Video monitoring system for an exit

• US 9,866,799 B1
• Filed: 08/03/2015
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: Nelson, Jaclyn, Hurst, Lisa A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Imad
• Application Number:
  US14/816,305
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: 348143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19665 Details related to the storage of video surveillance data television signal recording H04N5/76
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19669 Event triggers storage or change of storage policy
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19671 Addition of non-video data, i.e. metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/248 EAS system combined with another detection technology, e.g. dual EAS and video or other presence detection system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An embodiment of a video monitoring system has at least one video camera directed at a detection system for obtaining video of the detection system. The detection system has a light source. A controller is coupled to the at least one video camera. The controller is configured to determine that the light source illuminates from the video of the detection system obtained by the at least one video camera. The controller is further configured to indicate an alarm in response to determining that the light source illuminates.

Claims

1. A monitoring system, comprising:

a monitoring device directed at a detector, the detector having a light, the monitoring device for obtaining images of the detector; and

a controller coupled to the monitoring device,

wherein the controller is configured to determine that the light illuminates from an image of the light contained in the images of the detector, the controller identifying a point on a Cartesian coordinate system as a location of the light,

wherein the controller is configured to form a geometrical object around the point in response to determining that the light has illuminated, the geometrical object highlighting the image of the light by highlighting pixels in the images of the detector that coincide with the geometrical object, the controller being configured to determine locations of the pixels using an equation or set of equations for the geometrical object using the point on the Cartesian coordinate system, and

wherein the controller is configured to implement a video analytic in response to forming the geometrical object around the point, and wherein as part of the video analytic, the controller indicates a location in a database where the images of the detector are stored and writes an identifier to image data corresponding to the images of the detector at a time that the light has illuminated.

2. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to determine that a brightness of a portion of the images of the detector corresponding to the image of the light changes by at least a certain amount in order to determine that the light illuminates.

3. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to add the identifier to a signal containing a time reference.

4. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the identifier is a randomly generated term generated by the controller.

5. The video monitoring system of claim 4, further comprising a search module that enables a user to input the identifier to locate image data containing the randomly generated term.

6. The video monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the controller stores the identifier in an alarm log such that the user can search the alarm log to locate image data.

7. The video monitoring system of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to store the identifier in the alarm log in the form of a hypertext so that the image data can be retrieved by selecting the identifier.

8. The video monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to create an image data file storing video data from the monitoring device in response to forming the geometrical object around the point as part of implementing the video analytic.

9. A monitoring system, comprising:

a monitoring device directed at a detector, the detector having a light source, the monitoring device for obtaining images of the detector; and

a controller coupled to the monitoring device;

wherein the controller is configured to determine that the light source illuminates from an image of the light source contained in the images of the detector, the controller identifying a point on a Cartesian coordinate system as a location of the light source;

wherein the controller is configured to determine a location of the point in response to determining that the light source has illuminated by identifying a center of pixels corresponding to the light source whose brightness has changed by a certain amount as a result of the light source illuminating; and

wherein the controller is configured to implement a video analytic in response to determining that the light source has illuminated, and wherein as part of the video analytic, the controller indicates a location in a database where the images of the detector are stored and writes an identifier to image data corresponding to the images of the detector at a time that the light has illuminated.

10. The video monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the point on the Cartesian coordinate system is predetermined.

11. The video monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to monitor the pixels corresponding to the light and containing the predetermined point on the Cartesian coordinate system for changes in brightness of the pixels.

12. The video monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to indicate an alarm in response to determining that the light source illuminates and storing a location where video of the detector corresponding to the alarm is stored, wherein the controller stores the location by randomly generating a term and writing that term to video of the detector corresponding to the alarm such that the term is displayed with the video and such that a user can input the term to locate the location where the video is stored, and wherein the controller additionally stores the term in an alarm log such that the user can search the alarm log to locate the video.

13. The video monitoring system of claim 12, wherein the controller stores the location by writing an identifier to video of the detector corresponding to the alarm.

14. The video monitoring system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to indicate the identifier when indicating the alarm.

15. The video monitoring system of claim 12, further comprising a data file in which the controller stores the location.

16. A method of monitoring an exit area of a facility, the exit area containing a detection system having a light, the method comprising:

capturing images of the exit area and the detection system with at least one camera;

determining that the light illuminates from an image of the light by averaging a brightness over pixels of the image to determine an average brightness, and by determining a difference between numerical values indicative of the average brightness at two different times to determine whether the difference is at least equal to a certain amount;

identifying a point on a Cartesian coordinate system as a location of the light;

forming a geometrical object around the point in response to determining that the light has illuminated, the geometrical object highlighting the image of the light by highlighting pixels in the images of the detector that coincide with the geometrical object;

determining locations of the pixels using an equation or set of equations for the geometrical object using the point on the Cartesian coordinate system;

indicating an alarm in response to determining that the light illuminates;

storing a location where the images of the exit area when the alarm is indicated are stored by writing an identifier to image data corresponding to captured images of the exit area and the detection system corresponding to the alarm; and

storing the identifier of the location of the captured images of the exit area and the detection system corresponding to the alarm and/or an identifier of the alarm in an alarm log, wherein the alarm log is searchable based on the identifier.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the captured images contain an image of the light, and further comprising forming the geometrical object around the image of the light within the captured images after the light illuminates in response to determining that the light illuminates.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising implementing a video analytic in response to forming the geometrical object around the point, and as part of the video analytic, indicating a location in a database where the images of the exit area are stored.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising indicating the identifier when indicating the alarm.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising retrieving the captured images of the exit area and the detection system corresponding to the alarm in response to a user selecting the identifier.