Loop recording with book marking

• US 7,593,034 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2008
• Issued: 09/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stellar, LLC
• Original Assignee: Paul Dekeyser
• Inventors: DeKeyser, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Diep; Nhon T
• Application Number:
  US12/268,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20090051768A1
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19621 Portable camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19676 Temporary storage, e.g. cyclic memory, buffer storage on pre-alarm
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/001 Concealed systems, e.g. disguised alarm systems to make covert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/288 Protecting disks from being written or overwritten
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/006 with video camera or receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A surveillance apparatus continuously records imaged data from a camera into a circular buffer in a local memory. When a record signal is received, the system records the video stream that was recorded before the record signal was received, and the video stream that is recorded after the record signal was received. The recorded segment is then write-protected, so that the surveillance apparatus does not overwrite the recorded segment. The recorded segment could then be sent to a remote memory via a wireless connection to free up local memory for future recording sessions.

Claims

1. A surveillance apparatus, comprising:

a camera having an image capturing component that captures images, and a converting component that converts the images into at least one data stream;

a local memory functionally coupled to the camera;

a wireless transmitter functionally coupled to the local memory;

a recording facility that continuously records the data stream into available portions of a circular buffer in the local memory as a first file using a digital video file format;

a protecting facility that responds to a signal to record by designating a segment of the circular buffer as a write-protected portion and by indexing the write-protected portion as a second distinct file in the circular buffer, wherein the segment includes a pre-recorded subset recorded before the signal is received and a post-recorded subset to be recorded after the signal is received; and

a sending facility that uses the transmitter to wirelessly transmit the second file to a remote memory.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-recorded subset is at least 5 seconds long.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the segment is at least 10 seconds long.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor that automatically triggers the signal to record upon detecting identified content in at least one of the captured images.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an interface through which a human can initiate the signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an interface through which a human can designate a length of time of at least one of the pre-recorded subset, the post-recorded subset, and the segment.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote memory is located on a mobile phone.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a mobile phone automatically receives the second file from the wireless transmitter and automatically forwards the second file to the remote memory.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a mount for the camera.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the mount is a pair of wearable glasses.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising an electronic index that provides a directory to the first and the second files within the circular buffer.

12. A method of processing imaged data from a camera, comprising the following steps:

receiving a stream of the imaged data;

recording the stream into available portions of a circular buffer as a first file using a digital video file format;

responding to a signal by write-protecting a segment that includes a newly recorded portion of the buffer, wherein the newly recorded portion is recorded before the signal is received, and includes a post-recorded portion to be recorded after the signal is received;

indexing write protected portions of the buffer as separate, distinct files during the step of recording; and

wirelessly transmitting at least one of the distinct files from the write-protected portions of the circular buffer to a remote memory.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing the distinct files from the write-protected portions as the distinct, separate files in the remote memory.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising recording the stream as the first file into physically dis-contiguous parts of the circular buffer.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the signal to save a recording comprises a signal to start recording and a signal to stop recording.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving the signal to save a recording through at least one of a manually operated switch and an audio signal.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising configuring the size of the pre-recorded subset.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising removing write-protection from a transmitted write-protected portion after transmission of its corresponding distinct file.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending a warning to a user before the write protected segment of the circular buffer is fully recorded.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising extending a length of the write protected segment of the circular buffer in response to at least one of a manually operated switch and an audio signal.