintain a list of prior approved users to determine if the user is an approved user;

a web application to exchange information with the approved user over the communications network;

a device database stored in the memory to maintain a list of prior approved devices allowed to communicate with the interactive control server system, the device database including the operational specifications of the approved devices;

a device dynamic domain name server to receive identification signals from the approved device over the communications network;

a tunnel server including an active connection to transmit and receive formatted data from the approved device over the communications network, wherein the approved device is coupled to the communications network from behind a communications security firewall; and

a video server to transmit the second specified data reformatted for presentation to the approved user over the communications network.