System and method for high frequency transmission of television shots

• US 5,854,654 A
• Filed: 10/23/1996
• Issued: 12/29/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Laurent Zwahlen, Milva Zwahlen, Rudolf Schaffer
• Original Assignee: Laurent Zwahlen, Milva Zwahlen, Rudolf Schaffer
• Inventors: Schaffer, Rudolf, Zwahlen, Milva, Zwahlen, Laurent
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/722,225
• Time in Patent Office: 797 Days
• Field of Search: 348/159, 348/153, 348/469, 348/488, 348/388, 348/211, 348/705, 348/722
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/28 Mobile studios

Abstract

The invention concerns a high frequency image transmission system comprising several shooting units (Ci) comprising a camera, a receiver (HFR) and a transmitter (HFE) able to transmit a video signal to a central production unit (S), and two video channels respectively allowing transmission on a first and a second predetermined carrier frequency (Fi, Fj). This system is characterized in that said central production unit comprises a control unit (UC) for transmitting a control radio signal to said shooting units to control remotely their operation and for controlling the assignment of said channels so that one of said channels transmits, on one of said carrier frequencies (F1, F2), a first video signal coming from a selected shooting unit, while the other said channel transmits, on the other said frequency, a second video signal formed by temporal multiplexing of the signals coming from the other shooting units.

Claims

1. High frequency television image transmission system comprising:

at least three shooting units each comprising a camera and a module comprising a radio wave receiver and a high frequency transmitter (HFE) able to transmit via radio waves a shot signal provided by said camera to a central production unit capable of communicating with a television network for broadcasting live and/or recording at least one of said signals,

two hertzian video channels allowing respectively the transmission on a first and a second predetermined carrier frequency of a video signal representing a determined number of images per second, said channels linking said shooting units to said central production unit,

said central production unit comprising a control unit comprising means for establishing a radio wave link with said receivers of said shooting units, the system being characterized in that

said linking means are arranged so that they can transmit a control radio signal to said shooting units for remote controlling the operation of said shooting units, their transmitters and their receivers and for controlling the assignment of said channels to said shooting units so that one of said channels transmits, on one of said carrier frequencies, a first video signal formed by the shot signal coming from a selected shooting unit, while the other of said channels transmits, on the other of said carrier frequencies, a second video signal formed by temporal multiplexing of the shot signals coming from the other shooting units, and in that said control unit transmits said control radio signal to said shooting units for each image so as to validate, image by image, the operation of said module (Md_i) and the turning on of said transmitter (HFE).

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that each shooting unit further comprises a closed loop control unit enabling it to synchronize its output signal with the control unit radio signal transmitted by said central production unit.

3. System according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises means for selecting the carrier transmission frequency of the shot signal from each of said shooting units.

4. Shot transmission method implemented via a system according to claim 1 comprising the following steps:

establishing a radio signal link between a central production unit and said shooting units in order to select one of said shooting units to transmit, on one of said channels, a shot signal, and to instruct each of the other shooting units to transmit by temporal multiplexing on the other vide channel signal representing an image,

validating image by image the module operation of the shooting units and the turning on of the transmitter able to transmit via radio waves a shot signal provided by a camera to a central production unit.

5. Shot transmission method according to claim 4, characterized in that it also comprises the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from one of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.

6. Shot transmission method according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises in addition the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from at least two of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.

7. System according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises means for selecting the carrier transmission frequency of the shot signal from each of said shooting units.

8. Shot transmission method implemented via a system according to claim 2, comprising the following steps:

establishing a radio signal link between a central production unit and said shooting units in order to select one of said shooting units to transmit, on one of said channels, a shot signal, and to instruct each of the other shooting units to transmit by temporal multiplexing on the other vide channel signal representing an image,

validating image by image the module operation of the shooting units and the turning on of the transmitter able to transmit via radio waves a shot signal provided by a camera to a central production unit.

9. Shot transmission method according to claim 3, characterized in that it also comprises the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from one of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.

10. Shot transmission method according to claim 8, characterized in that it also comprises the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from one of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.

11. Shot transmission method according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises in addition the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from at least two of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.

12. Shot transmission method according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises in addition the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from at least two of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.

13. Shot transmission method according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises in addition the following step:

transmitting on said other video channel a determined number of shot images, such number of images consisting of a number of images coming from at least two of said other shooting units, and being greater than the number of images coming from the other of said other shooting units.