System and method for providing image information using mobile communication base station antennas

• US 8,289,394 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KMW Incorporated
• Original Assignee: KMW Incorporated
• Inventors: Kim, Duk-Yong
• Primary Examiner(s): Avellino, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCLEOD, MARSHALL M
• Application Number:
  US12/679,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20110193965A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,489 Days
• Field of Search: 348/159
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/005 for forest fires, e.g. detecting fires spread over a large or outdoors area fire fighting forest fires A62C3/02
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/125 by using a video camera to detect fire or smoke
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• 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 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00323 with a measuring, monitoring or signaling apparatus, e.g. for transmitting measured information to a central location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A system for providing image information using mobile communication BS antennas is provided, in which each of a plurality of mobile communication BS antennas has a camera module for capturing a full area where the camera module is installed and transmits BS image information captured by the camera module to a remote control system, the remote control system has a BS image DB server and stores the BS image information received from the plurality of mobile communication BS antennas on a BS basis and on an antenna basis in the BS image DB server, and a service server receives the BS image information from the BS image DB server and provides the BS image information to a user terminal.

Claims

1. A system for providing image information using mobile communication Base Station (BS) antennas, comprising:

a plurality of mobile communication BS antennas, each having a camera module for capturing a full area where the camera module is installed, for transmitting BS image information captured by the camera module to a remote control system, each of the mobile communication BS antennas includes;

an antenna module including a typical radiation plate and a typical radiation device for transmitting or receiving a radio signal for a mobile communication service;

the camera module being installed in a ray dome of the antenna for capturing a full service area of an antenna system;

a transceiver for transmitting image information captured by the camera module to the remote control system and receiving a control signal from the remote control system;

a camera driver for controlling the camera module according to the control signal received from the remote control system through the transceiver;

a controller for providing overall control to operations of the mobile communication BS antenna including an operation of the camera driver; and

a memory for storing data for the operations of the mobile communication antenna;

wherein the controller controls a capturing direction of the camera module by transmitting the control signal received from the remote control system to the camera driver and stores an initial capturing direction of the camera module in the memory, so that the mobile communication BS antenna controls the camera module to the initial capturing direction;

the remote control system having a BS image DB server, for storing the BS image information received from the plurality of mobile communication BS antennas on a BS basis and on an antenna basis in the BS image DB server; and

a service server for receiving the BS image information from the BS image DB server and providing the BS image information to a user terminal;

wherein three mobile communication BS antennas are installed in a general three-sector BS, one for each sector, and three camera modules are installed in the mobile communication BS antennas, one for each sector.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna module is one of a sector antenna for transmitting a signal to a predetermined location and an omni-directional antenna for transmitting a signal in all directions over a wide area.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera module is installed outside the ray dome of the BS antenna.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera module includes one of a telescopic lens according to a usage of the image information captured by the camera module and an infrared camera for night surveillance.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller sets the camera module to capture one of a still image and a moving picture at every predetermined interval.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver transmits the image data to the remote control system on a data channel established between the BS and the remote control system, and the remote control system transmits the control signal to the transceiver on a control channel.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein phone numbers are allocated to the transceiver and the remote control system, and the transmission of the image data from the transceiver to the remote control system and the transmission of the control signal from the remote control system to the transceiver are performed in the same manner as typical transmission and reception of mobile communication service signals.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote control system is installed at a remote location through a Base Station Controller (BSC) or a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) of a mobile communication network, or directly installed in the BSC or the MSC.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote control system comprises:

the BS image DB server for storing the image data received from the BS antennas on a BS basis and on an antenna basis; and

a remote monitoring center for outputting the image data received from each BS in an appropriate format and transmitting the control signal for controlling the camera module to the each BS.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the service server comprises a DB.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the service server provides image information in the form of an application to which the terminal can connect over a communication network and has map information including information about locations where the BS antennas are installed.

12. A method for providing image information using mobile communication Base Station (BS) antennas, comprising:

transmitting user authentication information to a service server by a terminal;

identifying the terminal using the user authentication information and transmitting initial screen information including map information to the identified terminal by the service server;

displaying an initial screen for providing an image by the terminal;

transmitting BS selection information indicating a BS that will transmit image information to the terminal to the service server by the terminal;

transmitting the BS selection information to a BS image DB server by the service server; and

receiving image information from the BS image DB server and transmitting the image information to the terminal by the service server;

wherein the mobile communication BS antennas include;

a plurality of mobile communication BS antennas, each having a camera module for capturing a full area where the camera module is installed, for transmitting BS image information captured by the camera module to a remote control system, each of the mobile communication BS antennas includes;

an antenna module including a typical radiation plate and a typical radiation device for transmitting or receiving a radio signal for a mobile communication service;

the camera module being installed in a ray dome of the antenna for capturing a full service area of an antenna system;

a transceiver for transmitting image information captured by the camera module to the remote control system and receiving a control signal from the remote control system;

a camera driver for controlling the camera module according to the control signal received from the remote control system through the transceiver;

a controller for providing overall control to operations of the mobile communication BS antenna including an operation of the camera driver; and

a memory for storing data for the operations of the mobile communication antenna;

wherein the controller controls a capturing direction of the camera module by transmitting the control signal received from the remote control system to the camera driver and stores an initial capturing direction of the camera module in a memory, so that the mobile communication BS antenna controls the camera module to the initial capturing direction

the remote control system having a BS image DB server, for storing the BS image information received from the plurality of mobile communication BS antennas on a BS basis and on an antenna basis in the BS image DB server; and

a service server for receiving the BS image information from the BS image DB server and providing the BS image information to a user terminal;

wherein three mobile communication BS antennas are installed in a general three-sector BS, one for each sector, and three camera modules are installed in the mobile communication BS antennas, one for each sector.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user authentication information includes identification information of the terminal.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein if a user selects one BS, the BS selection information includes identification information of the selected BS, if the user selects an area, the BS selection information includes identification information of all BSs within the area, and if the user selects a BS of interest list, the BS selection information includes identification information of BSs listed in the BS of interest list.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the BS selection information includes information indicating whether user-requested image information is a still image or a moving picture and information indicating whether the user-requested image information is a current image or an image at a past time.