Surveillance system with direct database server storage

• US 8,830,327 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2011
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Tink, Edsel James, Van Der Elst, Yves, Gottardi, Victor
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao, Andy
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELAHI, SHAN E
• Application Number:
  US13/086,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20110279678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,244 Days
• Field of Search: 348/159
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/71 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19645 Multiple cameras, each having view on one of a plurality of scenes, e.g. multiple cameras for multi-room surveillance or for tracking an object by view hand-over
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19693 using multiple video sources viewed on a single or compound screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A video surveillance system includes at least one of a camera or a streamer. A data base server is coupled to the camera and can store metadata for a video clip from the camera or streamer. A media storage server is coupled to both the camera or, the streamer, and to the data base server to store the clip in the absence of any network video recorders.

Claims

1. A surveillance system comprising:

a plurality of cameras;

a storage unit which receives and stores at least video signals from the cameras; and

a database control system coupled to the cameras and to the storage unit, wherein to initiate a recording of video data, a camera of the plurality of cameras establishes a tcp connection with the database control system and reports metadata of the recording to the database control system, the camera sends a request to the database control system to acquire the camera'"'"'s configuration information, then establishes a tcp connection with a specific storage server of the storage unit as indicated in the configuration information and records the video data directly to the storage unit based upon the configuration information provided,

where the control system searches video signals stored in the storage unit in response to a user'"'"'s query, where workstation based client applications query the database control system for recordings via the metadata and then directly retrieve the recordings from the storage unit.

2. A system as in claim 1 which includes a plurality of user input units, coupled to the database control system, wherein the query is manually entered into one of the user input units and executed by the control system.

3. A system as in claim 2 which includes circuitry to select and initiate operation of a camera.

4. A system as in claim 3 wherein selected information relative to video and audio data from an operating camera is stored in the storage unit.

5. A system as, in claim 4 where the selected information comprises metadata.

6. A system as in claim 2 wherein the query from a user input unit causes the control system to retrieve selected, stored video from the storage unit.

7. A system as in claim 1 where the storage unit stores audio signals in addition to the video signals and the database control system comprises a data base server to implement centralized management and search functions of video and audio stored in the storage unit.

8. A video surveillance system comprising:

at least one of a camera and a streamer;

a data base server that stores metadata for a video clip from the at least one of the camera and the streamer; and

a media storage server coupled to the at least one of the camera and the streamer and to the data base server,

wherein to initiate a recording of the video clip, the at least one of the camera and the streamer establishes a tcp connection with the data base server and the data base server receives the metadata, the one of the camera and streamer sends a request to the data base server to acquire configuration information of the one of the camera and the streamer, then the one of the camera and the streamer establishes a tcp connection with a specific storage server of the media storage server as indicated in the configuration information and directly stores the video clip from the at least one of the camera and the streamer within the specific storage server of the media storage server and in the absence of any intervening recording device, and

wherein the data base server searches video clips stored on the storage server in response to a user'"'"'s query, where workstation based client applications query the data base server for recordings via the metadata and then directly retrieve the recordings from the media storage server.

9. A system as in claim 8 which includes circuitry to generate a trigger which activates the at least one of the camera and the streamer to obtain the video clip therefrom, wherein metadata for the video clip is stored on the data base server.

10. A system as in claim 9 which includes a user station coupled to the data base server and to the media storage server, wherein a query entered at the user station causes the data base server to retrieve the video clip from the media storage server.

11. A system as in claim 10 where the media storage server receives and stores audio clips, and wherein, in response to a query from the user station, the data base server retrieves a selected audio clip from the media storage server.

12. A system as in claim 11 where the data base server implements centralized management and search functions of video and audio clips stored in the media storage server.

13. A method of acquiring at least one video-clip comprising:

a camera at least intermittently obtaining video indicative of a region being monitored;

obtaining metadata associated with the video;

the camera establishing a connection with a first server and reporting the metadata;

the camera storing the metadata on the first server;

the camera sending a request to the first server for the camera'"'"'s configuration information;

the camera establishing a direct connection with a second different server as indicated by the configuration information;

the camera storing at least the obtained video on the second, different server;

the first server receiving a user query for the stored video where workstation based client applications query the first server for recordings via the metadata;

responding to the user query, where responding includes the workstation based client applications directly retrieving the stored video from the second, different server; and

visually presenting the retrieved video.

14. A method as in claim 13 which includes coupling the servers together and coupling each server to a source of the video.

15. A method as in claim 13 which includes obtaining audio and storing the obtained audio on the second, different server, where the first server implements centralized management and search functions of video and audio clips stored on the second, different server.