Image splitting forming and processing device and method for use with no moving parts camera

• US 5,870,135 A
• Filed: 07/15/1997
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Schieltz, Steven W., Glatt, Terry Laurence, Kupersmit, Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, BRYAN T
• Application Number:
  US08/893,930
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 348/36, 348/39, 348/38, 348/37, 348/143, 348/152, 348/61
• US Class Current: 348/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/41 Extracting pixel data from a plurality of image sensors simultaneously picking up an image, e.g. for increasing the field of view by combining the outputs of a plurality of sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A video surveillance system has a camera equipped with a fisheye lens having a substantially hemispheric field of view. The system implements operations equivalent to the panning, tilting and zooming of a conventional camera without the use of moving parts. The lens is mounted vertically above a plane under surveillance. The camera produces a fisheye image made up of a plurality of pixels. The fisheye image is distorted due to the properties of the fisheye lens. The system corrects the distortion by mapping the pixels of the fisheye image to coordinates produced by selecting a particular part of the fisheye image to be viewed. This allows an operator to select parts of the field of view of the fisheye lens and view them as if they had been produced by a camera having a conventional lens being panned tilted or zoomed. The fisheye image formed by the camera is split into four separate image components carried by four bundles of optical fibers. Each bundle has a CCD and associated image processing circuitry which forms an electronic representation of the image component carried by that bundle.

Claims

1. An image forming and processing device for use with a video camera, comprising:

a lens having a wide field of view, the lens forming a first image having a distortion caused by the lens;

an image splitter for splitting the first image into a plurality of images;

a selector for selecting a part of one of the plurality of images;

at least one image sensor, for converting only the selected part of the one of the plurality of images into an electronic representation; and

a processor responsive to the electronic representation for correcting distortion so that the selected part of the one of the plurality of images can be viewed substantially without the distortion.

2. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the image splitter comprises a plurality of bundles optical fibers, each bundle of optical fibers transmitting a part of the first image.

3. The image forming and processing device of claim 2 wherein the image sensor comprises a CCD connected to at least one of the bundles of optical fibers for forming an optical representation of the part of the first image transmitted by that bundle of optical fibers.

4. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the image splitter divides the first image into quadrants.

5. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the lens is a fisheye lens.

6. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 further comprising compression means for compressing the electronic representation to form a compressed electronic representation.

7. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the image splitter comprises a plurality of image conduits, each of the image conduits carrying one of the plurality of images.

8. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the processor is adapted to perform a transformation on the electronic representation, the transformation being equivalent to panning a camera.

9. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the processor is adapted to perform a transformation on the electronic representation, the transformation being equivalent to tilting a camera.

10. The image forming and processing device of claim 1 wherein the processor is adapted to perform a transformation on the electronic representation, the transformation being equivalent to zooming a lens.

11. A method of monitoring an area, the method of comprising the steps of:

forming an optical image of substantially the entire area by means of a fisheye lens having a wide field of view, such that the image has a distortion caused by the fisheye lens;

splitting the optical image into a plurality of sub-images;

selecting a part of one of the plurality of sub-images;

converting only the selected part of the one of the plurality of sub-images into an electronic representation; and

processing the electronic representation, thereby correcting the distortion.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of compressing the electronic representation to form an encoded electronic representation.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of compressing the electronic representation is performed prior to the step of processing.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of performing a transformation on the processed electronic representation equivalent to panning a camera.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of performing a transformation on the processed electronic representation equivalent to tilting a camera.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of performing a transformation on the processed electronic representation equivalent to tilting a lens.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of performing a transformation on the processed electronic representation equivalent to zooming a lens.