Monitoring system and related image searching method

• US 9,715,630 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vivotek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vivotek, Inc.
• Inventors: Shih, Yi-Hsuen, Wu, Guan-Zhong, Liu, Chien-Wen
• Primary Examiner(s): HARVEY, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US14/644,209
• Publication Number:
  US 20150269442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 348159
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/74 Browsing; Visualisation therefor end-user interfaces for requesting or interacting with video content, e.g. video on demand interfaces or electronic program guides, H04N21/472
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/56 relating to colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/07 Target detection
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/00 Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

A method of searching an image, which is disclosed in the present invention, includes selecting a first timing and a second timing to generate a first period, obtaining a plurality of first images from a first video streaming within the first period, and setting a second period according to at least one first image so as to obtain a plurality of second images from the first video streaming within the second period. The method of searching the image further includes simultaneously displaying a plurality of third image from a second video streaming within the second period, enlarging a selected image of the second images or the third images, and simultaneously enlarging another image that is captured at the same time as the time when the enlarging selected image is captured. The two enlarging images respectively belong to the first video streaming and the second video streaming.

Claims

1. An image searching method applied to a monitoring system having a first video streaming and a second video streaming, the image searching method comprising:

selecting a first timing and a second timing to generate a first period;

obtaining a plurality of first images from the first video streaming within the first period, wherein the plurality of first images is not continuous images;

setting a second period according to a time interval between two adjacent first images of the plurality of first images so as to obtain a plurality of second images from the first video streaming within the second period;

displaying a plurality of third images from the second video streaming within the second period simultaneously;

enlarging a selected image from the plurality of second images or from the plurality of third images; and

enlarging another image captured at a time equivalent to timing of the enlarged selected image, wherein the two foresaid enlarged images respectively belong to the first video streaming and the second video streaming.

2. The image searching method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining the plurality of first images within the first period by a predetermined function.

3. The image searching method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined function averagely distributes the first period into a plurality of timings, and respectively obtains the plurality of first images according to the plurality of timings.

4. The image searching method of claim 1, further comprising:

reading a capturing time of one of the two enlarged images; and

displaying the video streaming belonging to the read enlarged image according to the capturing time.

5. The image searching method of claim 4, wherein a step of displaying the video streaming belonging to the read enlarged image according to the capturing time comprises:

displaying the corresponding video streaming at a present timing about the capturing time or at another timing with a predetermined interval from the capturing time.

6. The image searching method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the capturing time of the enlarged image conforms to daylight saving time; and

displaying an image adjusted by the daylight saving time while the capturing time conforms to the daylight saving time.

7. A monitoring system comprising:

a first camera adapted to obtain a first video streaming;

a second camera adapted to obtain a second video streaming, field of view of the second video streaming being different from field of view of the first video streaming;

an input interface;

a display unit; and

a controller electrically connected to the first camera, the second camera, the input interface and the display unit, the controller being adapted to read a first timing and a second timing to generate a first period and then to drive the display unit to obtain a plurality of first images from the first video streaming within the first period, the controller being further adapted to set a second period according to a time interval between two adjacent first images of the plurality of first images, to obtain a plurality of second images from the first video streaming within the second period and to drive the display unit to simultaneously display a plurality of third images from the second video streaming within the second period, the controller being further adapted to read a selected position of the input interface, to enlarge a selected image from the plurality of second images or from the plurality of third images and to simultaneously enlarge another image captured at a time equivalent to timing of the enlarged selected image, wherein the two foresaid enlarged images respectively belong to the first video streaming and the second video streaming and the plurality of first images is not continuous images.

8. The monitoring system of claim 7, wherein the controller drives the display unit to display images of the first video streaming, and then drives the display unit to display images of the second video streaming after reading a command from the input interface.

9. The monitoring system of claim 7, wherein the controller further obtains the plurality of first images within the first period by a predetermined function according to a command from the input interface.

10. The monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the predetermined function averagely distributes the first period into a plurality of timings, and respectively obtains the plurality of first images according to the plurality of timings.

11. The monitoring system of claim 7, wherein the controller reads a capturing time of one of the two enlarged images, and drives the display unit to display the video streaming belonging to the read enlarged image according to the capturing time.

12. The monitoring system of claim 11, wherein a step of displaying the video streaming belonging to the read enlarged image according to the capturing time comprises displaying the corresponding video streaming at a present timing about the capturing time or at another timing with a predetermined interval from the capturing time.

13. The monitoring system of claim 7, wherein the controller determines whether the capturing time of the enlarged image conforms to daylight saving time, and drives the display unit to display an image adjusted by the daylight saving time while the capturing time conforms to the daylight saving time.