Wireless video surveillance system and method with dual encoding

• US 7,936,370 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2004
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Smartvue Corp. (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Renkis, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): SENFI, BEHROOZ M
• Application Number:
  US10/949,776
• Publication Number:
  US 20060066721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,411 Days
• Field of Search: 348/272, 348/143, 348/148, 348/211.99, 348/211.14, 348/211.1, 348/211.3, 348/211.12, 348/152, 348/153, 348/154, 348/155, 348/699, 348/700, 348/701, 348/702, 348/159, 348/373, 340/500, 340/530, 340/539, 340/937, 340/908, 340/531, 340/5.53, 340/539.19, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.12, 340/539.13, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 386/125, 386/105, 709/318, 709/231, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19619 Details of casing
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19621 Portable camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1966 Wireless systems, other than telephone systems, used to communicate with a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19663 Surveillance related processing done local to the camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19673 Addition of time stamp, i.e. time metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1968 Interfaces for setting up or customising the system
• 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: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A surveillance system and method for activating communication between at least one wireless input capture device ICD(s) and a corresponding digital input recorder (DIR) and/or another ICD, including providing a base system; at least one user accessing the DIR via user interface remotely; the DIR and/or ICD searching for signal from the ICD(s) and receiving inputs in dual encoded formats, thereby providing a secure surveillance system having wireless communication for monitoring a target environment with optimized remote viewing.

Claims

1. A method for dual encoding of system inputs, with at least one wireless input capture device ICD(s) having a software running on an embedded DSP chip, and a corresponding digital input recorder (DIR) or another ICD forming a base system, comprising the steps of:

providing the base system, and the ICDs capturing inputs from a target environment;

the ICD(s) transmitting inputs to the DIR, wherein the ICDs and DIR are operable for direct cross-communication of inputs and for adjustment of ICD settings and controls in response to instructions transmitted by the DIR and directly received by the ICDs, and wherein the inputs are encoded to provide multiple formats; and

at least one user remotely accessing the DIR or the ICDs via a user interface with a remote viewing device,

thereby providing a secure surveillance system for a target environment with remote access by the user to the dual encoded inputs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple formats are dual formats.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple formats include visual representations of the data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the visual representations of the data include video and a series of still images that correspond to the video.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple formats are generated simultaneously.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the system further includes a remote server computer (RSC) through which the user interfaces with the system remotely.

7. A surveillance system for wireless communication between components comprising:

a base system including at least one wireless input capture device (ICD);

a DIR having a processor, a memory, a transmitter/receiver, and operable for wireless communication with the ICD(s) and a remote server computer (RSC);

wherein the ICD(s) having at least one sensor and at least one input component for detecting and recording inputs, a processor, a memory, a transmitter/receiver, all constructed and configured in electronic connection;

wherein the ICDs are operable for wireless direct cross-communication with each other and with the DIR without requiring interaction with the RSC for operation, wherein the direct cross-communication includes data exchange, and wherein the data exchange includes input data and information about the surveillance environment, settings, inputs, and combinations thereof; and

wherein the ICD is operable to encode inputs in two formats simultaneously via a DSP running software.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the multiple formats are dual formats.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the multiple formats include visual representations of the data.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the visual representations of the data include video and a series of still images that correspond to the video.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the multiple formats are generated simultaneously.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the inputs include a video stream that the DSP converts into an encoded video and a series of still images, wherein the still images provide a simulated video that corresponds to the encoded video.

13. The system of claim 7, further including a remote viewing device (RVD) upon which the user reviews the inputs captured by the ICD(s).

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the RSC determines a bandwidth communication associated with the RVD and optimizes the transmission of ICD inputs data accordingly.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the optimized transmission of ICD inputs data includes a series of still images that simulate the inputs, wherein the inputs are a streaming video.

16. The system according to claim 7, wherein the DIR and RSC are operable to provide previewing of images from multiple ICDs.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the images correspond to videos from a multiplicity of ICDs.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the images from multiple ICDs are viewable by a user simultaneously.

19. The system according to claim 14, wherein the DSP generates video at an optimized frame rate and/or size based on connection speed of the RVD.

20. The system according to claim 14, wherein the DSP generates still images at an optimized rate and/or size based on connection speed of the RVD.