Network surveillance video camera system

• US 20010056579A1
• Filed: 08/22/2001
• Published: 12/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Security Video Camera Systems Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kogane, Haruo, Nakamura, Manabu, Higashimura, Mamoru
• Granted Patent: US 7,028,328 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/105
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19634 Electrical details of the system, e.g. component blocks for carrying out specific functions
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19663 Surveillance related processing done local to the camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19667 Details realated to data compression, encryption or encoding, e.g. resolution modes for reducing data volume to lower transmission bandwidth or memory requirements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19671 Addition of non-video data, i.e. metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19673 Addition of time stamp, i.e. time metadata, to video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19691 Signalling events for better perception by user, e.g. indicating alarms by making display brighter, adding text, creating a sound
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Monitor camera units, a data storing unit, a control server, a monitor display are coupled by a network. The monitor camera unit includes a motion detector for detects a motion from video data, a microphone, a traffic monitor, a memory for storing the video data, a sensor signal input circuit. The traffic monitor monitors the traffic of the network. If the traffic is high, only necessary data or sound data is transmitted. The memory stores the video data in response to the motion detector and a thinning circuit thins the video data from the memory in response to a sensor signal. The control server receives the alarm data from the monitor camera and further receives the alarm type data, time data, position data of a pivoting unit for pivoting the camera unit and transmits the data to the display terminal. In the presence of a loud sound, alarm data is also generated but it is not sent if a switch is OFF. The control server includes a data base storing set of alarm data. If an operator judges one set of alarm data is an error, the set of data is not erased but mark data is correspondingly stored to inhibit searching the set of data. During the night, the exposure and transmitting intervals are increased to prevent the same data from being transmitted twice.

Claims

1. A network surveillance video camera system using a network comprising:

a plurality of video camera units, each having a different address and generating video data, each including motion detection means for detecting a motion of an image from said video data and communication means for communicating with said network to transmit said video data and an output of said motion detection means;

storing means, having a different address and communication means for communicating with said network, for receiving and storing said video data from said video camera units through said network;

displaying means, having a different address and communication means for communicating with said network, for displaying said video data from said storing means and said video camera units; and

control server coupled to said network having a different address for automatically communicating with said network to control said addresses of said video camera units, said storing means, and said display means.

2. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein at least one of said camera units further comprises a memory for storing said video data and traffic detection means for detecting a traffic amount of said network and comparing said traffic amount with a reference and transmitting, to said displaying means, only a portion of said video data regarding that said motion detection means detects said motion when said traffic amount exceeds said reference.

3. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein at least one of said camera units further comprises a microphone for generating sound data and traffic detection means for detecting a traffic amount of said network and comparing said traffic amount with a reference and transmitting said sound data to said displaying means as well as inhibiting to transmit said video data when said traffic amount exceeds said reference and said displaying means further comprises a speaker for reproducing said sound data.

4. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein at least one of said video camera units further comprises a memory for storing, said video data in response to said motion detection means, sensor input means for receiving a sensor signal, and thinning means for thinning said video data in said memory to transmit said thinned video data to said network.

5. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein each of said video camera units includes:

sensor input means for receiving a sensor signal; and

alarm signal generation means for generating alarm data in response to said sensor signal and said motion detection means to transmit said alarm data and data regarding said alarm data including said sensor signal to said control server and said control server further includes;

data base for storing sets of said alarm data and said data regarding said alarm data;

input means for inputting keyword data and mark data;

searching means for searching said alarm data in said data base in accordance with said keyword; and

data base control means for storing said mark data in response to said input means with correspondence with one of said sets of said alarm data to inhibit searching means from searching one of said sets of said alarm data corresponding to the mark data.

6. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein each of said video camera units further includes:

pivoting means for changing an optical axis of said video camera unit in accordance with control data; and

position data generation means for generating position data of said pivoting means;

time data generation means for generating time data;

alarming means responsive to a sensor signal and said motion detection means for generating alarm data and alarm type data and transmitting said alarm data, said alarm type data, alarm sub-data including said position data and said time data, and said address of said video camera unit and said control server further includes;

a table storing relation between addresses of said video camera units and data of installation places of said video camera units; and

control means for receiving said alarm data from one of said video camera units, obtaining said position data and said data of installation place of said one of video camera units which transmits the alarm data, and transmitting said alarm data, said alarm type data, said data of installation place of said one of said video camera units, and alarm sub-data including said position data and said time data, and said address of said one of video camera units, to said displaying means.

7. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein at least one of said video camera units further comprises microphone means for receiving a sound signal around said each video camera unit and generating sound data from said sound signal, comparing means for comparing a level of said sound data with a reference, alarm means for generating alarm data when said level exceeds said reference, and a switch for either transmitting said alarm data or not transmitting said alarm data to said network.

8. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, at least one of said video camera units includes a CCD imager for successively generating said video data with an exposure interval and brightness level detection means for detecting a brightness level, and exposure control means for changing said exposure interval from a first exposure interval to a second exposure interval which is longer than said first exposure interval and for changing a transmitting interval of said video data from a first interval to a second interval which is longer than said first interval to prevent said video camera unit from transmitting the same field or frame of video data twice, when said brightness level is less than said reference brightness level.

9. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said control server generates an address table of said plurality of video camera units and transmits said address table to said storing means, said storing means further comprises storing means for receiving and storing said address table and monitoring means for monitoring said network to receive and store said video data from said video camera units within said network surveillance video camera system.

10. A network surveillance video camera system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said control server generates an address table of said plurality of video camera units and transmits said address table to said display means, said display means further comprises storing means for receiving and storing said address table and monitoring means for monitoring said network to receive and display said video data from said video camera units within said network surveillance video camera system.