Video recording device for a targetable weapon

• US 7,158,167 B1
• Filed: 09/09/1998
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Yerazunis, William S., Leigh, Darren L.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, VU
• Application Number:
  US09/150,360
• Time in Patent Office: 3,037 Days
• Field of Search: 348/61, 348/143, 348/151, 360/5, 360/6, 386/46, 386/117
• US Class Current: 348/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence

Abstract

A compact video image recording device which is mountable to a gun and useful for recording video images before and after the firing of the gun. The recording device includes a camera comprising a lens and a video image sensor. The video recording device is mounted on the gun such that the viewing area of the camera includes the target area of the gun. The video image sensor generates an electronic signal representative of a video image impinging the respective sensor. The output of the image sensor is processed and generally employed to produce frame data which are successively stored in successive frame locations of a semiconductor memory organized as a circular buffer memory while the video recording device is in an active state. Upon the firing of the gun, additional frames are stored in the buffer memory for a short period of time and a portion of the buffer memory is employed to preserve a video record of the shooting both before and after the event. Additional frames are successively stored in the unused portion of the buffer memory. In the event of a further firing of the gun, an additional portion of the buffer memory is dedicated to preserving the image data associated with subsequent firing incident. This process may be repeated until the buffer memory is full in the event the gun is repeatedly fired. A video record is thus generated which documents the circumstances preceding and following the firing of the gun.

Claims

1. A method for recording data in response to a discharge of a weapon along a target line, comprising:

sensing at least one discharge of said weapon with a weapon discharge sensor and in response to each of the at least one discharge of said weapon, generating a weapon discharge sensor output signal;

repeatedly storing video image data comprising video frames within a semiconductor memory within a video recording device mounted to said weapon;

in response to the detection of each said weapon discharge sensor output signal, preserving in said semiconductor memory within said video recording device, video image data corresponding generally to an area surrounding said target line and corresponding to at least one frame stored within said semiconductor memory prior to the respective discharge sensor output signal and at least one frame stored within said semiconductor memory subsequent to the respective discharge sensor output signal.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said weapon comprises a gun.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said sensing further comprises sensing the at least one discharge of said weapon with an accelerometer.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said sensing further comprises sensing the at least one discharge of said weapon with a microphone.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said weapon includes a trigger operative to activate a switch and said sensing further comprises sensing each of the at least one discharge of said weapon upon the sensing of a change of state of said switch.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said repeatedly storing video image data comprising video frames within said semiconductor memory comprises storing said video frames within said semiconductor memory periodically.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein:

said storing comprises storing said video image data associated with each of the at least one discharge of said weapon in a portion of the semiconductor memory assigned for the respective discharge; and

said preserving comprises preserving selected video image data associated with each of the at least one discharge of said weapon.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said portion of said semiconductor memory assigned for the storage of video data associated with each successive discharge of said weapon is smaller than the portion associated with the prior discharge of said weapon.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating an audio signal with a microphone electrically coupled to said video recording device, wherein said audio signal is representative of sound within the vicinity of said weapon;

sampling said audio signal with an analog to digital converter to produce digital data comprising a digital representation of said audio signal; and

storing within said semiconductor memory at least some of said digital data extending temporally around each discharge of said weapon.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising storing said digital data within said semiconductor memory employing a nonlinear quantization technique for the representation of said digital data.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating a signal with a holster state sensor having a first state when said weapon is within a holster and a second state when said weapon is not within said holster; and

storing said video image data within said semiconductor memory only when said holster state sensor signal indicates that the holster state sensor is in said second state.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in response to each weapon discharge sensor output signal, reading selected video image data from said semiconductor memory and writing said selected video image data to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

preserving within said nonvolatile semiconductor memory, said stored video image data at least until said video image data is read from said nonvolatile semiconductor memory in response to a request from a user presenting a valid password to said video recording device.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing date and time information within said semiconductor memory in association with at least some of the stored video image data.

15. A data recording device for preserving data representative of video images corresponding to an area generally surrounding the target line of a weapon, comprising:

a weapon discharge sensor operative to generate a weapon discharge sensor output signal upon at least one discharge of said weapon;

at least one semiconductor memory;

a video camera operative to repeatedly generate video image data representative of said video images; and

a controller operative to cause the storage of digital data representative of said video image data within said at least one semiconductor memory at predetermined times both before and after the generation of said weapon discharge sensor output signal;

said controller being further operative to preserve selected digital data stored in said at least one semiconductor memory in response to said weapon discharge sensor output signal.

16. The data recording device of claim 15 wherein said weapon comprises a gun.

17. The data recording device of claim 15 wherein said controller is operative to preserve at least some of said digital data stored within said at least one semiconductor memory prior to generation of said weapon discharge sensor output signal and some of said digital data stored within said semiconductor memory following generation of said weapon discharge sensor output signal.

18. The data recording device of claim 15 wherein said weapon discharge sensor comprises an accelerometer mechanically coupled to said data recording device.

19. The data recording device of claim 15 wherein said weapon discharge sensor comprises a microphone.

20. The data recording device of claim 19 wherein said weapon includes a trigger and said weapon discharge sensor comprises a switch coupled to said trigger of said weapon.

21. The data recording device of claim 20 wherein said controller is operative to cause the storage of said digital data within said at least one semiconductor memory periodically.

22. The data recording device of claim 21 wherein said controller is operative to preserve digital data associated with each weapon discharge sensor output signal in a separate portion of said at least one semiconductor memory.

23. The data recording device of claim 21 wherein said at least one semiconductor memory comprises at least one dynamic random access memory and a nonvolatile memory, said controller is operative to store said digital data within said dynamic random access memory periodically and said controller is further operative in response to said weapon discharge sensor output signal to cause selected digital data stored within said dynamic random access memory to be read from said dynamic random access memory and stored within said nonvolatile memory.

24. The data recording device of claim 23 wherein said nonvolatile memory comprises at least one flash memory.

25. The data recording device of claim 23 wherein said nonvolatile memory comprises at least one bubble memory.

26. The data recording device of claim 23 wherein said nonvolatile memory comprises an electrically erasable programmable random access memory.

27. The data recording device of claim 15 wherein said at least one semiconductor memory comprises at least one dynamic random access memory.

28. The data recording device of claim 15 wherein said controller includes a bidirectional communications interface and said controller is operative in response to receipt of a read command having a specified password on said interface to transmit digital data preserved within said at least one semiconductor memory over said interface.

29. The data recording device of claim 28 wherein said bidirectional communications interface comprises a bidirectional serial interface.

30. The data recording device of claim 15 further comprising an enable sensor coupled to said controller, wherein said enable sensor is operative to produce a signal having a first state when said weapon is disposed within a holster and said enable sensor is operative to produce a signal having a second state when said weapon is not disposed within said holster, and said controller is operative to cause the storage of said digital data within said at least one semiconductor memory only when said enable sensor signal is in said second state.

31. The data recording device of claim 30 wherein said enable sensor comprises a switch.

32. The data recording device of claim 31 wherein said switch comprises a magnetically actuatable switch.

33. The data recording device of claim 32 wherein said magnetically actuatable switch comprises a magnetically actuatable reed switch.

34. The data recording device of claim 15 further comprising:

a clock operative to generate date and time information; and

a character generator operative to generate digital representations of said date and time information;

wherein said controller is operative to store at least some of said digital representations of said date and time information within said at least one semiconductor memory in association with the stored digital data.

35. A data recording device for preserving data, comprising:

a sensor configured to detect an occurrence;

a memory configured to store at least one of audio and video data such that later stored data is recorded over previously stored data;

a nonvolatile memory; and

a controller configured to transfer the data stored in the memory to the nonvolatile memory based on the detection of the occurrence by the sensor;

wherein the transferred data corresponds to a period of time beginning prior to the detection of the occurrence by the sensor and ending subsequent to the detection of the occurrence by the sensor.

36. The data recording device of claim 35, wherein:

the occurrence is a first occurrence and the period of time is a first period of time;

the sensor is further configured to detect a second occurrence; and

the controller is further configured to transfer the data stored in the memory which corresponds to a second period of time beginning prior to the detection of the second occurrence by the sensor and ending subsequent to the detection of the second occurrence by the sensor to the nonvolatile memory based on the detection of the second occurrence by the sensor.

37. The data recording device of claim 35, further comprising:

a portable housing having the sensor, the memory, the nonvolatile memory, and the controller disposed therein.

38. The data recording device of claim 35, further comprising:

a weapon;

wherein the occurrence is the firing of the weapon.