System and method for remotely controlling a camera

• US 7,916,174 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2007
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Swamidas, Peter J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Villecco, John M
• Application Number:
  US11/958,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20090158364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207.2, 379/37, 379/45, 379/49, 379/88.13
• US Class Current: 348/207.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19689 Remote control of cameras, e.g. remote orientation or image zooming control for a PTZ camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19695 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors start video recording or forwarding but do not generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet

Abstract

A system and method for remotely controlling a camera may include a telephony device communicatively coupled to a data network. The telephony device comprises at least one module adapted to generate a control signal in response to receiving a user command associated with dialing of an emergency telephone number. A camera may be adapted to start capturing images in response of receiving the control signal.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

generating a control signal using a telephony device, for at least one camera, in response to receiving a user command associated with dialing of an emergency telephone number;

transmitting the control signal to the at least one camera, wherein the control signal causes the at least one camera to start capturing images,

receiving images from the at least one camera;

receiving a request to transmit the images from the at least one camera to at least one media server;

buffering the images prior to establishment of a data connection to transmit the images to the at least one media server;

establishing, from the telephony device communicatively coupled to the at least one camera, the data connection to the at least one media server;

transmitting the images from the at least one camera to the at least one media server via the data connection;

receiving a request, at the telephony device from the at least one media server, to manipulate the camera;

transmitting the request to manipulate the camera from the telephony device to the at least one camera; and

manipulating the at least one camera in response to the request to manipulate the camera.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is transmitted to the at least one camera via one of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the wired connection is one of a packet-based connection and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the wireless connection is one of an ethernet connection based on IEEE 802.11 protocol, and a connection based on bluetooth technology.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency telephone number is one of police, fire, ambulance, crime hotline, and security company.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is generated by a telephony device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is generated by a VOIP telephony device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a command to manipulate the at least one camera, wherein the command comprises at least one of zooming in, zooming out, rotating shooting angle, moving the camera vertically and moving the camera horizontally.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the data connection to the at least one media server comprises a low bandwidth connection and transmitting the images from the at least one camera to the at least one media server via the data connection comprises transmitting a number of frames per second reduced from a number of frames per second captured.

10. A non-transitory computer readable media comprising code to perform the acts of the method of claim 1.