Transmission apparatus, instruction apparatus, transmission method, instruction method, and storage medium

• US 9,888,049 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2013
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Niida, Mitsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Eskandarnia, Arvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moreau, Austin
• Application Number:
  US14/022,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20140074977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,611 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234345 the reformatting operation being performed only on part of the stream, e.g. a region of the image or a time segment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/45455 applied to a region of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8453 by locking or enabling a set of features, e.g. optional functionalities in an executable program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

The present invention can determine whether to enable or disable a restriction function of viewing an image to be transmitted, for each video stream. There is provided a transmission apparatus configured to transmit a video stream including an image of a part of or a whole of a captured image to a plurality of destinations, and performs a first setting about whether to ON or OFF a viewing restriction function of a first video stream. Further, the transmission apparatus performs a second setting, independently from the first setting, for setting ON or OFF the viewing restriction function for a second video stream different from the first video stream.

Claims

1. A moving image transmission apparatus configured to transmit a plurality of video streams captured by one imaging apparatus to a plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, the moving image transmission apparatus comprising:

a reception unit configured to receive, from a moving image reception apparatus from the plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, a video stream request for acquiring the video stream from the plurality of video streams, the video stream request including setting information used for determining whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image; and

a transmission unit configured to transmit, to the moving image reception apparatus, a video stream of restricted moving image data in which at least a partial area of an image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing or a video stream of unrestricted moving image data in which an image included in the video stream is not restricted from viewing, according to the setting information received by the reception unit,

wherein the reception unit receives, from the moving image reception apparatus, an inquiry request for inquiring whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of the unrestricted moving image data, and

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image reception apparatus, a response to the inquiry request, the response corresponding to authority of the moving image reception apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry request,

wherein the inquiry request is independent from the video stream request,

wherein the inquiry request is transmitted from the moving image reception apparatus to the reception unit, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information from the moving image reception apparatus to the reception unit,

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image reception apparatus, the response to the inquiry request, before receiving the video stream request including the setting information from the moving image reception apparatus, and

wherein, for each video stream from the plurality of video streams, whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image is determined.

2. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when the video stream request has been received by the reception unit, the transmission unit transmits the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data to the moving image reception apparatus, according to the setting information, and

wherein the video stream request is a transmission request for transmission of specification information for specifying the video stream.

3. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information includes an instruction to cause the transmission unit to transmit the video stream of restricted moving image data to the moving image reception apparatus, or an instruction to cause the transmission unit to transmit the video stream of unrestricted moving image data to the moving image reception apparatus.

4. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information includes an instruction to cause the moving image transmission apparatus to determine whether to transmit the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data to the moving image reception apparatus.

5. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting information includes identification information for identifying the moving image reception apparatus.

6. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a holding unit configured to hold a restriction setting for setting a restriction on viewing a part of or a whole of an image included in the video stream,

wherein, in a case where the holding unit does not hold the restriction setting when the reception unit has received the setting information, the transmission unit transmits an error response to the moving image reception apparatus.

7. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry request is an inquiry request, to the moving image transmission apparatus, for inquiring whether an instruction to transmit the video stream of restricted moving image data to the moving image reception apparatus or an instruction to transmit the video stream of unrestricted moving image data to the moving image reception apparatus can be performed on the moving image transmission apparatus.

8. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a holding unit configured to hold identification information about a first moving image reception apparatus having authority to receive the video stream of unrestricted moving image data and identification information about a second moving image reception apparatus having no authority to receive the video stream of unrestricted moving image data,

wherein, the reception unit receives the identification information for identifying a moving image reception apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry request, and

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image reception apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry request, a response indicating whether the video stream of unrestricted moving image data can be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus, based on the identification information received by the reception unit and the identification information held by the holding unit.

9. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, by superimposing a mask image on a part of or a whole of an image included in the video stream, the part of or the whole of the image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing.

10. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in a case where the reception unit receives the video stream request including the setting information, the transmission unit transmits a video stream according to the setting information or an error response to the moving image reception apparatus, and

wherein, in a case where the reception unit receives a video stream request not including the setting information, the transmission unit determines either the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data as a video stream to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus, and transmits the video stream determined to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

11. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the response to the inquiry request includes at least one of information indicating whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of restricted moving image data, information indicating whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of unrestricted moving image data, and information indicating whether the moving image transmission apparatus is capable of determining whether either the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

12. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reception unit receives, from the moving image reception apparatus, the setting information which is transmitted together with the video stream request.

13. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the reception unit receives the video stream request for, the transmission unit determines either the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data as a video stream to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus, and transmits the video stream determined to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

14. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the response to the inquiry request includes information indicating whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of restricted moving image data, and information indicating whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of unrestricted moving image data.

15. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the response to the inquiry request includes information indicating whether the moving image transmission apparatus is capable of determining whether either the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

16. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the response to the inquiry request includes information indicating whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of restricted moving image data, information indicating whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of unrestricted moving image data, and information indicating whether the moving image transmission apparatus is capable of determining whether either the video stream of restricted moving image data or the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is to be transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

17. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a whole of an image included in the video stream of restricted moving image data is not restricted from viewing.

18. The moving image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before the video stream is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

19. A moving image reception apparatus configured to receive a video stream from a moving image transmission apparatus configured to transmit a plurality of video streams captured by one imaging apparatus to a plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, the moving image reception apparatus comprising:

a transmission unit configured to transmit a video stream request for acquiring the video stream from the plurality of video streams, the video stream request including setting information used for determining whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image to the moving image transmission apparatus; and

a reception unit configured to receive a video stream of restricted moving image data in which at least a partial area of an image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing or a video stream of unrestricted moving image data in which an image included in the video stream is not restricted from viewing, each of which is transmitted from the moving image transmission apparatus based on the setting information,

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image transmission apparatus, an inquiry request for inquiring whether the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is receivable, and

wherein the reception unit receives, from the moving image transmission apparatus, a response to the inquiry request, the response corresponding to authority of the moving image reception apparatus,

wherein the inquiry request is independent from the video stream request,

wherein the inquiry request is transmitted from the transmission unit to the moving image transmission apparatus, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information from the transmission unit to the moving image transmission apparatus,

wherein the response to the inquiry request is received by the reception unit from the moving image transmission apparatus, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information to the moving image transmission apparatus, and

wherein, for each video stream from the plurality of video streams, whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image is determined.

20. The moving image reception apparatus according to claim 19, wherein a response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before the video stream is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

21. A transmission method for transmitting a plurality of video streams captured by one imaging apparatus to a plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, the method comprising:

receiving a video stream request for acquiring the video stream from the plurality of video streams, the video stream request including setting information used for determining whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image;

transmitting, to a moving image reception apparatus from the plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, a video stream of restricted moving image data in which at least a partial area of an image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing or a video stream of unrestricted moving image data in which an image included in the video stream is not restricted from viewing, according to the setting information received;

receiving, from the moving image reception apparatus, an inquiry request for inquiring whether the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is receivable; and

transmitting, to the moving image reception apparatus, a response to the inquiry request, the response corresponding to authority of the moving image reception apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry request,

wherein the inquiry request is independent from the video stream request,

wherein the inquiry request is transmitted from the moving image reception apparatus before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information from the moving image reception apparatus,

wherein the response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before receiving the video stream request including the setting information from the moving image reception apparatus, and

wherein, for each video stream from the plurality of video streams, whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image is determined.

22. The transmission method according to claim 21, wherein a response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before the video stream is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

23. A reception method for receiving a video stream from a moving image transmission apparatus configured to transmit a plurality of video streams captured by one imaging apparatus to a plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, the method comprising:

transmitting a video stream request for acquiring the video stream from the plurality of video streams, the video stream including setting information used for determining whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image to the moving image transmission apparatus;

receiving a video stream of restricted moving image data in which at least a partial area of an image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing or a video stream of unrestricted moving image data in which an image included in the video stream is not restricted from viewing, each of which is transmitted from the moving image transmission apparatus based on the setting information;

transmitting, to the moving image transmission apparatus, an inquiry request for inquiring whether the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is receivable; and

receiving, from the moving image reception apparatus, a response to the inquiry request, the response corresponding to authority of the moving image reception apparatus,

wherein the inquiry request is independent from the video stream request,

wherein the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image transmission apparatus, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information to the moving image transmission apparatus,

wherein the response to the inquiry request is received from the moving image transmission apparatus, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information to the moving image transmission apparatus, and

wherein, each video stream from the plurality of video streams, whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image is determined.

24. The reception method according to claim 23, wherein a response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before the video stream is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer of a moving image transmission apparatus, configured to transmit a plurality of video streams captured by one imaging apparatus to a plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, to function as:

a reception unit configured to receive, from a moving image reception apparatus from the plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, a video stream request for acquiring the video stream from the plurality of video streams, the video stream request including setting information used for determining whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image; and

a transmission unit configured to transmit, to the moving image reception apparatus, a video stream of restricted moving image data in which at least a partial area of an image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing or a video stream of unrestricted moving image data in which an image included in the video stream is not restricted from viewing, according to the setting information received by the reception unit,

wherein the reception unit receives, from the moving image reception apparatus, an inquiry request for inquiring whether the moving image reception apparatus is capable of receiving the video stream of unrestricted moving image data, and

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image reception apparatus, a response to the inquiry request, the response corresponding to authority of the moving image reception apparatus that has transmitted the inquiry request,

wherein the inquiry request is independent from the video stream request,

wherein the inquiry request is transmitted from the moving image reception apparatus to the reception unit, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information from the moving image reception apparatus to the reception unit,

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image reception apparatus, the response to the inquiry request, before receiving the video stream request including the setting information from the moving image reception apparatus, and

wherein, each video stream from the plurality of video streams, whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image is determined.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 25, wherein a response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before the video stream is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer of a moving image reception apparatus, configured to receive a video stream from a moving image transmission apparatus configured to transmit a plurality of video streams captured by one imaging apparatus to a plurality of moving image reception apparatuses, to function as:

a transmission unit configured to transmit a video stream request for acquiring the video stream from the plurality of video streams, the video stream request including setting information used for determining whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image to the moving image transmission apparatus; and

a reception unit configured to receive a video stream of restricted moving image data in which at least a partial area of an image included in the video stream is restricted from viewing or a video stream of unrestricted moving image data in which an image included in the video stream is not restricted from viewing, each of which is transmitted from the moving image transmission apparatus based on the setting information,

wherein the transmission unit transmits, to the moving image transmission apparatus, an inquiry request for inquiring whether the video stream of unrestricted moving image data is receivable, and

wherein the reception unit receives, from the moving image transmission apparatus, a response to the inquiry request, the response corresponding to authority of the moving image reception apparatus,

wherein the inquiry request is independent independent from the video stream request,

wherein the inquiry request is transmitted from the transmission unit to the moving image transmission apparatus, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information from the transmission unit to the moving image transmission apparatus,

wherein the response to the inquiry request is received by the reception unit from the moving image transmission apparatus, before transmitting the video stream request including the setting information to the moving image transmission apparatus, and

wherein, each video stream from the plurality of video streams, whether to restrict viewing of a part of or a whole of an image is determined.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 27, wherein a response to the inquiry request is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus before the video stream is transmitted to the moving image reception apparatus.