Television – Special applications – Observation of or from a specific location
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-12
2002-11-05
Britton, Howard (Department: 2712)
Television
Special applications
Observation of or from a specific location
C348S152000, C348S153000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06476858
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to security and control systems and, in particular, to a computerized video monitoring and security system based on a standard PC platform.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Alarm and security systems are now common additions to many homes and businesses. Sophisticated systems are able to communicate with a control center to alert the police, fire department, security center or a property owner. Although such systems are able to communicate an intrusion or event to some extent, the user or operator of the system is unable to visually verify what actually happened at the remote location. As such, when a false alarm occurs, the user of the system or the authority in charge must physically travel to the alarm site to verify what actually happened.
Other systems based on remote video surveillance are able to monitor remote premises, but the user of the system must, from time to time, activate a remote console to view what is happening at a remote location. For example, the user of the system may have to establish a dial-up connection across normal telephone lines. A dial-up connection may represent an additional expense, since in order to monitor the remote location, the user has to remain on line for several minutes until a video image arrives. Also, since such systems are for remote monitoring only and do not provide automated video recording, any events that they happen while waiting may be lost.
Other systems employ video cameras connected to a VCR or a VCR with a time-lapse recorder. These systems are able to record large amounts of video imagery, but the information is sequential, and retrieving the information once recorded is a tedious process since the tape must be rewound and a fast search performed to avoid missing an event. Several minutes of searching are required through all the recorded information, and once the tape reaches the end, the system stops and will not record further. Another problem with systems of this kind is that they do not provide any communications in support of remote monitoring.
More recently, more intelligent video security systems have been described which employ motion detection in hardware as well in software. Some of these systems employ local storage and communications software to connect to a centralized server. Some are able to communicate an alarm event to a monitoring center, but this is carried out across dial-up lines, and there is an expense involved in the time spent while the line is in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,284 to Freeman discloses a multiple camera system, which incorporates motion detection performed by a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Once motion is detected, the CPU sends a signal to a TDM (time-division-multiplexed) controller located at a short distance. The TDM controller switches to the camera that detected the motion, and displays the video information on a monitor and, at the same time, video information is recorded on a recording media. Since the video signal has not been digitized on the side of the TDM controller, it is clear that the recording media must be a VCR. There are no provisions for storing video information on a hard disk based system and also the video information is non-digital.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,410 to Washino discloses a PC based system for monitoring and storing representative images from video cameras that may be utilized for security applications or monitoring applications. This system employs a video capture card, which digitizes and compresses video information from analog or digital cameras. The system displays the video information and continuously records the compressed video information on different media such as tape, hard disk or PCMCIA, or removable hard disk. Alarm-type motion sensors are used to reconfigure the system, such as altering image size and frame rates. The system may also employ a remote server, which allows a user to monitor or continuously record video information. The preferred embodiment does not disclose a particular motion detection algorithm, however.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,886 to Rodriguez discloses an electronic security and surveillance system having a central monitoring station which can be located over large distance, for example across microwave links. In order to transmit the video signal over distance the video information is modulated onto a carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,297 to Koz discloses a low-power video security system which detects motion from a single video camera, a digital compression subsystem compresses the image, and starts transmitting the compressed image over ISDN lines to a monitoring facility. Koz does not disclose a system with a plurality of cameras, nor will the system work on a network or Internet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention resides in a computerized video security and monitoring system, preferably based on a standard PC platform. The system employs video digitizing and digital I/O technology to monitor and process video information from video cameras, and ON/OFF status information from sensors to trigger alarm events, and to allow the user to receive or monitor events via a network, including the Internet. The system can be used to view past events logged in a video database, as well as to monitor live video from local or remote locations. The locations may be from anywhere in the world, provided that there is a web-browser terminal, an interactive Internet kiosk, or a PC executing the appropriate software.
The software employs camera windows that can be moved or resized to meet user's viewing needs. Video information from a single camera or from a plurality of cameras is independently digitized, scaled and displayed on different windows. Image size and selection for black and white or color may be varied according to the NTSC standard 160×120, 320×240 and 640×480. Although the source image may be digitized at a fixed rate, (i.e., 640×480), it may be scaled to fit a portion of a screen through software control.
Controls are also provided enabling the user to select different images sizes. Although the size of the digitized image is fixed, display of the image in the screen may be varied in size according to the monitor used and the number of cameras displayed. In addition, since the camera windows are resizable by the user, some windows may be larger than others. The display of the images, preferably follow a standard 4/3 aspect ratio, so when the user resizes the window, the horizontal and vertical scale ratios are maintained. All the camera windows are integrated into a single window, which incorporates a menu, tool bar and status bar. The window can also be resized allowing the user to put the mainframe window anywhere in the computer screen. This option allows the user to run programs on the same computer, while the application is running.
The digitized information from each video camera is alternatively analyzed using image processing techniques and to trigger alarm events. Other alternatives provide ON/OFF signals from devices such as infrared sensors, motion sensors, alarm signals or cameras with built-in motion detection. To sense ON/OFF signal states the software constantly monitors digital I/O logic until a signal activates, generating an alarm event. Once the alarm event occurs, the digitized camera image may then be saved in a database, or, alternatively, transmitted over a network or Internet to one or more remote locations.
When a trigger event is used to send an e-mail through the Internet, the compressed video image is preferably combined with a textual message, encoded in Internet SMTP and MIME format and sent to a mail server. In addition to e-mail, a beeper/pager may be sent to the user telling that an alarm event has occurred. Upon receiving a beeper signal, the user may enter into a mail account using a standard web-browser, and view the image or a plurality of images from different cameras.
When a trigger event occurs, digitized camera information is compressed through JPEG compression. The information is then stored on
Cruz Burgos Pedro L.
Ramirez Diaz Luis G.
Rodriquez Dan F.
Britton Howard
Innovation Institute
Patent Law Offices of Heath W. Hoglund
Wong Allen
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