Security surveillance system capable of outputting still images together with moving images

• US 7,889,229 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2005
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyohide Kashiwayama
• Original Assignee: Toyohide Kashiwayama
• Inventors: Chang, Myung-Hyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Safaipour; Houshang
• Application Number:
  US11/242,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20070040909A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,960 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/148, 348/153, 348/159, 348/169
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

The present invention relates to a security surveillance system. The security surveillance system includes an image acquisition unit, a surveillance image transmission unit, and a surveillance image reception unit. The image acquisition unit acquires captured image signals from a plurality of cameras and outputs them. The surveillance image transmission unit separates the acquired images into moving images and still images, and generates and transmits surveillance images where the still images are separated at predetermined regular intervals. The surveillance image reception unit separately stores the moving images and the still images, reads a still image near a moving image output at a time when a signal requesting the output of the still image is received, and outputs the read still image. Therefore, the system according to the present invention can provide still images together with moving images at the time of the output of images for security surveillance, thus improving the efficiency of security surveillance.

Claims

1. A security surveillance system capable of outputting still images together with moving images, comprising:

an image acquisition unit for acquiring captured image signals from a plurality of cameras and outputting them;

a surveillance image transmission unit for separating the acquired images into moving images and still images, and generating and transmitting surveillance images where the still images are separated at predetermined regular intervals; and

a surveillance image reception unit for separately storing the moving images and the still images, reading a still image near a moving image output at a time when a signal requesting the output of the still image is received, and outputting the read still image, and

wherein the surveillance image transmission unit comprises;

an image reception unit for receiving images from the cameras;

a moving image buffer for storing the received moving images;

a still image buffer for storing still images at regular intervals;

a moving image compression unit for receiving and compressing the moving images stored in the moving image buffer;

a still image compression unit for receiving and compressing the still images stored in the still image buffer;

a surveillance image generation unit for packetizing the compressed moving images and the compressed still images for transmission;

a first interface unit for transmitting packets of the generated surveillance images; and

a transmission control unit for controlling the elements for transmitting the surveillance images.

2. The security surveillance system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit sets the intervals at which the image reception unit separates the still images from the received images, notifies the image reception unit of the set intervals, and controls the image reception unit so as to separate the still images at the set intervals.

3. The security surveillance system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the image reception unit packetizes the moving images and the still images so that still images are inserted into each of the moving images at the set intervals, and formats the packetized images in conformity with a transmission standard under the control of the transmission control unit.

4. The security surveillance system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the surveillance image reception unit comprises:

a second interface unit for receiving surveillance images from the surveillance image transmission unit and outputting the received images;

a surveillance image separation unit for separating each of the received surveillance images into still images and a moving image;

a moving image restoration unit for receiving and restoring the separated moving images;

a still image restoration unit for receiving and restoring the separated still images;

a moving image storage unit for storing the restored moving images;

a still image storage unit for storing the restored still images;

a surveillance image output unit for outputting the restored still images and the restored moving images;

an input unit for receiving a signal requesting output of the still image; and

a reception control unit for controlling the elements so as to selectively output the moving images or the still images in response to the request signal.

5. The security surveillance system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the reception control unit reads a still image of a frame nearest the moving image currently output from the still image storage unit when the signal requesting output of the still image is input, and outputs the read still image to the surveillance image output unit.

6. The security surveillance system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the still image has higher resolution than the moving image.