System and method for storing pattern data

• US 7,312,814 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2003
• Issued: 12/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pelco Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pelco (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Bopp, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao, Anand
• Application Number:
  US10/349,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20030151662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,798 Days
• Field of Search: 348142-160
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A video surveillance system is provided for recording and executing camera operation patterns. Each pattern includes a plurality of records having a camera condition field and a count field. The system reads a camera condition and writes the condition to memory in a pattern record. The system compares each new camera condition with the condition stored in memory, and records a newly read condition into a new pattern record if the new camera condition is different from the condition data stored in the most recent pattern record. Otherwise, the count field is updated in the most recent pattern record by incrementing a count data therein. Patterns are executed by sequentially moving the camera through the camera condition stored in the pattern records, and keeping the system at a particular condition for a duration equal to the count data of each pattern record multiplied by a predetermined time interval.

Claims

1. A method of video surveillance comprising the steps of:

initializing a camera;

receiving a first camera condition data;

storing the first camera condition data in a first pattern record;

storing a count field in the first pattern record;

receiving a second camera condition data;

comparing the second camera condition data with the first camera condition data;

storing the second camera condition data in a new pattern record if the second camera condition data does not match the first camera condition data;

discarding the second camera condition data and incrementing the count field in the first pattern record if the second camera condition data matches the first camera condition data thereby reducing the number of pattern records stored;

retrieving the first pattern record;

controlling the camera in response to the first pattern record; and

using the count field in the first pattern record to determine if the next pattern record should be retrieved.

2. The video surveillance method of claim 1, further comprising writing the new pattern record to memory.

3. The video surveillance method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of camera conditions includes at least a first camera condition and a second camera condition, and the first camera condition data corresponding to the first camera condition, and the second camera condition data corresponding to the second camera condition data.

4. The video surveillance method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the first camera condition data at a first point in time; and

receiving the second camera condition data at a second point in time;

the second point in time being one predetermined time interval after the first point in time.

5. The video surveillance method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined time interval is one sixtieth of a second.

6. The surveillance method of claim 1, further comprising resetting the count field of the new pattern record to an initial value.

7. The video surveillance method of claim 1, further comprising comparing the count field of the first pattern record to an upper limit value;

storing the upper limit value as the count field of the first pattern record if the compared count field equals the upper limit value; and

resetting the count field of the new pattern record to an initial value.

8. The video surveillance method of claim 1, wherein the one or more camera condition fields of each pattern record include one or more data command selected from the group consisting of a tilt data command, a pan data command, a tilt speed data command, a pan speed data command, a zoom data command, a focus data command, and automatic scan data command, a manual scan data command, and an iris data command.

9. The video surveillance method of claim 1, wherein the one or more camera condition fields of each pattern record include a set of data command including a tilt data command, a pan data command, a tilt speed data command, a pan speed data command, a zoom data command, a focus data command, an automatic scan data command, a manual scan data command, and an iris data command.

10. A video surveillance camera comprising a memory and processor connected to said memory, said processor adapted to receive camera condition data and programmed to receive a first camera condition data, to store the first camera condition data in a first pattern record in said memory, to store a count field in the first pattern record, to receive a second camera condition data, to compare the second camera condition data with the first camera condition, to store the second camera condition data in a new pattern record in said memory if the second camera condition data does not match the first camera condition data, to discard the second camera condition data and increment the count field in the first pattern record if the second camera condition data matches the first camera condition data thereby reducing the number of pattern records stored, to retrieve the first pattern record from said memory, to control the camera in response to the first pattern record, and to use the count field in the first pattern record to determine if the next pattern record should be retrieved from said memory.