Communication apparatus generating camera information for a display terminal to access a camera to acquire an image from the camera

• US 8,615,561 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Issued: 12/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): SALL, EL HADJI MALICK
• Application Number:
  US11/053,951
• Publication Number:
  US 20050133585A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,239 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/220, 709/200, 709/203, 348/151, 348/333
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Status information concerning a particular terminal can be provided through a simple arrangement while utilizing a general-purpose network. A terminal which generates status information has a status sensing unit for sensing the status of the terminal or of an input/output unit. Information representing the status sensed is converted to text-format data and is transferred to a server on a network such as the Internet at predetermined time intervals by a unit for generating transmitted data. The data is stored as a file. An information display terminal uses a browser to read the data out of the server and display the data.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus connected to plural cameras and a display terminal via a network, comprising:

an acquiring unit configured to acquire, from each of plural cameras, current geographic position information and an IP address of each of the plural cameras;

a generating unit configured to generate map information for displaying at the display terminal a map indicating a position of each of the plural cameras based on the acquired current geographic position information of each of the plural cameras;

a transmission unit configured to transmit to the display terminal the generated map information and to transmit to the display terminal an IP address of a camera which is designated by a user at the display terminal, among IP addresses of the plural cameras on the map displayed at the display terminal, so that the display terminal can access the designated camera to acquire video data captured by the designated camera; and

an update unit configured to update the map information generated by the generating unit in accordance with a change in the current geographic position information acquired by the acquiring unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the current geographic position information of the camera is described in an HTML file.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the update unit further updates a sensing direction of each of the plural cameras in accordance with receiving camera direction status information from each of the plural cameras.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit configured to receive a request for a list of cameras around a geographic position designated by the display terminal,

wherein the generating unit further generates list information to include a list of camera information of cameras around the geographic position designated by the display terminal in reference to the current geographic position information of each camera.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates the map information including URL information to be used by the display terminal for getting an IP address and port number of the camera corresponding to a camera icon being designated on the display terminal which displays the map based on the map information.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the generating unit generates the map information including first URL information of a first camera and second URL information of a second camera such that the display terminal can get the IP address and port number of the first camera in a case where a camera icon corresponding to the first camera is designated by the display terminal, and the display terminal can get the IP address and port number of the second camera in a case where a camera icon corresponding to the second camera is designated by the display terminal.

19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmission unit transmits, to the display terminal, the map information including URL information of each of the plural cameras, and transmits, in response to a request for URL information sent from the display terminal, the IP address and the port number of the camera corresponding to the URL information to the display terminal.

5. A method of controlling a communication apparatus connected to plural cameras and a display terminal via a network, comprising:

an acquiring step of acquiring, from each of the plural cameras, current geographic position information and an IP address of each of the plural cameras;

a generating step of generating map information for displaying at the display terminal a map indicating a position of each of the plural cameras based on the acquired current geographic position information of each of the plural cameras;

a transmission step of transmitting to the display terminal the generated map information and transmitting to the display terminal an IP address of a camera which is designated by a user at the display terminal, among IP addresses of the plural cameras on the map displayed at the display terminal, so that the display terminal can access the designated camera to acquire video data captured by the designated camera; and

an updating step of updating the map information generated in the generating step in accordance with a change of the current geographic position information acquired by the acquiring unit.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the current geographic position information of the camera is described in an HTML file.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the update step further updates a sensing direction of each of the plural cameras in accordance with receiving camera direction status information from each of the plural cameras.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising a receiving step of receiving a request for a list of cameras around a geographic position designated by the display terminal,

wherein, in the generating step, list information including a list of camera information of cameras around the geographic position designated by the display terminal in reference to the current geographic position information of each camera is generated.

14. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the generating step generates the map information including URL information to be used by the display terminal for getting an IP address and port number of the camera corresponding to a camera icon being designated by the display terminal which displays the map based on the map information.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the generating step generates the map information including first URL information of a first camera and second URL information of a second camera such that the display terminal can get the IP address and port number of the first camera in a case where a camera icon corresponding to the first camera is designated by the display terminal, and the display terminal can get the IP address and port number of the second camera in a case where a camera icon corresponding to the second camera is designated by the display terminal.

20. The method according to claim 5, wherein, in said transmission step, the map information including URL information of each of the plural cameras is transmitted to the display terminal, and, in response to a request for URL information sent from the display terminal, the IP address and the port number of the camera corresponding to the URL information are transmitted to the display terminal.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program codes, which can be read and executed by a computer, for serving as a program to control a communication apparatus connected to plural cameras and a display terminal via a network, said program codes comprising codes to execute:

an acquiring step of acquiring, from each of plural cameras, current geographic position information and an IP address of each of the plural cameras;

a generating step of generating map information for displaying at the display terminal a map indicating a position of each of the plural cameras based on the acquired current geographic position information of each of the plural cameras;

a transmission step of transmitting to the display terminal the generated map information and transmitting to the display terminal an IP address of a camera which has been designated by a user at the display terminal, among IP addresses of the plural cameras on the map displayed at the display terminal, so that the display terminal can access to the designated camera to acquire video data captured by the designated camera; and

an updating step of updating the map information generated in the generating step in accordance with a change of the current geographic position information acquired by the acquiring unit.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the current geographic position information of the camera is described in an HTML file.

11. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the update step further updates a sensing direction of each of the plural cameras in accordance with receiving camera direction status information from each of the plural cameras.

12. The storage medium according to claim 9, further comprising a receiving step of receiving a request for a list of cameras around a geographic position designated by the display terminal,

wherein, in the generating step, list information including a list of camera information of cameras around the geographic position designated by the display terminal in reference to the current geographic position information of each camera is generated.

15. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein, the generating step generates the map information including URL information to be used by the display terminal for getting an IP address and port number of the camera corresponding to a camera icon being designated by the display terminal which displays the map based on the map information.

18. The storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the generating step generates the map information including first URL information of a first camera and second URL information of a second camera such that the display terminal can get the IP address and port number of the first camera in a case where a camera icon corresponding to the first camera is designated by the display terminal, and the display terminal can get the IP address and port number of the second camera in a case where a camera icon corresponding to the second camera is designated by the display terminal.

21. A communication apparatus connected to plural cameras and a display terminal via a network, comprising:

an acquiring unit configured to acquire, from each of the plural cameras, current geographic position information and an IP address of each of the plural cameras;

a generating unit configured to generate map information for displaying at the display terminal a map indicating a position of each of the plural cameras based on the acquired current geographic position information of each of the plural cameras; and

a transmission unit configured to transmit to the display terminal the generated map information and to transmit to the display terminal an IP address of a camera which has been designated by the user at the display terminal, among IP addresses of the plural cameras on the map displayed at the display terminal, so that the display terminal can directly access the designated camera without intervention of the communication apparatus.

22. A method of controlling a communication apparatus connected to plural cameras and a display terminal via a network, comprising:

an acquiring step of acquiring, from each of the plural cameras, current geographic position information and an IP address of each of the plural cameras;

a generating step of generating map information for displaying at the display terminal a map indicating a position of each of the plural cameras based on the acquired current geographic position information of each of the plural cameras; and

a transmission step of transmitting to the display terminal the generated map information and transmitting to the display terminal an IP address of a camera which has been designated by the user at the display terminal, among IP addresses of the plural cameras on the map displayed at the display terminal, so that the display terminal can directly access the designated camera without intervention of the communication apparatus.

23. A system comprising a communication apparatus connected to plural cameras and a display terminal via a network, comprising:

an acquiring unit configured to acquire, from each of the plural cameras, current geographic position information and an IP address of each of the plural cameras;

a generating unit configured to generate map information for displaying at the display terminal a map indicating a position of each of the plural cameras based on the acquired current geographic position information of each of the plural cameras; and

a transmission unit configured to transmit to the display terminal the generated map information and to transmit to the display terminal an IP address of a camera which has been designated by the user at the display terminal, among IP addresses of the plural cameras on the map displayed at the display terminal, so that the display terminal can directly access the designated camera without intervention of the communication apparatus.