Information collecting system

• US 8,209,414 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2009
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Axis AB (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Axis AB (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sagefalk, Willy, Tullberg, Joacim, Adolfsson, Johan
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH CHAU
• Application Number:
  US12/423,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20090259747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,169 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A method for connecting a storage device to an information generating device includes transferring an identifying message from the storage device to a control server via a computer network. The identifying message includes a unique identifier uniquely identifying the storage device, matching a registered information generating system to the unique identifier, and identifying at least one information generating device included in the matched information generating system. A configuration message is transferred from the control server to the storage device, and the configuration message includes an address to the identified at least one information generating device and instructions of interaction. The instructions of interaction are arranged to define how the transfer of generated information is to be performed.

Claims

1. A method for connecting a storage device to a monitoring device, the method comprising:

transferring, in response to connecting the storage device to a computer network without user entry of information, an identifying message from the storage device to a control server, the control server arranged to manage user access to a monitoring system and to enable access to surveillance data originating from monitoring devices of the monitoring system, via the computer network, wherein the identifying message includes a unique identifier uniquely identifying the storage device;

matching the unique identifier to a registered monitoring system including at least one monitoring device;

transferring a test request from the control server to the storage device, the request including addresses to monitoring devices registered as part of the matched registered monitoring system;

sending from the storage device in response to the transfer of a test request a test message to the addresses included in the test request for testing of the connection to each of the monitoring devices assigned the addresses;

identifying at least one monitoring device included in the matched monitoring system;

transferring a configuration message from the control server to the storage device, wherein the configuration message includes an address to the identified at least one monitoring device and instructions of interaction;

transferring a request from the storage device to the monitoring device for monitoring information generated by the monitoring device, the request is formed in accordance with the instructions of interaction;

transferring monitoring information generated by the monitoring device from the monitoring device to the storage device in accordance with the request; and

storing transferred monitoring information at the storage device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transferring of monitoring information generated by the monitoring device includes transferring image information representing an image sequence generated by the information generating device and wherein the image information is divided into image information portions.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising receiving at a first storage device image information defining every n^th image information portion of the image sequence transferred from the monitoring device and receiving at a second storage device image information of the image sequence defining a frame transferred from the monitoring device in between the frames transferred to the first storage device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the registered monitoring system comprises two or more monitoring storage devices, wherein n equals the number of storage devices receiving image information from the monitoring device and wherein each one of n-1 storage devices receives image information defining one image information portion in between the receipt of image information defining an image information portion at the first storage device.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein n equals two and thereby a first storage device, of the resulting two storage devices, receives and stores image information defining every second image information portion of the image sequence transferred from the monitoring device and a second storage device receives and stores image information defining the image information portions between the image information portions received and stored by the first storage device.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

returning a test result, resulting from the sending of the test message, to the control server;

analyzing the test result at the control server; and

generating instructions of interaction based on the analysis.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the test result includes information indicating accessibility of devices from the device sending the test message.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transfer of an identifying message from the storage device to the control server is transferred from a private network to a public network, wherein the private network is connected to the public network via an access limiting device.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transferring a test request from the control server to a monitoring device of the matched registered monitoring system, the request including an address to the storage device; and

sending from the monitoring device in response to the transfer of a test request a test message to the address included in the test request for testing of the connection from the monitoring device.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transferring of the instructions of interaction includes transferring information instructing the storage device to request a specific data rate from a specific monitoring device.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transferring of the instructions of interaction includes transferring information instructing the monitoring device to transmit a specific data rate to a specific storage device.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a second storage device included in the matched registered monitoring system;

transferring a configuration message and instructions of interaction from the control server to the second storage device; and

transferring, in response to receipt of the configuration message, a request from the second storage device to the monitoring device for monitoring information generated by the monitoring device.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a second storage device included in the matched registered monitoring system; and

transferring a configuration message and instructions of interaction to the monitoring device from the control server, the configuration message includes the address to the first storage device, the address to the second storage device, and instructions of interaction instructing the monitoring device to transmit a portion of the monitoring information to the first storage device and a portion of the monitoring information to the second storage device.

14. A method for connecting a storage device to a monitoring device, the method comprising:

transferring, in response to connecting the storage device to a computer network without user entry of information, an identifying message from the storage device to a control server, the control server arranged to manage user access to a monitoring system and to enable access to surveillance data originating from monitoring devices of the monitoring system, via a computer network, wherein the identifying message includes a unique identifier uniquely identifying the storage device;

matching the unique identifier to a registered monitoring system including at least one monitoring device;

transferring a test request from the control server to the storage device, the request including addresses to monitoring devices registered as part of the matched registered monitoring system;

sending from the storage device in response to the transfer of a test request a test message to the addresses included in the test request for testing of the connection to each of the monitoring devices assigned the addresses;

identifying at least one monitoring device included in the matched monitoring system;

transferring a configuration message from the control server to the at least one monitoring device, wherein the configuration message includes an address to the storage device and instructions of interaction;

transferring monitoring information generated by the at least one monitoring device from the at least one monitoring device to the storage device in accordance with the instructions of interaction; and

storing transferred monitoring information at the storage device.