In-play camera associated with headgear used in sporting events and configured to provide wireless transmission of captured video for broadcast to and display at remote video monitors

• US 8,319,845 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2008
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Front Row Technologies LLC (Ortiz & Lopez PLLC)
• Original Assignee: Front Row Technologies LLC (Ortiz & Lopez PLLC)
• Inventors: Ortiz, Luis M.
• Primary Examiner(s): SELBY, GEVELL V
• Application Number:
  US12/259,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20090141130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,492 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348153-157, 3482111-2115, 348/211.12, 348/222.1, 348/333.01
• US Class Current: 348/211.8
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4181 for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/38 Transmitter circuitry for the transmission of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

System and method for capturing visual perspectives of live activities at an entertainment venue with wireless in-play video cameras associated with user equipment for transmission to enterprise equipment for processing and broadcast to remote video monitors for display. Video recording can be from more than one entertainment venue or can be more than one wireless in-play video camera. Remote video monitors can be venue-based hand held devices or video monitors used at home. Remote video monitors can include hand held devices and high definition televisions (e.g., HDTVs) including flat panel display screens therein. A user can select from more than one view from video cameras that the user wants displayed on the remote viewer, enabling a user of the remote video monitor to view more than one camera view through the remote viewer at a time/simultaneously.

Claims

1. A method for providing video camera perspectives recorded from live activities at entertainment venues for display at remote video monitors, said method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one wireless in-play video camera in association with sports headgear worn by an athlete operating as a participant in a live entertainment activity at an entertainment venue;

providing video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue;

capturing video of the live activity with said at least one wireless in-play video camera and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue;

transmitting the video captured by said at least one wireless in-play video camera and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue to enterprise equipment located at the live entertainment venue for processing said video from said sports headgear and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue;

processing at said enterprise equipment the video captured by said at least one wireless in-play video camera for wireless streaming of the video as digital data to authorized remote video monitors via a wireless data network capable of wirelessly streaming said digital data and comprising at least one of a cellular network and a wireless LAN; and

wirelessly streaming the video as said digital data from a server to the authorized remote video monitors via said wireless data network capable of wirelessly streaming said digital data and comprising at least one of a cellular network and a wireless LAN.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless LAN comprises a WiFi network having at least one wireless router through which the video is wirelessly transmitted and streamed as said digital data to the authorized remote video monitors.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving the video captured by said at least one wireless in-play video camera and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue at a remote video monitor;

processing said at least one of said sports headgear and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue video camera perspectives for user selected single or simultaneous display on said remote video monitor via said wireless data network capable of wirelessly streaming said digital data and comprising said at least one of said cellular network and said wireless LAN; and

displaying at least one video camera perspective from said at least one of sports headgear and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue on said remote video monitor in response to a user selection of video camera perspectives of said at least one of said sports headgear and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue via a touchscreen user interface associated with said remote video monitor.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving the video captured by said at least one wireless in-play video camera and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue at a remote video monitor; and

processing said at least one of said sports headgear and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue video camera perspectives for user selected single or simultaneous display on said remote video monitor via said wireless data network capable of wirelessly streaming said digital data comprising said at least one of said cellular network and said wireless LAN.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of displaying at least one video camera perspective on said remote video monitor in response to a user selection of said at least one video camera perspective from at least one of said sports headgear and said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue camera perspectives, said user selection transmitted via said wireless data network capable of wirelessly streaming said digital data and comprising said at least one of said cellular network and said wireless LAN.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said remote video monitor comprises at least one of:

a hand held device and a high definition television.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said remote video monitor comprises at least one of:

a hand held device and a high definition television, said hand held device comprising a Smartphone.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said video camera perspectives are provided to said remote video monitors from sports and entertainment activities at more than one entertainment venue as streaming data via said wireless data network capable of wirelessly streaming said digital data and comprising said at least one of said cellular network and said wireless LAN.

9. A method for providing video camera perspectives recorded from live activities at entertainment venues for display via at least one remote video monitor, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a wireless in-play video camera mounted in headgear worn by a sporting activity participant in a live activity in front of a live audience at an entertainment venue;

capturing video of the live activity with said wireless in-play video camera mounted in headgear worn by a sporting activity participant;

capturing video from video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue;

transmitting the video captured by said wireless in-play video camera mounted in headgear worn by a sporting activity participant and from video cameras located through said entertainment venue to enterprise equipment for processing as streaming video, said enterprise equipment associated with the live entertainment venue; and

wirelessly streaming of the video as digital data from a server to said at least one remote video monitor via a wireless data network capable of streaming said digital data and comprising at least one of a cellular network and a wireless LAN, if said at least one remote video monitor is authorized to receive the wirelessly streaming of the video.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of processing the streaming video for broadcast to said at least one remote video monitor via said wireless data network capable of streaming said digital data and comprising said at least one of said cellular network and said wireless LAN.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of broadcasting the streaming video to said at least one remote video monitor via said wireless data network capable of streaming said digital data and comprising said at least one of said cellular network and said wireless LAN.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving the streaming video at a remote video monitor;

processing the streaming video into at least two video camera perspectives for user selected single or simultaneous display on said remote video monitor; and

displaying at least one video camera perspective from at least one of said sports headgear and at least one video camera located throughout said entertainment venue on said remote video monitor in response to a user selection of said at least one of said wireless in-play video camera mounted in headgear worn by a sporting activity participant and video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue video camera perspective on a user interface associated with said remote video monitor.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said remote video monitor comprises at least one of:

a hand held device and a high definition television.

14. A wireless in-play video camera system that provides visual perspectives captured of live activities at entertainment venues for display at remote video monitors, said system comprising:

user equipment provided in the form of safety headgear worn by and associated with an athlete as a participant in a live sports activity performed as entertainment occurring at a live entertainment venue in front of a live audience;

a wireless in-play video camera integrated within said headgear, said wireless camera configured to capture visual perspective of the live activity in the entertainment venue and transmit captured visual perspectives to enterprise equipment located within the entertainment venue;

video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue and providing live video in addition to video provided by said wireless video camera integrated within said headgear;

enterprise equipment located at the live entertainment venue and receiving video captured by said wireless in-play video camera mounted in headgear worn by a sporting activity participant and from said video cameras located throughout said entertainment venue and processing said video into streaming video for broadcast over wireless data communications networks capable of streaming said streaming video as said digital data to at least one remote video monitor comprising at least one of a hand held device and a high definition television; and

a processor that processes at said enterprise equipment, the video captured by said at least one wireless in-play video camera for wireless streaming of the video as digital data from at least one server to said at least one remote video monitor via said wireless data communications networks capable of streaming said digital data and comprising at least one of a cellular network and a wireless LAN, if said at least one remote video monitor is authorized to receive said wireless streaming of the video as said digital data from said at least one server.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said headgear includes at least one of a football helmet or a racing helmet.