Image pickup device with image masking

• US 7,423,667 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Issued: 09/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hayasaka, Ikumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHIPKEY, JASON T
• Application Number:
  US10/943,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20050068437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/231.99, 348/231.3, 348/231.6
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19686 Interfaces masking personal details for privacy, e.g. blurring faces, vehicle license plates
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

An image obtained on imaging is correlated with the information pertinent to a privacy mask, designed to shield an image obtained on imaging, for convenience in image recording processing by an external device, including a downstream side image recording device, first and foremost. An image shielding area for shielding the image of an object on an output image surface is generated, based on a control signal transmitted from an image recording system 2. This image shielding area is synthesized to the image of the object so that the image shielding area is prioritized over the image of the object. The synthesized image is correlated with the information pertinent to the image shielding area and sent to the image recording system 2.

Claims

1. An image pickup device comprising

image pickup means for converting an image of an object into image signals for obtaining the image signals;

mask area signal generating means for generating mask area signals to be masked on a display image surface of said image signals obtained by said image pickup means, based on a control signal transmitted from an external device;

image signal synthesizing means for synthesizing said mask area signals to said image signals for said object so that said mask area signals are prioritized; and

transmission control means for associating the image signals synthesized by said image signal synthesizing means with information pertinent to said mask area and for transmitting the resulting image signals-mask area information to said external device,

wherein the information pertinent to said mask area is a takeup ratio of said mask area on said display image surface.

2. The image pickup device according to claim 1 further comprising

image pickup control means for controlling a pickup image angle in said image pickup means;

said mask area signal generating means changing the size of said mask area in dependence upon the pickup image angle controlled by said image pickup control means;

said transmission control means attaching importance to the correlation of the size of the mask area to the pickup image angle.

3. An image pickup device comprising image pickup means for converting an image of an object into image signals for obtaining the image signals;

mask area signal generating means for generating mask area signals to be masked on a display image surface of said image signals obtained by said image pickup means, based on a control signal transmitted from an external device;

image signal synthesizing means for synthesizing said mask area signals to said image signals for said object so that said mask area signals are prioritized; and

transmission control means for associating the image signals synthesized by said image signal synthesizing means with information pertinent to said mask area and for transmitting the resulting image signals-mask area information to said external device,

wherein said transmission control means verifies whether or not a takeup ratio of said mask area on said display image surface is equal to or larger than a preset threshold value and sends verified results to the external device.

4. The image pickup device according to claim 3 wherein said verified results represent the information used for said external device controlling the halting or non-halting of an image recording operation.

5. An image pickup device comprising

an image pickup unit configured to convert an image of an object into image signals to obtain the image signals;

a mask area signal generating unit configured to generate mask area signals to be masked on a display image surface of said image signals obtained by said image pickup unit, based on a control signal transmitted from an external device;

an image signal synthesizing unit configured to synthesize said mask area signals to said image signals for said object so that said mask area signals are prioritized; and

a transmission control unit configured to associate the image signals synthesized by said image signal synthesizing unit with information pertinent to said mask area and to transmit the resulting image signals-mask area information to said external device,

wherein the information pertinent to said mask area is a takeup ratio of said mask area on said display image surface.

6. An image pickup device comprising

an image pickup unit configured to convert an image of an object into image signals to obtain the image signals;

a mask area signal generating unit configured to generate mask area signals to be masked on a display image surface of said image signals obtained by said image pickup unit, based on a control signal transmitted from an external device;

an image signal synthesizing unit configured to synthesize said mask area signals to said image signals for said object so that said mask area signals are prioritized;

a transmission control unit configured to associate the image signals synthesized by said image signal synthesizing unit with information pertinent to said mask area and to transmit the resulting image signals-mask area information to said external device; and

a controller configured to verify whether or not a takeup ratio of the mask area on said display image surface is equal to or larger than a preset threshold value;

wherein said transmission control unit transmits verified results of said controller to an image recording device, and said image recording device is a device halting or not halting a recording processing based on said verified results.