Description

SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING

IMAGES REMOTELY

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a method of distributing image data, and more specifically, to a remote image distribution system, and apparatus and method thereof, wherein a plurality of image data received from remote places is distributed into a plurality of monitors. Background Art

[2] Generally, unmanned cameras are usually used for a monitoring system. For example, the unmanned cameras have been widely used at unmanned stores of banks, outline lookouts of public facilities, the interior of museums, underground parking lots of buildings, traffic enforcements, and the like. As such, image data collected by the unmanned cameras are transmitted to a monitor of a monitoring person through a cable. At this time, the monitoring person can view the monitored images received from one or more unmanned cameras through the monitor at a remote place in real time. That is, a plurality of images collected from the unmanned cameras installed at the monitoring areas is displayed on one monitor of a monitoring person by means of a screen division method, etc. It is thus possible to effectively monitor circumstances of several areas at a look.

[3] Meanwhile, according to the prior art, in order to display a plurality of images on a plurality of monitors, private networks constructed by coaxial cables extend to remote places to which original signals of the images are transmitted. This requires high costs in constructing such a physical environment.

[4] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the configuration of a system for directly transmitting an image signal in the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, a camera 100 (100a, 100b and 100c) installed at each area is directly connected to a monitor 120 (120a, 120b and 120c) through a coaxial cable 110 (110a, 110b and 110c). Accordingly, on each monitor 120 is displayed an image received from a corresponding camera 100 connected to the monitor 120.

[5] In this case, if a distance between the camera 100 and the monitor 120 are distant, there occurs a problem of increase of costs due to the increased length of the coaxial cable 110 connecting the camera 100 and the monitor 120. Such an increase in the cost results in overload to a user himself.

[6] Meanwhile, as an alternative method, a method utilizing an Internet network, etc., for permitting monitoring at a remote place, can be considered.

[7] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the configuration of a system for transmitting an image signal through the Internet in the related art. Referring to FIG. 2, an image of a camera 200 (200a, 200b, ..., 20On) is transmitted to a digital converter 210 (210a, 210b,. 21On) through a coaxial cable. In this case, an image signal of the camera 200 is converted into a signal, which can be transmitted through the Internet 220, by means of the digital converter 210. The converted image signal is transmitted through the Internet 220. The digital image signal transmitted through the Internet 220 is then transmitted to a corresponding monitor 240 (240a, 240b, ..., 24On) through an analog converter 230 (230a, 230b,..., 23On) at a remote place. Thus, the image taken by the camera 200 installed at the remote place can be easily viewed through each monitor 240.

[8] Meanwhile, the construction of FIG. 2 is advantageous in that services can be provided at low costs regardless of geographical accessibility of the cameras and monitors, as compared to the system of FIG. 1, since an existing Internet network being social overhead capital is used. Since signals between the camera and the monitor are mapped in a one to one correspondence, however, it is impossible to effectively transfer an image of the camera, which is necessary for each monitor, to a user. Furthermore, since each camera is independently connected to each monitor, there is a problem in that there is no method of selectively viewing only images of several cameras within a limited Internet bandwidth as improved images. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[9] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote image distribution system, and apparatus and method thereof, wherein a plurality of image signals collected from remote places is displayed on a plurality of monitors through an Internet according to a method desired by a user.

[10] Another object of the present invention is to provide a remote image distribution system, and apparatus and method thereof, wherein a user can view differentiated images according to circumstances at remote places by varying an image representation method depending on the circumstances of the remote places. Technical Solution

[11] To achieve the above objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote image distribution system that displays a plurality of image signals received from a plurality of cameras on a plurality of monitors, including a digital image processing apparatus for converting a corresponding image signal acquired from each of the cameras into a digital signal through an encoding process, a

remote image distribution apparatus for receiving the encoded image signal from the digital image processing apparatus through Internet and mapping the image signals acquired from the plurality of cameras to the plurality of monitors, respectively, and an image data analysis apparatus for receiving the image signals from the remote image distribution apparatus through a network, decoding the received image signals, and displaying the image signals of the mapped cameras on the monitors.

[12] Furthermore, the remote image distribution system can further include a control monitor directly connected to the remote image distribution apparatus, for displaying the encoded camera image data received from the remote image distribution apparatus.

[13] Meanwhile, the control monitor can display image screens, which are input to the remote image apparatus and collected from all the cameras, and a monitor matrix screen showing mapped image screen displayed on the plurality of monitors.

[14] In this case, the image signals acquired from the plurality of cameras are mapped to the plurality of monitors, respectively, according to a select signal input by a user through an input apparatus, or are automatically mapped to the plurality of monitors, respectively, depending on circumstances of remote places, which are previously set by a user.

[15] To achieve the above objects, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote image distribution apparatus that maps a plurality of image signals received from a plurality of cameras to a plurality of monitors, including display means for receiving each image signal acquired from each of the cameras through Internet and displaying the image signals acquired from the plurality of the cameras thereon, input means for inputting mapping information between the image signals acquired from the plurality of cameras and the plurality of monitors, and transmission means for transmitting mapped image signals to the monitors according to the mapping information input through the input means.

[16] The image signals acquired from the plurality of cameras are mapped to the plurality of monitors, respectively, according to a select signal input by a user through an input apparatus, or are automatically mapped to the plurality of monitors, respectively, according to circumstances of a remote place, which is previously set by a user.

[17] The display means display image screens, which are input to the remote image apparatus and collected from all the cameras, and a monitor matrix screen showing the mapped image screen displayed on the plurality of monitors.

[18] To achieve the above objects, according to yet another aspect of the present in vention, there is provided a remote image distribution method of displaying a plurality of image signals received from a plurality of cameras on a plurality of monitors, including the steps of encoding the image signals received from the cameras and

transmitting the encoded image signals; receiving the encoded image signals, decoding the received encoded image signals and displaying the decoded image signals on a control monitor; selectively mapping a predetermined one of the plurality of image signals to the plurality of monitors through the control monitor; and re-transmitting the mapped image signals to corresponding monitors through a network.

[19] Furthermore, the remote image distribution method further includes the step of decoding the retransmitted image signals in an image data analysis apparatus.

[20] Meanwhile, the image signals acquired from the plurality of cameras are mapped to the plurality of monitors, respectively, according to a select signal input by a user through an input apparatus, or are automatically mapped to the plurality of monitors, respectively, according to circumstances of remote places, which are previously set by a user.

[21] In the related art, in order to view images of remote places, lots of installation costs are needed, or there are restrictions in displaying a number of remote place images according to a method desired by a user. According to the present invention, however, a plurality of image signals received from remote places can be easily redistributed into a plurality of monitors at the request of a user. This makes effective monitoring possible.

[22] According to the present invention, image signals obtained from a plurality of unmanned cameras are encoded and then transmitted through the Internet. The plurality of transmitted image signals is redistributed into apparatuses that can process the encoded images at a request of a user.

[23] That is, according to the present invention, a plurality of image signals received from a plurality of cameras can be redistributed into a plurality of monitors. In this case, the images can be effectively distributed into the monitors depending upon setting by a user or circumstances at each remote place.

[24]

Advantageous Effects

[25] As apparent from the above description, a user can select only a desired one of received images of remote places through an inexpensive Internet network. Further, a user can allow a selected image of a camera to be displayed on a specific monitor located at a particular location, of several monitors. Accordingly, there is an advantage in that monitors on which images are displayed can be arranged and constructed in such a way to be easily recognized by a user depending on a monitoring situation. Brief Description of the Drawings

[26] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in

conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[27] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the configuration of a system for directly transmitting an image signal in the related art;

[28] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the configuration of a system for transmitting an image signal through the Internet in the related art;

[29] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the configuration of a remote image distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[30] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a detailed construction of the remote image distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[31] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a remote image distribution process according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[32] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an image distribution method in the remote image distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[33]

Mode for the Invention

[34] Now, the preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description of the present invention, concrete description on related functions and/or constructions will be omitted if it is deemed that the functions and/or constructions may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention.

[35] A remote image distribution system and a detailed construction thereof according to the present invention will be first described with reference to FIGs. 3 and 4.

[36] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the configuration of the remote image distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[37] Referring to FIG. 3, the remote image distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a digital image processing apparatus 310 connected to a plurality of cameras 300 (300a, 300b,..., 300n), a remote image distribution apparatus 330 that distributes a plurality of image signals received through the Internet 320 into a plurality of monitors 370 (370a, 370b,..., 37On), and an image data analysis apparatus 360 (360a, 360b,..., 360n) that distributes the plurality of image signals received through the network 350 into the plurality of monitors 370, respectively.

[38] To be more specific, the plurality of cameras 300 installed at corresponding locations is connected to the digital image processing apparatus 310, and transmits picked-up image signals to the digital image processing apparatus 310 in real time. The digital image processing apparatus 310 then converts the image signals received from the cameras 300 into signals, which can be transmitted via the Internet 320, through an

encoding process and a packet processing process. In this case, the digital image processing apparatus 310 can be implemented by an apparatus such as a common Digital Video Recorder (DVR) or an Internet Protocol (IP) camera.

[39] The image signals, which are collected through the Internet 320 from the plurality of cameras 300, are then transmitted to the remote image distribution apparatus 330. The remote image distribution apparatus 330 decodes the encoded camera image data received through the Internet 320, and displays the decoded image data on the control monitor 340 that is directly connected thereto.

[40] At this time, a user (or an operator) views the images displayed on the control monitor 340, and decides which one of the images will be displayed on which monitor 370. Meanwhile, alternatively, a plurality of images can be allocated to a plurality of monitors 370, respectively, according to a value previously set by a user or a monitoring environment. In this case, one or more of the images obtained from the camera 300 can be allocated to each of the monitors 370, or the same image can be allocated to the plurality of monitors 370 in an overlapping manner.

[41] That is, based on a result of analysis for a remote place image received by the remote image distribution apparatus 330, a user can set the remote place image to be displayed on a particular monitor 370 according to a motion or specific pattern of the image. For example, in the case where a user selects and uses an analysis pattern of "smoke" in order to analyze a plurality of remote place images, the remote image distribution apparatus 330 analyzes an image of each remote place to determine whether the image has the pattern of "smoke". At this time, the user can easily know whether a forest fire or other fires have occurred by confirming only the image having the pattern of "smoke".

[42] In this manner, after each image signal is allocated to each monitor 370, the image distribution apparatus 330 resends the allocated image signals to the monitors 370 through the network 350. In this case, the image signals that are resent through the network 350 are transferred to the image data analysis apparatus 360, which operates in association with the image distribution apparatus 330 through the network 350. The network 350 may be the Internet 320, or alternatively, any wired or wireless network such as LAN or WAN. When the network 350 is the LAN, image data can be transmitted to the image data analysis apparatus 360 in real time.

[43] The image data analysis apparatus 360 decodes the received image signals, thus converting the encoded image signals into original image signals. At this time, the image data analysis apparatus 360 may be implemented by an apparatus such as a common IP camera receiver.

[44] Finally, a user can view an image of a corresponding camera 300, which is allocated to each monitor 370 installed at a corresponding area.

[45] Hereinafter, the construction of the remote image distribution apparatus 330 that distributes a plurality of image signals of remote places into a plurality of monitors according to the present invention will be described in detail.

[46] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the detailed construction of the remote image distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the remote image distribution apparatus 330 includes a transceiver unit 410, a transmit position decision unit 420, an image decoding unit 430, an image data analysis unit 440, an image data output unit 450, an image distribution manipulation unit 460, a retransmission distribution rule decision unit 470 and a data format conversion unit 480.

[47] The transceiver unit 410 serves to receive image signals from the cameras 300 and transmit the image signals, which are distributed depending on each setting and environment, to the image data analysis apparatus 360. The image signals received from the transceiver unit 410 are transferred to the transmit position decision unit 430. Further, reprocessed image data of remote places or retransmission rule data are transmitted from the transceiver unit 410 to the image data analysis apparatus 360 through the Internet or the network such as LAN.

[48] The transmit position decision unit 420 serves to analyze the data of the remote places, which are received from the transceiver unit 410, to determine an address of an originating place, such as a MAC address of the camera 300 at a remote place. As such, since the address of the originating place and the data of the remote place are transmitted to the retransmission distribution rule decision unit 470, a plurality of image signals to be transmitted can be identified.

[49] The image decoding unit 430 receives the image signals from the transmit position decision unit 420 and restores the received image signals. That is, the signals received through the transceiver unit 410 of the remote image distribution apparatus 330 are image data that are compressed and transmitted through the network. Accordingly, the image decoding unit 430 can restore the received signals to the original images by decompressing the signals. The restored original images are transmitted to the image data analysis unit 440.

[50] The image data analysis unit 440 receives the original images, which are converted through the image decoding unit 430, and analyzes the contents of the original images. In this case, the method of analyzing the image data can include a method of detecting a specific pattern included in an image, or a method of comparing a previous image with a current image to detect different portions. For example, determination on occurrence of a fire from a corresponding image can be made by detecting a pattern of such as "smoke" or "flame", from the received image data. Furthermore, determination on trespass by a unlawful person form a corresponding image can be made by de-

termining whether there is any change between a previous image and a current image. Information and image data that are analyzed in the image data analysis unit 440 are transmitted to the retransmission distribution rule decision unit 470. Meanwhile, the image data can be transmitted to the image data output unit 450 regardless of whether or not information has been detected.

[51] The image data output unit 450 displays the images received from the remote image distribution apparatus 330, and/or results of the analysis on the images, and the like, on a monitor connected to the remote image distribution apparatus 330. That is, the image data output unit 450 displays a plurality of images received from the plurality of monitoring cameras 300, or provides analysis result information that is analyzed through the remote image distribution apparatus 330.

[52] The image distribution manipulation unit 460 receives a set or select signal for image data distribution from a user, and then sends the signal to the retransmission distribution rule decision unit 470. That is, the image distribution manipulation unit 460 can allow a user to separately select an address of a desired image originating place or to select a pattern to be detected from an image.

[53] In this manner, pattern or address mapping information selected by the user can be transmitted to the retransmission distribution rule decision unit 470. More particularly, address mapping information of an image originating place, which is selected by the user, is transmitted to the image data analysis apparatus 360 through the network 350 by means of the transceiver unit 410. Therefore, the image data analysis apparatus 360 can normally transmit corresponding distributed images to corresponding monitors 370.

[54] That is, the retransmission distribution rule decision unit 470 determines which image of which originating place will be distributed to which image data analysis apparatus 360 or monitor 370. In this case, the images can be distributed according to an address of an originating place, which is set by a user, as described above, or can be distributed according to a distribution method, which is previously set according to image data analysis information received from the image data analysis unit 440.

[55] The data format conversion unit 480 converts the format of corresponding image data so that image data, which are to be displayed by means of a user through the image data analysis apparatus 360 and the monitors 370, can be normally interpreted and decoded into images by means of the image data analysis apparatus 360. The image data converted according to the data format are transmitted to a corresponding image data analysis apparatus 360 through the transceiver unit 410.

[56] Therefore, as described above, the remote image distribution apparatus 330 can analyze the image data received from each remote place, and distribute the analyzed image signals to the image data analysis apparatus 360 or the monitor 370 in a pre-

determined method based on setting by a user, an image analysis result or the like. In this case, as described above, the image signals distributed to the monitors 370 can be transmitted to a corresponding image data analysis apparatus 360 in real time based on the mapping rule. It is efficient to transmit the image mapping information only when it is changed.

[57] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a remote image distribution process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[58] Referring to FIG. 5, the image signals obtained from the cameras according to the present invention are selectively distributed to the plurality of monitors and then displayed on the plurality of monitors.

[59] If image signals are received from the cameras (S501), the received image signals are converted into digital signals (S502). At this time, the converted digital signals can be reduced in size through an encoding process for efficiency of transmission.

[60] The encoded image signals are transmitted to the remote image distribution apparatus through the Internet (S503). The remote image distribution apparatus decodes the plurality of received image signals and displays them on its control monitor (S504).

[61] In this case, according to the present invention, a user can map a particular one of the plurality of image signals to the plurality of monitors through the control monitor (S505). Furthermore, alternatively, the mapping process can be implemented so that the image signals are automatically distributed according to circumstances at remote places, which are previously set by a user, as described above.

[62] The mapped images are retransmitted through the network (S506). The retransmitted data are decoded in the image data analysis apparatus and then displayed on corresponding monitors (S507).

[63] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an image distribution method in the remote image distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[64] Referring to FIG. 6, a user selects a predetermined one of a plurality of camera images and maps the selected image to a monitor disposed at a corresponding area, using a program driven in the aforementioned remote image distribution apparatus 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, an image from a desired camera can be mapped to a corresponding monitor.

[65] Meanwhile, it is preferred that the program driven in the remote image distribution apparatus 330 can represent two kinds of circumstances at the same time. That is, the program can include a camera image screen 600 collected from all the cameras through the remote image apparatus 330, and a monitor matrix screen 610 for displaying a plurality of monitors in a two-dimensional arrangement. That is, as described above, each of the camera image signals collected from the plurality of cameras according to

the present invention can be mapped to one or more of the plurality of monitors.

[66] To be more specific, the camera image screen 600 can include a camera list 601, and a real time image screen 602 from a corresponding camera. Further, independent monitors 611 can be disposed in the monitor matrix screen 610 in a two-dimensional arrangement.

[67] That is, a user can map each camera image screen 600 to each monitor by clicking on a particular image from the camera image screen 600 using a mouse 620 and then dragging and dropping it at a particular monitor item of the monitor matrix screen 611. For example, an image of a No. 1 camera can be mapped so that it is displayed on a monitor A and a monitor C. An image of a No. 2 camera can be mapped so that it is displayed on the monitor A, a monitor B and a monitor D. An image of a No. 3 camera can be mapped so that it is displayed on the monitor B and the monitor D.

[68] Meanwhile, a user can directly map images using the mouse according to the method shown in FIG. 6. Alternatively, the images can be automatically distributed depending on circumstances of remote places, which are previously set by a user, as described above.

[69] Although the foregoing description has been made with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that changes and modifications of the present invention may be made by the ordinary skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and appended claims as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.