Network surveillance video camera system

• US 7,028,328 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2001
• Issued: 04/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Security Video Camera Systems Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kogane, Haruo, Nakamura, Manabu, Higashimura, Mamoru
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US09/933,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20010056579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 725/105, 348/143, 348/148, 348/152, 348/159, 348/211.5, 382/100, 396/427, 370/389
• US Class Current: 725/105
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19634 Electrical details of the system, e.g. component blocks for carrying out specific functions
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19663 Surveillance related processing done local to the camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19671 Addition of non-video data, i.e. metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19673 Addition of time stamp, i.e. time metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19691 Signalling events for better perception by user, e.g. indicating alarms by making display brighter, adding text, creating a sound
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Monitor camera units, a data storing unit, a control server, and a monitor display are coupled by a network. The monitor camera unit includes a motion detector for detecting motion from video data, a microphone, a traffic monitor, a memory for storing the video data, and a sensor signal input circuit. The traffic monitor monitors the traffic of the network. If the traffic is high, only necessary data or sound data is transmitted. The memory stores the video data in response to the motion detector and a thinning circuit thins the video data from the memory in response to a sensor signal. The control server receives the alarm data from the monitor camera and further receives the alarm type data, time data, position data of a pivoting unit for pivoting the camera unit and transmits the data to the display terminal. In the presence of a loud sound, alarm data is also generated but it is not sent if a switch is OFF. The control server includes a data base storing set of alarm data. If an operator judges one set of alarm data is an error, the set of data is not erased but mark data is correspondingly stored to inhibit searching the set of data. During the night, the exposure and transmitting intervals are increased to prevent the same data from being transmitted twice.

Claims

1. A network surveillance video camera system using a network comprising:

a plurality of video camera units, each having a different address and generating video data, each including motion detection means for detecting a motion of an image from said video data and communication means for communicating with said network to transmit said video data and an output of said motion detection means;

each of said video camera units including;

sensor input means for receiving a sensor signal;

alarm signal generation means for generating alarm data in response to said sensor signal and said motion detection means to transmit said alarm data and data regarding said alarm data including said sensor signal;

a transmission control protocol/internet protocol circuit made to receive said video data and said alarm data, and coupled to said network for transmitting said video data and said alarm data to said network;

storing means, having a different address and communication means for communicating with said network, for receiving and storing said video data from said video camera units through said network;

display means, having a different address and communication means for communicating with said network, for displaying said video data from said storing means and said video camera units; and

a control server coupled to said network having a different address for automatically communicating with said network to control said addresses of said video camera units, said storing means, and said display means.

2. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said control server further includes:

a database for storing sets of said alarm data and said data regarding said alarm data;

input means for inputting keyword data and mark data;

searching means for searching said alarm data in said database in accordance with said keyword; and

database control means for storing said mark data in response to said input means with correspondence with one of said sets of said alarm data to inhibit searching means from searching one of said sets of said alarm data corresponding to said mark data.

3. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said video camera units further includes:

pivoting means for changing an optical axis of said video camera unit in accordance with control data; and

position data generation means for generating position data of said pivoting means;

time data generation means for generating time data;

alarming means responsive to a sensor signal and said motion detection means for generating alarm data and alarm type data and transmitting said alarm data, said alarm type data, alarm sub-data including said position data and said time data, and said address of said video camera unit and said control server further includes;

a table storing relation between addresses of said video camera units and data of installation places of said video camera units; and

control means for receiving said alarm data from one of said video camera units, obtaining said position data and said data of installation place of said one of video camera units which transmits the alarm data, and transmitting said alarm data, said alarm type data, said data of installation place of said one of said video camera units, and alarm sub-data including said position data and said time data, and said address of said one of video camera units, to said displaying means.

4. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control server generates an address table of said plurality of video camera units and transmits said address table to said storing means, said storing means further comprises storing means for receiving and storing said address table and monitoring means for monitoring said network to receive and store said video data from said video camera units within said network surveillance video camera system.

5. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control server generates an address table of said plurality of video camera units and transmits said address table to said display means, said display means further comprises storing means for receiving and storing said address table and monitoring means for monitoring said network to receive and display said video data from said video camera units within said network surveillance video camera system.