Switching between operation modes of video surveillance device

• US 10,630,900 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2016
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yu, Hengle, Xu, Qiong, Chen, Xiaolei
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thai Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park, Sunghyoun
• Application Number:
  US15/774,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20180376063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10048 Infrared image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/50 Depth or shape recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/10 for generating image signals from different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/72 Combination of two or more compensation controls
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and device for switching between operation modes. The method includes: reading a current operation mode of a surveillance device, and recording an exposure parameter of the current operation mode; and when a switch between operation modes is to be performed, setting a target exposure value of a target operation mode to which the current operation mode is to be switched to, and calculating an exposure parameter of the target operation mode in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode. The device includes: a recording module; a detection module; and a switching module. The method and device of the disclosure directly estimate the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the exposure parameter of the current operation mode without gradually adjusting the exposure parameter by metering and exposure calculation, thereby significantly increasing a switching speed.

Claims

1. A method of switching between operation modes of a video surveillance device, comprising:

reading a current operation mode of the video surveillance device and recording an exposure parameter of the current operation mode; and

in case that a switch between operation modes is to be performed, setting a target exposure value of a target operation mode to be switched to, and calculating an exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation modes comprise a black/white mode and a color mode.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

determining whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to the current operation mode and an amount of ambient illumination.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein determining whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to the current operation mode and the amount of ambient illumination comprises:

in the case that the current operation mode is the black/white mode, determining that the current operation mode is to be switched to the color mode when the amount of ambient illumination is above a particular threshold; and

in the case that the current operation mode is the color mode, determining that the current operation mode is to be switched to the black/white mode when the amount of ambient illumination is below a particular threshold.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

determining whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to a distance between a monitored target and the video surveillance device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein determining whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to the distance between the monitored target and the video surveillance device comprises:

detecting the distance between the monitored target and the video surveillance device through either of a motion detection and a Passive Infrared (PIR) detection; and

determining that the current operation mode is to be switched to the color mode when the detected distance is within a particular range.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode, comprise:

calculating the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the following formula;

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

setting the shutter speed S1 of the target operation mode to one in a frame rate of the video surveillance device, and adjusting the gain of the video surveillance device according to the calculated gain G1 of the target operation mode.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the exposure parameter of the current operation mode comprises:

a first exposure value, a first gain, a first shutter speed, a first aperture, a first power of a white light compensator and a first transmittance of a light filter of the current operation mode;

wherein calculating the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode comprises;

calculating a product of a second gain and a second shutter speed of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value, a second aperture, a second power of the white light compensator and a second transmittance of the light filter of the target operation mode, the first exposure value, the first gain, the first shutter speed, the first aperture, the first power and the first transmittance in combination with a exposure equivalence principle.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

determining the second gain according to the product and the second shutter speed.

11. A device for switching between operation modes of a video surveillance device, comprising:

a processor; and

a machine-readable storage medium which stores machine-executable instructions corresponding to a logic for switching between operation modes,

wherein, by reading and executing the machine-executable instructions, the processor performs the following operation;

reading a current operation mode of the video surveillance device, and recording an exposure parameter of the current operation mode; and

in case that a switch between the operation modes is to be performed, setting a target exposure value of a target operation mode to be switched to, and calculating an exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the operation modes comprise a black/white mode and a color mode.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the processor is further caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

determine whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to the current operation mode and an amount of ambient illumination.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein when determining whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to the current operation mode and the amount of ambient illumination, the processor is caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

in the case that the current operation mode is the black/white mode, determine that the current operation mode is to be switched to the color mode when the amount of ambient illumination is above a particular threshold; and

in the case that the current operation mode is the color mode, determine that the current operation mode is to be switched to the black/white mode when the amount of ambient illumination is below a particular threshold.

15. The device according to claim 12, wherein the processor is further caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

determine whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to a distance between a monitored target and the video surveillance device.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein when determining whether the switch between the operation modes is to be performed according to the distance between the monitored target and the video surveillance device, the processor is caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

detect the distance between the monitored target and the video surveillance device through either of a motion detection and a Passive Infrared (PIR) detection; and

determine that the current operation mode is to be switched to the color mode when the detected distance is within a particular range.

17. The device according to claim 11, wherein calculating the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode, the processor is caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

calculate the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the following formula;

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the processor is further caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

set the shutter speed S1 of the target operation mode to one in a frame rate of the video surveillance device, and adjust the gain of the video surveillance device according to the calculated gain G1 of the target operation mode.

19. The device according to claim 11, wherein the exposure parameter of the current operation mode comprises:

a first exposure value, a first gain, a first shutter speed, a first aperture, a first power of a white light compensator and a first transmittance of a light filter of the current operation mode;

wherein calculating the exposure parameter of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value in combination with the exposure parameter of the current operation mode, the processor is caused by the machine-executable instructions to;

calculate a product of a second gain and a second shutter speed of the target operation mode according to the target exposure value, a second aperture, a second power of the white light compensator and a second transmittance of the light filter of the target operation mode, the first exposure value, the first gain, the first shutter speed, the first aperture, the first power and the first transmittance in combination with a exposure equivalence principle.

20. The device according to claim 19, wherein the processor is further caused by the machine-executable instructions to:

determine the second gain according to the product and the second shutter speed.