Method and apparatus for limiting storage or transmission of visual information

• US 6,801,642 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2002
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sibecas, Salvador, Gorday, Robert Mark, Eaton, Eric Thomas, Gorday, Paul Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Anh Hong
• Application Number:
  US10/185,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20040001220A1
• Time in Patent Office: 832 Days
• Field of Search: 382/118, 382/211, 382/203, 382/165, 705/26, 340/643, 235/487, 235/382, 348/239, 345/630, 345/441, 396/133, 359/763
• US Class Current: 382/118
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00838 Preventing unauthorised reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/38 Circuits or arrangements for blanking or otherwise eliminating unwanted parts of pictures H04N1/387 takes precedence

Abstract

A method carried out at a transmitter (800), of limiting visual information that can be stored or transmitted captures a visual image (608). Whenever a control signal is detected (612) at the transmitter (800), at least a portion of the visual image is obscured (616) to produce an obscured visual image. This obscured image is then stored and/or transmitted (620). The image can be obscured by any number of techniques including replacement of the image with a substitute (718), blurring, distorting or reducing the resolution of the background (738), substitution of backgrounds (762) or removal of the background (778).

Claims

1. A method carried out at a user transmitter device, of limiting visual information that can be stored or transmitted using the user transmitter device, comprising:

capturing a visual image, the visual image having a background portion;

detecting a control signal at the user device, the presence of said control signal being indicative that the user transmitter device is situated in a location in which imaging is restricted; and

responsive to the user transmitter device detecting the control signal, obscuring at least the background portion of the visual image to produce an obscured visual image, so that at least the background portion of the visual information that can be stored or transmitted using the user transmitter device is obscured when the control signal is detected and not obscured otherwise.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing the obscured visual image.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting the obscured visual image.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the visual image comprises a still image.

5. The method in according to claim 1, wherein the visual image comprises a moving video image.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises reducing resolution of at least a portion of the visual image to produce the obscured visual image.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises reducing resolution of the background portion of the visual image to produce the obscured visual image.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises one of blurring and distorting the background portion of the image.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises:

detecting a face in the visual image; and

reducing resolution of at least a portion of the visual image other than the face to produce the obscured visual image.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises replacing at least a portion of the background portion of the visual image with a substitute image to produce the obscured visual image.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the substitute image includes an advertisement.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises:

detecting a face in the visual image; and

blurring at least a portion of the visual image other than the face to produce the obscured visual image.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises:

detecting a face in the visual image; and

distorting at least a portion of the visual image other than the face to produce the obscured visual image.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises:

attempting to detect a face in the visual image; and

if a face is not detected, reducing resolution of the visual image to produce the obscured visual image.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises:

attempting to detect a face in the visual image; and

if a face is not detected, obscuring the entire visual image to produce the obscured visual image.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the obscuring comprises:

attempting to detect a face in the visual image; and

if a face greater than a threshold size is not detected, obscuring the entire visual image to produce the obscured visual image.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining a user parameter, and wherein the obscuring is carried out if required by the user parameter.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the user parameter comprises at least one of a user location, user connectivity to particular network or network node, assigned rights, user ID and a user profile.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal controls the image coding of images for all wireless protocols and image storage formats supported by the transmitter.

20. The method according to claim 3, further comprising detecting a human face in the visual image, and wherein a human face detection algorithm is used with Region of Interest (ROI) image coding;

and further comprising transmitting the obscured visual image such that the region(s) of the image corresponding to a face is transmitted without being obscured.

21. The method according to claim 3, further comprising detecting a human face in the visual image, and wherein a human face detection algorithm is used with Region of Interest (ROI) image coding;

and further comprising storing the obscured visual image such that the region(s) of the image corresponding to a face is stored without being obscured.

22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting the captured visual image to a network service provider, and wherein the obscuring is carried out by the network service provider.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal comprises a wireless signal received at the transmitter.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal comprises a manual code entry.

25. A method carried out at a device having a transmitter, of limiting visual information that can be stored or transmitted using the transmitter, comprising:

capturing a visual image;

detecting presence or absence of a control signal at the transmitter, the presence of said control signal being indicative that the device is situated in a location in which imaging is restricted;

responsive to detecting the control signal, obscuring at least a portion of the visual image to produce an obscured visual image, so that visual information that can be stored or transmitted is obscured when the control signal is detected and not obscured otherwise; and

transmitting the obscured visual image if the control signal is detected and transmitting an unobscured visual image if the control signal is not detected.

26. An apparatus for capture and storage or transmission of a visual image, comprising:

an image capture transducer that captures a visual image;

an encoder receiving an output of the image capture transducer;

means for receiving a control signal that determines how a captured image is to be encoded, receipt of said control signal being indicative at least in part that the apparatus is situated in a location in which imaging is restricted; and

an image coding control that controls the encoding of the visual image at the encoder based upon the control signal such that at least a portion of the image can be selectively obscured under control of the control signal, and wherein the image remains unobscured in the absence of the control signal.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising a memory for storing the image that is selectively obscured.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting the image that is selectively obscured.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the means for receiving comprises a receiver that receives a wireless transmission of the control signal.