CAMERA MANAGEMENT DEVICE AND NETWORK CAMERA SYSTEM

• US 20120069202A1
• Filed: 08/05/2011
• Published: 03/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Industry & Control Solutions, Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: ASAHI, Takeshi, OKU, Masuo, MIZUSHIMA, Nagamasa, YOKOI, Nobuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,823,817 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet

Abstract

The present invention is based upon a camera management device coupled to a network camera via a network and the camera management device is provided with an image receiving unit that receives image data projected by the network camera and including control information for controlling the network camera from the network camera, a control information extracting unit that extracts the control information from the image data received by the image receiving unit and a control transmitting unit that transmits a control command according to the control information to the network camera via the network.

Claims

1. A camera management device coupled to a network camera via a network, comprising:

an image receiving unit that receives image data projected by the network camera and including control information for controlling the network camera from the network camera;

a control information extracting unit that extracts the control information from the image data received by the image receiving unit; and

a control transmitting unit that transmits a control command according to the control information to the network camera via the network.

2. The camera management device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage that stores secret information including the control information and shared with a device for displaying image object information which is information to be projected; and

an authenticating unit that verifies key information which is data generated by the device based upon the secret information,

wherein the control transmitting unit determines whether the verification by the authenticating unit succeeds or not, transmits the control command to the network camera via the network when the control transmitting unit determines that the verification succeeds, and transmits no control command to the network camera via the network when the control transmitting unit determines that the verification does not succeed.

3. The camera management device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a mode storage that stores a state of a control mode which is a mode for controlling the operation of the camera management device,

wherein the authenticating unit determines whether the control mode is on or off when the image object information is received from the network camera, transmits the control command according to the control information to the network camera when the authenticating unit determines that the control mode is on, and transmits no control command to the network camera when the authenticating unit determines that the control mode is off.

4. The camera management device according to claim 2, further comprising:

an upper limit frequency storage that records an upper limit frequency by which the control command is transmitted; and

a frequency storage that stores a frequency by which the control command is transmitted after the control mode is turned on,

wherein the authenticating unit determines whether or not a frequency by which the control command is transmitted exceeds the upper limit frequency and turns off the control mode when the authenticating unit determines that the frequency by which the control command is transmitted exceeds the upper limit frequency.

5. The camera management device according to claim 1,

wherein the control transmitting unit transmits the control command for ringing a sound to the network camera when the control transmitting unit transmits the control command to the network camera.

7. The camera management device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a printing unit that prints image object information including the control information on a predetermined medium,

wherein the network camera projects the image object information printed on the predetermined medium.

6. A camera management device coupled to a network camera via a network, comprising:

an image receiving unit that receives, from the network camera, image data projected by the network camera and including control information for controlling a device for displaying image object information which is information to be projected and identification information for identifying the device;

a control information extracting unit that extracts the control information and the identification information from the image data received by the image receiving unit; and

a control transmitting unit that transmits a control command according to the control information to the device identified based upon the identification information, via the network.

8. A network cameral system in which a network camera and a camera management device that manages the network camera are coupled via a network,

wherein the camera management device is provided with:

an image receiving unit that receives image data projected by the network camera and including control information for controlling the network camera from the network camera;

a control information extracting unit that extracts the control information from the image data received by the image receiving unit; and

a control transmitting unit that transmits a control command according to the control information to the network camera via the network; and

the network camera is provided with;

a projecting unit that projects a device for displaying image object information which includes the control information and which is information to be projected;

an image distributing unit that transmits the image object information projected by the projecting unit to the camera management device as the image data;

a control receiving unit that receives the control command from the camera management device; and

a controlled unit that controls the network camera according to the control command received by the control receiving unit.

9. The network camera system according to claim 8,

wherein in the network camera, the projecting unit projects image object information including the control information printed on a predetermined medium.