Communication method and apparatus, server and client on network, and program codes realizing communication thereof

• US 8,782,126 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2011
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohi, Hirokazu, Suzuki, Yasutomo, Yamakawa, Tadashi, Sato, Mamoru, Okuno, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Kyung H
• Application Number:
  US13/192,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20110279694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 348/170, 348/169, 348/211.3, 348/220.1, 348/558, 348/E5.042, 710/62
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/39 involving multiple description coding [MDC], i.e. with separate layers being structured as independently decodable descriptions of input picture data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/86 involving reduction of coding artifacts, e.g. of blockiness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/236 Assembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. transport stream, by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, e.g. inserting a URL [Uniform Resource Locator] into a video stream, multiplexing software data into a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, e.g. to obtain a constant bit-rate; Assembling of a packetised elementary stream multiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios

Abstract

An end user is provided with an environment to easily remote-control a video camera via a general network such as the Internet. For this purpose, on a client side, the content of camera control is described in file-transfer protocol description, and the description is transferred to a camera server on the Internet via a browser. The camera server interprets the description, controls a camera in accordance with the designated content, to perform image sensing, and returns the obtained video image as the content of a file to the client. The client performs various controls while observing the video image. When a desired angle has been found, the client instructs to register the angle in a bookmark, then angle information displayed at that time is registered. Thereafter, when the user of the client can see the video image obtained on the same image-sensing conditions by merely select-designating the angle information registered in the bookmark.

Claims

1. A communication method in a communication apparatus remotely controlling, via the Internet, a camera control apparatus which controls a camera, said method comprising:

a requesting step of requesting the camera control apparatus identified by an address according to a first character string included in a URL to acquire an image captured by the camera in a condition according to a third character string included in the URL and to form, from the acquired image, image data according to an image format designated by a second character string included in the URL, wherein the condition according to a third character string comprises a concatenation of a letter representing at least on of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting of the camera, and a number representing a value of the at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting; and

a receiving step of, from the camera control apparatus which acquires the image captured by the camera in accordance with the request in the requesting step, receiving the image data, which, by the camera control apparatus identified by the address corresponding to the first character string included in the URL, has been acquired from the camera and has been formed in accordance with the image format designated by the second character string included in the URL.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third character string controls zooming, panning and tilting of the camera.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the URL includes a fourth character string for ordering in advance a photographing time of a picture by the camera.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the URL includes a fourth character string for ordering in advance photographing times of a plurality of pictures by the camera.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the fourth character string includes a character string designating a time interval to photograph the plurality of pictures.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the fourth character string includes a character string designating an image sensing angle for the plurality of pictures.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third character string represents panning and tilting values of the camera.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third character string represents a zooming value of the camera.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the letter representing at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting of the camera and an index of the number representing a value of the at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting, are next to each other.

10. A communication apparatus, including a memory for storing program instructions, which remotely controls, via the Internet, a camera control apparatus which controls a camera, said communication apparatus comprising:

a requesting unit that requests the camera control apparatus identified by an address according to a first character string included in a URL to acquire an image captured by the camera in a condition according to a third character string included in the URL and to form, from the acquired image, image data according to an image format designated by a second character string included in the URL, wherein the third character string comprises a concatenation of a letter representing at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting of the camera, and a number representing a value of the at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting; and

a receiving unit that, from the camera control apparatus which acquires the image captured by the camera in accordance with the request by the requesting unit, receives the image data which, by the camera control apparatus identified by the address corresponding to the first character string included in the URL, has been acquired from the camera and has been formed in accordance with the image format designated by the second character string included in the URL.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third character string controls zooming, panning and tilting of the camera.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the URL includes a fourth character string for ordering in advance a photographing time of a picture by the camera.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the URL includes a fourth character string for ordering in advance photographing times of a plurality of pictures by the camera.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the fourth character string includes a character string designating a time interval to photograph the plurality of pictures.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the fourth character string includes a character string designating an image sensing angle for the plurality of pictures.

16. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third character string represents panning and tilting values of the camera.

17. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the third character string represents a zooming value of the camera.

18. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the letter representing at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting of the camera and an index of the number representing a value of the at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting, are next to each other.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing a communication method of remotely controlling, via the Internet, a camera control apparatus which controls a camera, the communication method comprising:

a requesting step of requesting the camera control apparatus identified by an address according to a first character string included in a URL to acquire an image captured by the camera in a condition according to a third character string included in the URL and to form, from the acquired image, image data according to an image format designated by a second character string included in the URL, wherein the third character string comprises a concatenation of a letter representing at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting of the camera, and a number representing a value of the at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting; and

a receiving step of, from the camera control apparatus which acquires the image captured by the camera in accordance with the request in the requesting step, receiving the image data, which, by the camera control apparatus identified by the address corresponding to the first character string included in the URL, has been acquired from the camera and has been formed in accordance with the image format designated by the second character string included in the URL.

20. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the third character string controls zooming, panning and tilting of the camera.

21. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the URL includes a fourth character string for ordering in advance a photographing time of a picture by the camera.

22. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the URL includes a fourth character string for ordering in advance photographing times of a plurality of pictures by the camera.

23. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 22, wherein the fourth character string includes a character string designating a time interval to photograph the plurality of pictures.

24. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 22, wherein the fourth character string includes a character string designating an image sensing angle for the plurality of pictures.

25. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the third character string represents panning and tilting values of the camera.

26. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the third character string represents a zooming value of the camera.

27. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the letter representing at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting of the camera and an index of the number representing a value of the at least one of the focusing, zooming, panning and tilting, are next to each other.