Image providing service system

• US 7,479,987 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Paolantonio, Sergio, Watanabe, Jun-ichiro, Hohmann, Peter, Hoshino, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho; Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Quang V
• Application Number:
  US11/072,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20060132605A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 348/211.3, 348/14.08, 348/14.09
• US Class Current: 348/211.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00137 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00148 Storage information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00164 at a remote location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00172 directly from a still digital camera or from a storage medium mounted in a still digital camera H04N1/0018 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

To take a ceremonial photograph including a user himself/herself in a theme park or the like, the user must hand to a third person a camera to ask the photographing. There is a system which can take a picture of a user when the user is in a predetermined position, but the user cannot confirm the picture when the user is being photographed. For the purposes, an image service system includes plural cameras connected to a network, an administration server for accumulating or distributing images taken by the cameras, and a client terminal for displaying the images taken by the cameras. The position of the user and the positions of surrounding cameras located within a predetermined distance from the client terminal are detected automatically. Images including the user can be displayed on the terminal.

Claims

1. An image service system comprising:

a plurality of cameras connected to a network; and

an administration server connected to said plurality of cameras and a client terminal capable of displaying images taken by said cameras, said administration server accumulating said images taken up by said cameras and/or distributing said images to said client terminal;

wherein said administration server acquires position information of a user holding said client terminal based on communication with said client terminal, detects said cameras within a predetermined distance from said user based on said position information, selects a camera taking images including said user, and provides said images including said user from the selected camera to said client terminal.

2. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein:

said client terminal is a terminal device connected to said administration server through said network and including a communication portion for making communication with said network, a display portion for displaying images and menus, an input portion for accepting an input from said user, a computing portion for performing control and computing upon said communication portion and said display portion;

said display portion displays a menu selection screen including icons and a cursor, and images from said cameras; and

said computing portion activates a function associated with an icon selected from said icons or reads image data associated likewise when a selection input for selecting said icon is accepted in said input portion with said cursor being focused on said icon.

3. An image service system according to claim 2, wherein said client terminal applies a software process to an image acquired from said administration server through said communication portion so as to perform operation such as zooming or scrolling on said image.

4. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said client terminal includes means for detecting position information and notifying said administration server of said position information.

5. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said client terminal includes a communication module for making communication with another terminal through said network so that said client terminal can transfer administration data to another client terminal or another device.

6. An image service system according to claim 5, wherein said client terminal and said another terminal can be set in a mode in which images surrounding said client terminal and said another terminal can be provided to each other using positions of said client terminal and said another terminal grasped by said administration server.

7. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said administration server includes a storage portion for always accumulating images from said plurality of cameras.

8. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said administration server includes a data management table for managing user information and camera information.

9. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said administration server includes a storage portion for recording camera IDs, date information and image frame information of recorded image data.

10. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said cameras are connected to said network so as to continuously transfer image data to said administration server.

11. An image service system according to claim 1, wherein said administration server holds camera information for specifying photographing ranges of said plurality of cameras, and selects a camera taking images including said user based on said camera information.

12. An image service system comprising:

a plurality of cameras connected to a network; and

an administration server connected to said plurality of cameras and a client terminal capable of displaying images taken by said cameras, said administration server accumulating said images taken up by said cameras and/or distributing said images to said client terminal;

wherein said administration server acquires real-time position information of a user holding said client terminal based on communication with said client terminal, detects said cameras within a predetermined distance from said user based on said position information, selects a camera taking real-time images including said user, and provides said real-time images including said user from the selected camera to said client terminal.

13. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein:

said client terminal is a terminal device connected to said administration server through said network and including a communication portion for making communication with said network, a display portion for displaying images and menus, an input portion for accepting an input from said user, a computing portion for performing control and computing upon said communication portion and said display portion;

said display portion displays a menu selection screen including icons and a cursor, and images from said cameras; and

said computing portion activates a function associated with an icon selected from said icons or reads image data associated likewise when a selection input for selecting said icon is accepted in said input portion with said cursor being focused on said icon.

14. An image service system according to claim 13, wherein said client terminal applies a software process to said real-time image acquired from said administration server through said communication portion so as to perform operation such as zooming or scrolling on said real-time image.

15. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said client terminal includes means for detecting position information and notifying said administration server of said position information.

16. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said client terminal includes a communication module for making communication with another terminal through said network so that said client terminal can transfer administration data to another client terminal or another device.

17. An image service system according to claim 16, wherein said client terminal and said another terminal can be set in a mode in which said real-time images surrounding said client terminal and said another terminal can be provided to each other using positions of said client terminal and said another terminal grasped by said administration server.

18. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said administration server includes a storage portion for always accumulating images from said plurality of cameras.

19. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said administration server includes a data management table for managing user information and camera information.

20. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said administration server includes a storage portion for recording camera IDs, date information and image frame information of recorded image data.

21. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said cameras are connected to said network so as to continuously transfer image data to said administration server.

22. An image service system according to claim 12, wherein said administration server holds camera information for specifying photographing ranges of said plurality of cameras, and selects a camera taking images including said user based on said camera information.