Remotely operated portable wireless video/audio monitoring system

• US 6,671,520 B1
• Filed: 02/04/2000
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wooju Communications Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Wooju Communications Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Hyung-Tae
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRINH, TAN H
• Application Number:
  US09/497,979
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/152, 348/211.2, 348/211.11, 348/211.99, 348/211.4, 348/153, 348/213, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 455/90, 455/550, 455/556, 455/553.1, 455/556.1, 455/557
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0241 where no transmission is received, e.g. out of range of the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A remotely operated wireless video/audio hand-held monitoring system comprises a central station having a display and a speaker, and at least one remote terminal having a camera and a microphone. The central station is adapted to send out control command data containing a remote terminal identifier, a communication frequency channel number and any one of a test command, a power on command and a power off command, to receive response data corresponding to the control command data and to reproduce video and audio signals transmitted at a frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number, respectively, through the display and speaker in response to the received response data. The remote terminal is adapted to receive the control command data from the central station, to send out the response data corresponding to the received control command data to the central station and to, in a power on mode based on the power on command, drive the camera, the microphone and a video/audio signal transmitter and transmit a video signal from the camera and an audio signal from the microphone to the central station at the frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number. Therefore, one portable central station can selectively control one or more remote terminals to monitor images and voices at remote locations.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system for transmitting and receiving video and audio signals, the communication system comprising:

a central station having a display and a speaker, the central station sending out control command data containing a remote terminal identifier, a communication frequency channel number and any one of a test command, a power on command and a power off command, receiving response data corresponding to the control command data and reproducing video and audio signals transmitted at a frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number, respectively, through the display and speaker in response to the received response data; and

at least one remote terminal having a camera and a microphone, the remote terminal receiving the control command data from the central station, sending out the response data corresponding to the received control command data to the central station and, in a power on mode based on the power on command, driving the camera, the microphone and a video/audio signal transmitter and transmitting a video signal from the camera and an audio signal from the microphone to the central station at the frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number.

2. The wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein the central station comprises:

a first microprocessor unit for controlling the entire operation of the central station and generating the control command data;

a first memory for storing a program to be executed by the first microprocessor unit and variables or constants necessary to the program execution;

a video/audio signal receiver for demodulating a video/audio radio frequency signal from the remote terminal into an audio signal and a video signal;

a first data transmission/reception circuit for modulating the control command data from the first microprocessor unit into a command data radio frequency signal, demodulating a response data radio frequency signal from the remote terminal into the response data and transferring the demodulated response data to the first microprocessor;

a first radio frequency filter for transferring the command data radio frequency signal from the first data transmission/reception circuit to a first antenna and passing the video/audio radio frequency signal and response data radio frequency signal from the remote terminal respectively to the video/audio signal receiver and first data transmission/reception circuit;

the first antenna sending out the command data radio frequency signal from the first radio frequency filter to the remote terminal over a public line, receiving the video/audio radio frequency signal and response data radio frequency signal from the remote terminal and transferring them to the first radio frequency filter;

an audio output circuit for receiving the audio signal from the video/audio signal receiver and outputting it to the speaker;

a display circuit for choosing the video signal from the video/audio signal receiver or a still video signal in response to a video choice command from the first microprocessor and outputting the selected video signal to the display;

a video freeze switch for instructing the first microprocessor unit to generate a video capture command;

a video memory control circuit responsive to the video capture command from the first microprocessor unit, for capturing the video signal from the video/audio signal receiver in an instant, storing the captured video signal in a video memory and transferring the stored video signal as the still video signal to the display circuit;

an operation switch for instructing the first microprocessor unit to generate any one of the test command, power on command and power off command;

a channel selection switch for selecting the communication frequency channel number; and

a remote terminal selection switch for selecting a desired one of a plurality of remote terminals;

wherein the at least one remote terminal comprises;

a second microprocessor unit for controlling the overall operation of the remote terminal according to a program stored in a second memory and in response to the control command data from the central station, the second microprocessor unit generating the response data corresponding to the control command data from the central station;

the video/audio signal transmitter mixing the video signal from the camera with the audio signal from the microphone and modulating the mixed signal into the video/audio radio frequency signal at the frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number;

a second data transmission/reception circuit for demodulating the command data radio frequency signal from the central station into the control command data, transferring the demodulated control command data to the second microprocessor unit and modulating the response data from the second microprocessor unit into the response data radio frequency signal;

a second radio frequency filter for transferring the command data radio frequency signal from the central station to the second data transmission/reception circuit and selectively passing the video/audio radio frequency signal from the video/audio signal transmitter and the response data radio frequency signal from the second data transmission/reception circuit;

a second antenna for sending out the video/audio radio frequency signal and response data radio frequency signal from the second radio frequency filter to the central station over the public line, receiving the command data radio frequency signal from the central station and transferring it the second radio frequency filter;

an audio input circuit for transferring the audio signal from the microphone to the video/audio signal transmitter;

a camera circuit for converting an image incident on a camera lens into a video signal and transferring the converted video signal to the video/audio signal transmitter;

a power control circuit for supplying power to the video/audio signal transmitter, audio input circuit and camera circuit only for video/audio signal transmission in a power saving mode under the control of the second microprocessor unit to minimize power consumption of the remote terminal; and

a remote terminal identifier switch for transferring the remote terminal identifier contained in the control command data from the central station to the second microprocessor unit.

3. A method of transmitting/receiving video and audio signals using a portable wireless communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) allowing a central station with a display and a speaker to send out control command data containing a remote terminal identifier, a communication frequency channel number and any one of a test command, a power on command and a power off command, to receive response data corresponding to the control command data and to reproduce video and audio signals transmitted at a frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number, respectively, through the display and speaker in response to the received response data; and

(b) allowing at least one remote terminal with a camera and a microphone to receive the control command data from the central station, to send out the response data corresponding to the received control command data to the central station and to, in a power on mode based on the power on command, drive the camera, the microphone and a video/audio signal transmitter and transmit a video signal from the camera and an audio signal from the microphone to the central station at the frequency corresponding to the communication frequency channel number.