Video monitor system

• US 5,745,167 A
• Filed: 06/13/1996
• Issued: 04/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kato, Hitoshi, Inoue, Akino, Sohma, Masaki, Kageyu, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): AU, AMELIA MEGAN
• Application Number:
  US08/661,783
• Time in Patent Office: 684 Days
• Field of Search: 348/153, 348/154, 348/159, 348/143, 348/150, 348/151, 348/152, 348/155
• US Class Current: 348/153
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A video monitor system comprises a transmitting medium, video cameras, monitors, VTR, monitor terminals, a control portion and a transmitting medium having channels of video signals and a data channel coupling these units. The video monitor receives a request of a desired camera and a desired monitor and supplies the data indicative the request. The control portion receives the data indicative of the request and determines one of channels and operates the desired camera and desired monitor thorough the determined one of channels to display a video signal on the desired monitor. The VTR records one of video signals from a desired video camera through determined one of channels. A priority is judged to control one video camera which are requested to be operated by two monitor control terminals at the same time. A diagnostic function for detecting a defect and a location in the transmitting medium and a sequential operation function are also provided. The control portion operates in two modes which can be alternately executed by storing conditional data of two modes. An integrated video monitor system having two video monitor systems mentioned above and a center monitor for displaying a video signal from either of one of video camera of either of the monitor systems is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A video monitor system comprising:

transmission medium means, having L channels of L video signals for transmitting said L video signals and data;

a video signal source portion including M video signal source units each of said M video signal source units receiving said data from said transmission medium means and selectively generating and suppling one of said L video signals to said transmission medium means through one of said L channels in accordance with said data,

a monitor portion including;

N monitor units, each of said N monitor units receiving said data from said transmission medium means and selectively receiving and reproducing one of said L video signals from one of said L channels in accordance with said data, said L, M, and N being natural number more than one;

a monitor control portion including a plurality of monitor control terminals, each of said monitor control terminals operating in response to a request, to generate and transmit to said transmission medium means said data indicating which one of said M video signal sources is requested to be operated and said data indicating which one of said N monitor units is requested to be operated; and

a control portion including receiving means for receiving all said data from said monitor control portion via said transmission medium means, channel condition detection means responsive to said data indicating which one of said M video signal sources is requested to be operated and said data indicating which one of said N monitor units is requested to be operated for detecting a condition of said L channels, determining means responsive to said channel condition detection means for determining one of said L channels to be used in accordance with said detected condition of said L channels and operating means, responsive to said data indicating which one of said M video signal sources is requested to be operated and said data indicated by said data from said monitor control terminal portion to supply said one of L video signals using said determined one of L channels to said one of said N monitor units indicated by said data from said monitor control terminal portion to receive and reproduce said one of L video signals from the determined one of the L channels.

2. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said M video source units, said N monitor units, and said monitor control terminals have addresses respectively and said control portion transmits data directed to said more than one of said addresses at once.

3. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, comprising synchronizing signal generation means for generating a synchronizing signal, wherein said transmission medium means further transmits said synchronizing signal and said M video source units and N monitor units further comprise synchronizing signal receiving means respectively, each of said M signal source units selectively generates and supplies one of said L video signals to said transmission medium means in response to said synchronizing signal from said synchronizing signal receiving means, and each of said N monitor units selectively receives one of said L video signals in response to said synchronizing signal from said synchronizing signal receiving means thereof.

4. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said monitor control terminals further comprises first generating and transmitting means responsive to a acquiring request for generating data indicative of acquiring a right of controlling a desired one of said M video signal sources to said control portion and second generating and transmitting means responsive to a releasing request for generating said data indicative of releasing said right of controlling said desired one of said M video signal sources to said control portion, said control portion further includes priority data storing means for storing priority data of said M video signal sources and judging means for, when said receiving means of said control portion receives said data indicative of acquiring said right of controlling said desired one of said M video signal sources from one of said N monitor terminal in the case that said receiving means of said control portion has received said data indicative of acquiring said right of controlling said desired one of said M video signal sources from another one of said N monitor control terminals and has not received said data indicative of releasing said right from another one of said N monitor control terminal, judging which one of said one or said another one of said N monitor control terminals has a higher priority in accordance with said priority data, and transmits said data indicative of providing said right of controlling said desired one of said M video signal sources to either one of said N monitor control terminals which has been judged to have said higher priority.

5. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said M video signal sources comprise video camera for taking a picture and generating said video signal in accordance with a picture.

6. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control portion further comprises generating means response to a response request command for generating said data indicative of said response requesting command, said transmitting means transmits said data indicative of said response requesting command to at least one of said M video signal sources and said N monitor terminals and said at least one of said M video signal sources and said N monitor terminals receives said data indicative of said response requesting command and generates and transmits said data indicative of said response responsive to said response requesting command to said control portion, and said control portion further comprises judging means for judging a condition of said transmitting medium from said data indicative of said response received by said receiving means.

7. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said M video sources and said N monitor units have addresses respectively and said control portion further includes address storing portion means for storing address data of said M video sources and said N monitor units, said at least one of said M video signal sources and said N monitor terminals receiving said data indicative of said response requesting command generates and transmits said data indicative of a response to said response requesting command with information of said address thereof to said control portion, and said judging means further includes detection means for detecting a location of a defect in said transmitting medium from said address data in said address data storing means and said information of said address in said data which could be received by said receiving means.

8. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of M said video signal sources further comprises alarm signal detection means for detecting an alarm signal and generating and transmitting said data indicative of said alarm signal, said control portion further includes alarm operation means for executing a predetermined alarm operation in a first condition of said M video signal sources and said N monitor units in response to said data indicative of said alarm signal, timer means for detecting a timing when a preset time has come, timer operation means for executing a predetermined timer operation in a second condition of said M video signal sources and said N monitor units in response to said timer operation means, condition detection and storing means responsive to said data indicative of said alarm signal from said receiving means and said timer means for detecting a condition of said M video signal sources and said N monitor units and for storing data of said condition, completion detection means for detecting completion of said alarm operation and predetermined timer operation, and restoring means responsive to said completion detection means for operating said video signal source portion and said monitor portion in accordance with said data of said detected condition.

9. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said control portion further includes sequence control means responsive to a sequence operation request for generating and transmitting said data indicative of a sequence of operations of more than one of said M video signal sources and said N monitor units to said more than one of M video signal sources and said N monitor units respectively and start timing generation means responsive to a sequence operation start command for generating said data indicative of a start timing, and said each of M video signal sources and said N monitor units further comprises sequence storing means for storing said data indicative of said sequence, and said more than one of M video signal sources and said N monitor units which have received said data indicative of said sequence executes said sequence of operations execute said sequence of operations when they receive said data indicative of start timing.

10. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 9, wherein further comprising synchronizing signal generation means for generating a synchronizing signal, wherein said transmitting medium means transmits said synchronizing signal and said M video source units and N monitor units have synchronizing signal receiving means respectively, and said more than one of M video signal sources and said N monitor units which have received said data indicative of said sequence execute said sequence of operations in response to said received synchronizing signal.

11. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising recording means for receiving said data from said generating means through transmission medium means and selectively receiving and recording one of said L video signals in accordance with said data using one of said L channels, wherein said control portion further comprises recording operation means responsive to data indicative of said recording request and said determining means for operating one of said M video signal sources in accordance with said data indicative of said recording request using the determined one of said L channel.

13. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 11, further comprising synchronizing signal generation means for generating a synchronizing signal, wherein said transmitting medium means transmits said synchronizing signal and said recording means has synchronizing signal receiving means for receiving said synchronizing signal and said recording means recording said received one of said L video signal in response to said synchronizing signal from said synchronizing signal receiving means.

14. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said L<

M.

15. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said L<

N.

16. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said control portion further includes conditional data storing means for storing predetermined conditional data, condition detection and storing means responsive to a mode change command for detecting a condition of said M video signal sources and said N monitor units and storing data of said detected condition, mode changing means responsive to said detection means for operating said video signal source portion and said monitor portion in accordance with predetermined conditional data, and restoring means responsive to a mode restoring command for operating said video signal source portion and said monitor portion in accordance with said data of said detected condition.

17. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said each of M video signal source units includes an alarm signal detection means for detecting an alarm signal and transmitting said data indicative of detecting said alarm signal and said receiving means generates said mode change command when said data indicative of detecting an alarm signal.

18. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said control portion further includes timer means for detecting a timing when a preset time has come and said control portion generates said mode change command when said timer means detects said timing.

19. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said M video signal source units, each of said N monitor units, each of said plurality of monitor control terminals, and a control portion comprises means for providing coupling to said transmission medium.

20. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said M video signal source units, each of said N monitor units, each of said plurality of monitor control terminals, and a control portion are mixedly arranged with respect to said transmission medium.

21. A video monitor system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said transmitting means transmits said synchronizing signal in one of said L channels together with said data.

12. A video monitor system comprising:

a plurality of networks, each comprising;

transmission medium means, having L channels arranged to transmit L video signals, for transmitting data;

a video signal source portion including M video signal source units, each of said video signal source units receiving said data from said transmission medium means using one of said L channels in accordance with said data;

a monitor portion including;

N monitor units, each of said monitor units receiving said data from said transmission medium means and selectively receiving and reproducing one of said L video signals from one of said L channels in accordance with said data, where L, M, and N are natural numbers greater than one;

a monitor control portion including a plurality of monitor control terminals, each of said monitor control terminals in response to a request, generating and transmitting data indicating which one of said M video signal sources is requested to be operated, and which one of said N monitor units is requested to be operated, to said transmitting medium; and

a control portion including receiving means for receiving data from said monitor control portion via said transmission medium means, channel control means for detecting used and unused conditions of said L channels of paths and storing said channel control data determining means for determining which one of said L channels is used in accordance with said channel control data in response to said data from said monitor control position via said receiving means operating means, responsive to said data indicating which one of said M video signal sources is requested to be operated and said data indicating which one of said N monitor units is requested to be operated, for operating said one of M video signal sources indicated by said data from said monitor control terminal portion to supply said one of L video signals using the determined one of L channels and operating said one of said N monitor units indicated by said data from said monitor control terminal portion to receive and reproduce said one of L video signals from the determined one of L channels through generating and transmitting said data to said transmitting medium;

a center monitor control terminal, communicating with said control portions of said plurality of network, for, in response to a monitoring request, determining which of said plurality of networks is requested in accordance with said monitoring request, generating and transmitting said data indicating which one of said M video signal sources of said determined network is requested to be operated to said control portion of the determined network;

switching means, connected to said transmitting mediums of said plurality of networks, for selectively supplying said one of said M video signals corresponding to said monitoring request from the determined network; and

at least a center monitor unit for producing said one of video signals from said switching means based upon at least two control portions of said plurality of networks.