Imaging apparatus and network system using the same

• US 20030028615A1
• Filed: 06/21/2002
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kitamura, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,054,916 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/02 Networking aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/10 Use of a protocol of communication by packets in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/00 Specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/005 Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

A networked camera includes an I/F circuit so that it can be directly connected to a communication line L of the network. A computer connected to the network can control the imaging operation of the camera independent of any other computer. A desired network address can be attached to image data to send to the communication line L, and image data can be transferred to any other computer or device connected to the communication line L.

Claims

1. A display device, which can directly connect to a network, comprising:

an interface circuit, which is connected to a communication line through which an information packet including image information, control information, and header information indicating sender and receiver addresses of said information is transmitted, and which fetches said information packet from said communication line;

an image signal processing circuit for producing image signals based on the image information contained in said information packet;

a control circuit for controlling operation of said image signal processing circuit according to the control information contained in said information packet without instruction which is received on the display device independently; and

a display panel for displaying image based on said image signals,

wherein said interface circuit, to which is assigned an inherent address unique within the network, detects a match between the inherent address and the receiver address of said header information and identifies the sender address of said header information to permit display of images with specific addresses.

2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a frame memory, which is connected to said interface circuit and stores at least one frame of said image information contained in said information packet which is provided from said interface circuit.

3. A network system comprising:

a communication line for transmitting an information packet which includes image information, control information, and header information indicating sender and receiver addresses of said information;

at least one terminal device, connected to said communication line, which drives an authoring software to generate said image information, generates said information packet in which the header information indicating the own address uniquely assigned over the network and the receiver address is added to the generated image information, and sends out the generated information packet to said communication line; and

a display device, connected to said communication line, which fetches said information packet from said communication line based on said receiver address of said header information, and displays the images corresponding to said image information according to said control information without instruction which is received on the display device independently,

wherein said display device, to which is assigned an inherent address unique within the network, includes an interface circuit which detects a match between the inherent address and the receiver address of said header information contained in said information packet transmitted through said communication line to permit capturing of the information packet.

4. The network system according to claim 3, wherein one or more of said terminal devices each having a unique address and one or more of said display devices each having a unique address are connected in parallel to said communication line to transmit said information packet between one of the terminal devices and one of the display device based on said address.

5. The network system according to claim 4, wherein said interface circuit contained in said display device identifies the sender address of said header information to permit display of images with specific addresses.

6. The network system according to claim 4, wherein,

a user ID and a password assigned to each user of said terminal device is included in said information packet transmitted from said terminal device;

and

said interface circuit contained in said terminal device permits image display when matching of said user ID and said password is authenticated.