Communication apparatus image processing apparatus, communication method, image processing method and medium

• US 5,825,432 A
• Filed: 01/29/1997
• Issued: 10/20/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yonezawa, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): BRITTON, HOWARD W
• Application Number:
  US08/789,391
• Time in Patent Office: 629 Days
• Field of Search: 348/563, 348/409, 348/458, 348/154, 348/17, 348/13, 348/552, 348/211, 348/212
• US Class Current: 348/563
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19641 Multiple cameras having overlapping views on a single scene
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• 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 13/19689 Remote control of cameras, e.g. remote orientation or image zooming control for a PTZ camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19693 using multiple video sources viewed on a single or compound screen
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A monitor system is provided a display for displaying images from a plurality of image transmission sources connected to a network and a control unit for limiting the number of images displayed as an apparatus suitable for the monitor system which control the transmission sources while utilizing maps indicating arrangement information of the transmission sources so that the operability of the monitor operator is improved and the monitor system is easy to use. A monitor terminal having a map window for presenting status of areas in which video cameras as the image transmission sources are arranged and an image display window for displaying a plurality of video camera images includes a unit for changing the number of displayed images in accordance with a size of the image display window.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

supply means for displaying arrangement diagram indicating an arrangement for a plurality of image transmission sources and images from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor;

control means for controlling a size of said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window or vice versa; and

control means for controlling the communication with said image transmission sources in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window.

2. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said supply means arranges image display areas for displaying the images from said image transmission sources in matrix on an image display window.

3. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for changing the number of image display areas in response to the change of the size of said image display window.

4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a minimum unit in changing the size of said image display window is determined by a size of rectangle of the image display area.

5. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means resizes said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window.

6. An image processing apparatus comprising:

supply means for displaying arrangement diagram indicating an arrangement for a plurality of image transmission sources and images from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor;

control means for controlling a size of said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window or vice versa; and

control means for controlling the communication with said image transmission sources in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window; and

holding means for holding a logical network connection with a video transmission terminal which transmits an image when the image display area which has been displaying the image is no longer displayed on the display device as a result of the control of the number of images.

7. An image processing apparatus comprising:

supply means for displaying arrangement diagram indicating an arrangement for a plurality of image transmission sources and images from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor;

control means for controlling a size of said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window or vice versa; and

control means for controlling the communication with said image transmission sources in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window; and

issuing means for issuing an image transmission request to an image transmission terminal for which the issuance of the image transmission request has been interrupted when the image display area for displaying the image of the image transmission terminal is redisplayed on the display device by a scrolling process.

8. A communication apparatus comprising:

communication means for connecting a plurality of image transmission sources and a network; and

control means for controlling said communication means in accordance with a size of said window;

wherein said communication control means controls said communication means in response to a command to change the size of said window.

9. A communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said communication means controls the number of images in said window in accordance with the size of said window and connects the image transmission sources corresponding in number to the number of images to the network.

10. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

displaying arrangement diagram indicating an arrangement of a plurality of image transmission sources and images from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor;

controlling a size of said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window or vice versa; and

controlling the communication with said image transmission sources in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window.

11. An image processing method according to claim 10, wherein image display areas for displaying the images from said image transmission sources are displayed in matrix on an image display window.

12. An image processing method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of:

changing the number of image display areas in response to the change of the size of said image display window.

13. An image processing method according to claim 10, wherein a minimum unit in changing the size of said image display window in said control is determined by a size of rectangle of the image display area.

14. An image processing method according to claim 10, wherein said window is resized in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window.

15. A machine-readable medium containing the steps of said image processing method according to claim 10.

16. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

displaying arrangement diagram indicating an arrangement of a plurality of image transmission sources and images from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor;

controlling a size of said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window or vice versa;

controlling the communication with said image transmission sources in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window; and

holding a logical network connection with an image transmission terminal which transmits an image when the image display area which has been displaying the image is no longer displayed on the display device as a result of the control of the number of images.

17. An image processing method comprising the step of:

displaying arrangement diagram indicating an arrangement of a plurality of image transmission sources and images from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor;

controlling a size of said window in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window or vice versa;

controlling the communication with said image transmission sources in accordance with the number of images to be displayed in said window; and

issuing an image transmission request to an image transmission terminal for which the issuance of the image transmission request has been interrupted when the image display area for displaying the image of the image transmission terminal is redisplayed on the display device by a scrolling process.

18. A communication method comprising the step of:

connecting a plurality of image transmission sources and a network by communication means;

displaying images received from said image transmission sources in a window on a monitor; and

controlling said communication means in response to a command to change the size of said window.

19. A communication method according to claim 18, wherein said communication means controls the number of images in said window in accordance with the size of said window and connects the image transmission sources corresponding in number to the number of images to the network.

20. A machine-readable medium containing the steps of said communication method according to claim 18.