PORTABLE DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA CONFIGURED FOR REMOTE IMAGE ACQUISITION CONTROL AND VIEWING

• US 20140049636A1
• Filed: 09/13/2011
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Contour IP Holding, LLC (iON Contour)
• Original Assignee: Contour, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Donnell, Laura, Denton, Michael, Pierce, Carm, Perkins, Carl, Mander, Richard, Bodley, Ben, Tompkins, Alan, Gurganus, Keith, Barnsdale, Kelvin P., Third, Simon
• Granted Patent: US 8,890,954 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/19 Sporting applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19641 Multiple cameras having overlapping views on a single scene
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1966 Wireless systems, other than telephone systems, used to communicate with a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25825 involving client display capabilities, e.g. screen resolution of a mobile phone optimising the visualisation of content during browsing in the Internet G06F16/9577; processing of terminal status or physical abilities in wireless networks H04W8/22; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2662 Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4621 Controlling the complexity of the content stream or additional data, e.g. lowering the resolution or bit-rate of the video stream for a mobile client with a small screen arrangements for using the results of monitoring on user's side in broadcast systems H04H60/65; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/617 Upgrading or updating of programs or applications for camera control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 : Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 : Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/28 : Mobile studios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 : Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 : for receiving images from a single remote source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 : from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 : Data link layer protocols

Abstract

A wearable digital video camera (10) is equipped with wireless connection protocol and global navigation and location positioning system technology to provide remote image acquisition control and viewing. The Bluetooth® packet-based open wireless technology standard protocol (400) is preferred for use in providing control signals or streaming data to the digital video camera and for accessing image content stored on or streaming from the digital video camera. The GPS technology (402) is preferred for use in tracking of the location of the digital video camera as it records image information. A rotating mount (300) with a locking member (330) on the camera housing (22) allows adjustment of the pointing angle of the wearable digital video camera when it is attached to a mounting surface.

Claims

1. An integrated point of view digital video camera, comprising:

a camera including a lens and an image sensor, the image sensor capturing light propagating through the lens and representing a scene, and the image sensor producing image data of the scene;

a processor for receiving the image data directly or indirectly from the image sensor;

a wireless connection protocol device operatively connected to the processor to send image content by wireless transmission to and receive control or data signals by wireless transmission from a wireless connection-enabled controller; and

firmware operating on the processor and configured to produce, for wireless transmission to the wireless connection-enabled controller, the image content corresponding to the image data representing a scene.

2. The digital video camera of claim 1, in which the processor is configured to adjust a set of camera parameters, and in which the firmware operating on the processor causes adjustment of selected ones of the set of camera parameters in response to control or data signals received from the wireless connection-enabled controller and produced in response to the image content received by the wireless connection-enabled controller.

3. The digital video camera of claim 2, in which the set of camera parameters includes lighting level and color settings.

4. The digital video camera of claim 1, in which the wireless connection-enabled controller includes a smartphone or a tablet computer.

5. The digital video camera of claim 1, further comprising a global navigation and location determination receiver operatively connected to the processor to provide a time standard that supports timing of the sending of the image content by wireless transmission and the receipt of control or data signals by wireless transmission.

6. The digital video camera of claim 5, in which the global navigation and location determination receiver is of a GPS type.

7. An integrated point of view digital video camera, comprising:

a camera including a lens and an image sensor, the image sensor capturing light propagating through the lens and representing a scene, and the image sensor producing image data of the scene;

a processor for receiving the image data directly or indirectly from the image sensor;

a global navigation and location determination device operatively connected to the processor to provide location tracking of the digital video camera as the image sensor produces image data of the scene; and

firmware operating on the processor and configured to produce digital video camera information in association with image content corresponding to the image data representing a scene.

8. The digital video camera of claim 7, in which the navigation and location determination device includes a GPS assembly.

9. The digital video camera of claim 8, further comprising a housing including an optical support barrel of curved shaped covering the lens;

and in which the GPS assembly includes a metallic ground plane positioned between a GPS antenna and a GPS receiver module, the metallic ground plane being of complementary shape to the curved shape of the optical support barrel to provide an increased ground plane area that conforms to the shape of the optical support barrel.

10. The digital video camera of claim 9, in which the GPS antenna is of a passive patch antenna type.

11. An integrated point of view digital video camera, comprising:

a camera housing containing a lens and an image sensor, the camera housing having a length, and the image sensor capturing light propagating through the lens and representing a scene having a level orientation;

a mounting mechanism adaptable for secure mounting of the camera housing to a support having an off-axis orientation with respect to the level orientation of the scene, the mounting mechanism including first and second mounting pieces rotationally coupled to assume an adjustable orientation relative to each other and thereby provide rotational positioning adjustment of the camera housing;

one of the first and second mounting pieces comprising a rotatable plug mount having a circumferential edge, and the other of the first and second mounting pieces comprising a base mount having a circular opening and opposite side walls through which aligned slots are formed, the rotatable plug mount set through the circular opening in the base mount, and the circumferential edge of the plug mount and the opposite side walls of the base mount having circumferential sawtooth edges and sawtooth-receiving edges in matable relationship for bidirectional ratcheted rotational motion of the plug mount when it is set through the circular opening in the base mount; and

a slidable locking member sized to fit within each of the slots in the base mount and, when inserted in the slots, slidably extend through and project outside of either one of the side walls, the locking member having a locking end piece with a serrated surface configured to engage and thereby lock the plug mount in place.

12. The digital video camera of claim 11, in which the plug mount is configured for coupling to the camera housing to provide for linear positioning adjustment of the plug mount along the length of the camera housing.

13. The digital video camera of claim 11, in which the base mount is configured for coupling to the support to provide the rotational positioning adjustment of the camera housing about a mount rotation axis that is transverse to the length of the camera housing to enable setting of the digital video camera to a desired viewing angle.