Method and apparatus for operating a camera

• US 9,049,371 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2013
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Blanco, Alejandro G., Sabripour, Shervin
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park, Sunghyoun
• Application Number:
  US13/743,703
• Publication Number:
  US 20140199041A1
• Time in Patent Office: 866 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19621 Portable camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19641 Multiple cameras having overlapping views on a single scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/58 Means for changing the camera field of view without moving the camera body, e.g. nutating or panning of optics or image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/651 for reducing power consumption by affecting camera operations, e.g. sleep mode, hibernation mode or power off of selective parts of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A method and apparatus for operating a camera are provided herein. During operation of the camera, a first field of view (FOV) for the camera will be determined along with “undesirable” camera directions. A determination is made whether or not to obtain images from the camera based on whether or not the first FOV is aligned with an undesirable camera direction.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

logic circuitry determining a first field of view (FOV) for a first camera, determining an undesirable FOV, and determining if the first FOV and the undesirable FOV overlap; and

a sensor capturing video when the first FOV and the undesirable FOV do not overlap;

wherein the first camera operates in a higher-powered state when the first FOV and the undesirable FOV do not overlap, operates in a lower-powered state when the first FOV and the undesirable FOV overlap, wherein the higher-powered state consumes more battery power than the lower-powered state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a wireless transmitter wirelessly transmitting the recorded video to a storage device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the undesirable FOV comprises a FOV of a second camera.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the undesirable FOV comprises a FOV of an object.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a wireless receiver wirelessly receiving the undesirable FOV.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first FOV and the undesirable FOV comprise a compass heading.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the first FOV and the undesirable FOV further comprise a geographic location.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the first FOV and the undesirable FOV further comprise a level reading.

9. A camera comprising:

a wireless receiver receiving an undesirable field of view (FOV);

a sensor used to collect video;

context-aware circuitry;

logic circuitry determining a first FOV from the context aware circuitry;

a transmitter wirelessly transmitting any collected video; and

wherein the logic circuitry operates the sensor to collect video when the first FOV does not overlap the undesirable field of view such that the camera operates in a higher-powered state when collecting video, and wherein the logic circuitry operates the sensor to not collect video when the first FOV overlaps the undesirable FOV such that the camera operates in a lower-powered state when not collecting video.

10. The camera of claim 9 wherein the undesirable FOV comprises a compass heading.