Television – Camera – system and detail – Remote control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-07
2003-04-08
Ho, Tuan (Department: 2612)
Television
Camera, system and detail
Remote control
C348S333110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06545708
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a controlling device, a controlling method, a receiving apparatus, a receiving method, an image reproducing apparatus, an image reproducing method and a transmission medium, and more particularly to those adapted for control of an image pickup device.
In monitoring through remote control of an image pickup device such as a video camera, it has been customary heretofore that a controlling device on the side of an operator is connected to the image pickup device via a communication line, and the operator manipulates the controlling device in a manner to obtain a desired image while watching the images transmitted thereto.
When the image pickup device has a recorder, any still or moving image outputted from the image pickup device is once recorded in a recording medium such as a film or magnetic tape and then is transmitted to the operator via a communication line.
In the related art, it is generally ordinary to employ an analog line or ISDN as a communication line. However, since an image transmission rate is not sufficiently high in any of such communication lines, there exists a problem that an extremely long time is required for confirming whether a desired image has been obtained or not.
Moreover, there may occur a case where the delay or the transmission rate in the communication line is not exactly fixed, so that a feedback loop including the operator is rendered unstable to consequently bring about some difficulty in control.
Further, due to the reason mentioned, trial and error are repeated until finding a proper manipulation to realize the intended result, hence raising another problem that some vain communication and operation of the image pickup device are caused.
Besides the above, when retrieving a desired scene out of entire still or moving images recorded in the recorder, random access is difficult since the recording medium is a film or magnetic tape as described, whereby a long time is required until arrival at the desired scene.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to realize smooth control of an image pickup device executed via a communication line.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controlling device which comprises an input means to input information for setting an image pickup device; a prediction means for predicting an image of an object to be obtained upon reset of the image pickup device in response to the setting information received from the input means; an output means for outputting to a display device the image obtained from the prediction means; a decision means for making a decision as to whether a control action corresponding to the setting information from the input means is to be executed or not; and a send means for sending a control signal, which corresponds to the setting information received from the input means, to the image pickup device via a transmission medium after execution of the control action is decided by the decision means.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controlling method which comprises the steps of detecting a current set state of an image pickup device; inputting information for setting the image pickup device; predicting an image of an object to be obtained upon reset of the image pickup device in response to the input setting information; outputting the predicted image to a display device; making a decision as to whether a control action corresponding to the input setting information is to be executed or not with reference to the image being displayed on the display device; and sending a control signal, which corresponds to the input setting information, to the image pickup device via a transmission medium after execution of the control action is decided in the preceding step.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transmission medium for transmitting a computer program which has functions to execute the steps of inputting information for setting an image pickup device; predicting an image of an object to be obtained upon reset of the image pickup device in response to the input setting information; outputting the predicted image to a display device; making a decision as to whether a control action corresponding to the input setting information is to be executed or not with reference to the image being displayed on the display device; and sending a control signal, which corresponds to the input setting information, to the image pickup device via a transmission medium after execution of the control action is decided in the preceding step.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving apparatus which comprises a receiving means for receiving pickup-device setting information transmitted thereto from a controlling device via a transmission medium; a prediction means for predicting an image of an object to be obtained upon reset of the image pickup device in response to the setting information received from the input means; a send means for sending to the controlling device the image obtained from the prediction means; and a setting means for setting the image pickup device in response to the setting information upon reception of a control command from the controlling device to set the image pickup device in response to the setting information.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving method which comprises the steps of receiving pickup-device setting information transmitted from a controlling device via a transmission medium; predicting an image of an object to be obtained upon reset of the image pickup device in response to the received setting information; sending the predicted image to the controlling device; and setting the image pickup device in response to the setting information upon reception of a control command from the controlling device to set the image pickup device in response to the setting information.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transmission medium for transmitting a computer program which has functions to execute the steps of receiving pickup-device setting information transmitted from a controlling device via a transmission medium; predicting an image of an object to be obtained upon reset of the image pickup device in response to the received setting information; sending the predicted image to the controlling device; and setting the image pickup device in response to the setting information upon reception of a control command from the controlling device to set the image pickup device in response to the setting information.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reproducing apparatus which comprises a first storage means for storing images picked up by an image pickup device; a second storage means for storing pickup-device setting information at the time of shooting the images; an input means to input a range of images to be reproduced; a retrieval means for retrieving the images, which correspond to the range obtained from the input means, out of the entire images stored in the first storage means; a conversion means for converting the retrieved images in response to the relevant setting information stored in the second storage means; a composition means for forming a single composite image out of the converted images; and an output means for outputting the composite image to a display device.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reproducing method which comprises the steps of storing images shot by an image pickup device; storing pickup-device setting information at the time of shooting the images; inputting a range of images to be reproduced; retrieving the images, which correspond to the range obtained from the input step, out of the entire images stored in the first storage step; converting the retrieved images in response to the relevant setting information stored in th
Hosonuma Naoyasu
Iijima Toshiyuki
Koyanagi Masakazu
Tamayama Ken
Tomitaka Tadafusa
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Ho Tuan
Simon Darren M.
Sony Corporation
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