Imaging apparatus and imaging system

• US 9,065,986 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2009
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: I-Pro Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizutani, Aritaka, Fujita, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): LI, TRACY Y
• Application Number:
  US12/557,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20100066829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/135, 348/388, 382/190, 382/192, 382/195, 382/203, 382/205, 382/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19682 Graphic User Interface [GUI] presenting system data to the user, e.g. information on a screen helping a user interacting with an alarm system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2624 for obtaining an image which is composed of whole input images, e.g. splitscreen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

The present invention provides an imaging apparatus capable of monitoring a plurality of monitored sites in a switching manner by a single surveillance camera and an imaging system. Provided are: an imager for imaging an object scene image so as to produce imaging data; a cutout processor for cutting out one portion of the imaging data so as to create a plurality of cutout image data; and an outputter for sequentially outputting the plurality of cutout image data to the external apparatus at a predetermined output interval.

Claims

1. A single monitoring camera, comprising:

an imager which repeatedly outputs image data representing a scene captured on a single imaging surface;

a storage element which stores a size and a position of each of a plurality of different cutout areas, each of said plurality of cutout areas having a unique identification number assigned on said imaging surface, in accordance with a user operation; and

an outputter which outputs a plurality of sets of display images, each set of the plurality of sets of display images representing a scene corresponding to the single cutout area stored in the storage element;

wherein the outputter outputs to a monitor device the sets of display images, corresponding to the cutout areas, in continual repetitive sequential order of the identification numbers assigned to the cutout areas at a predetermined interval.

2. A single monitoring camera according to claim 1, further comprising a creator which creates display image data representing a scene belonging to each of the plurality of cutout areas based on the image data outputted from said imager,

wherein a resolution of the image data outputted from said imager is higher than the resolution of said monitor device, and the resolution of the display image data created by said creator is equivalent to the resolution of said monitor device.

3. A single monitoring camera according to claim 1, further comprising a creator which creates display image data representing a scene belonging to each of the plurality of cutout areas based on the image data outputted from said imager,

wherein a zoom magnification for each of the plurality of cutout areas is stored in said storage element, and said creator includes a zoom processor which performs a zoom process in accordance with the zoom magnification stored in said storage element.

4. A single monitoring camera according to claim 1, wherein the outputter outputs in real time.

5. A single monitoring camera according to claim 1, wherein the outputter outputs the sets of display images at a predetermined interval by using a timer.

6. An imaging system provided with a single monitoring camera and an image processing apparatus:

said single monitoring camera, comprising;

an imager which repeatedly outputs image data representing a scene captured on a single imaging surface;

a storage element which stores a size and a position of each of a plurality of different cutout areas, each of said plurality of different cutout areas having a unique identification numbers assigned on said imaging surface, in accordance with a user operation;

a designator which sequentially designates each of the plurality of cutout areas stored in said storage element, in an order of the identification numbers; and

an outputter which outputs the display image data-designated by said designator to a monitor device, at a predetermined interval, and

said image processing apparatus, comprising;

a display processor which displays on a displayer an image based on the image data;

an area designator which designates a plurality of arbitrary areas on the image displayed by said displayer; and

an outputter which outputs to said imaging apparatus the plurality of arbitrary areas designated by said designator;

wherein, the display image data designated by the designator and outputted by the outputter represents a plurality of sets of display images for each of the plurality of the cutout areas.

7. An imaging system provided with single monitoring camera and an image processing apparatus:

said single monitoring camera, comprising;

an imager which repeatedly outputs image data representing a scene captured on a single imaging surface, and

said image processing apparatus, comprising;

an image receiver which receives said image data;

a storage element which stores a size and a position of each of a plurality of different cutout areas, each of said plurality of cutout areas having a unique identification number assigned on said imaging surface, in accordance with a user operation; and

an outputter which outputs a plurality of sets of display images, each set of the plurality of sets of display images representing a scene corresponding to the single cutout area stored in the storage element;

wherein the outputter outputs to a monitor device the sets of display images, corresponding to the cutout areas, in continual repetitive sequential order of the identification numbers assigned to the cutout areas at a predetermined interval.