Sensormatic Electronics Corporation

Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings Llp

Steven W Schieltz

John Douglas Wulf

Luis E Anderson

Patrick Siu

James R Paolantonio

Mark A Hauge

Channing Everet Miller

Sergio Barcala

Terry L Glatt

Thomas F Berkey

Carl Kupersmit

Elwyn Thomas Ainsworth

Dearles Rodriguez

Luis Anderson

Monte Charles Mcbride

Nick A Benkirane

Kenneth Lee Claggett

Example implementations include a camera and a thermal management apparatus for a camera including an outer housing walls, an inner bracket for mounting a camera component. The camera and thermal management apparatus further includes a thermal bridge assembly for selectively increasing a thermal conductivity between the inner bracket and the outer housing walls.

Camera housing comprising movable thermal bridge for temperature regulation

A camera system is disclosed that enables movement in the pan and tilt directions while maintaining a level image when wall or ceiling mounted. The camera system includes one or more motors to pan or tilt the camera, but does not include a motor to rotate the camera image. The camera system can have a wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted configuration, with the pan axis of the camera in the vertical direction. In this way, movements in the pan or tilt direction of the camera maintain the level image, thereby avoiding any need to rotate the camera. For example, the camera system may include a support body and a camera subsystem, which includes the camera. The position of the support body relative to the camera may be different in the wall-mounted configuration versus the ceiling-mounted configuration; however, in both configurations, the camera can have its pan axis in the vertical direction.

Two axis pan tilt camera system configured to maintain a level image when wall or ceiling mounted

Aspects of the present disclosure include methods, apparatus, and systems for configuring a security camera including establishing a first connection between the dongle and the security camera through a communication port of the dongle, establishing a second connection with a mobile device, transmitting a request to the mobile device via the second connection, receiving, in response to the request, a configuration credential from the mobile device via the second connection, wherein the configuration credential is provided by the mobile device without disclosing the configuration credential to an operator of the mobile device, transmitting, via the first connection, the configuration credential to the security camera, receiving, in response to providing the configuration credential, a video stream from the security camera via the first connection, and transmitting, via the second connection, the video stream to the mobile device.

Security camera systems and methods

A camera system includes a base including a processing circuit and a communications circuit, a plurality of imagers, and a plurality of connections. The processing circuit is positioned in the base. The plurality of imagers are coupled to the processing circuit via the communications circuit, each imager including a lens and a sensor module that receives light via the lens and outputs a plurality of images based on the received light. The plurality of connections couple each imager to the processing circuit via the communications circuit. Each imager is mounted to an outside surface of the base or spaced from the base, each connection including at least one of a wired connection and a wireless connection. The processing circuit receives the plurality of images from each imager via each respective connection and generates a combined image using the plurality of images.

Systems and methods of multi-sensor cameras and remote imagers

A camera system includes a camera, a drive system, and a processing circuit. The camera includes a lens and a sensor module that receives light and outputs images based on the received light. The drive system includes a track including a first member and a second member, the first member defining a first rail on an inner surface of the first member, the second member defining a second rail on an outer surface of the second member. The rails can be driven by gear or magnetic drive, and are connected in a cross pattern at a 45 degree latitude point, enabling pan and tilt movement to maintain a level image for multiple camera mounting orientations.

Systems and methods of remote pan tilt sealed spheroid cameras maintaining level image when wall or ceiling mounted

A system and method to enhance dark areas of a scenes while preventing bright areas of the scenes from distorting or skewing exposure settings of video cameras. The video cameras capture images and identify bright areas in the captured images. The video cameras calculate exposure settings while excluding the bright areas in the captured images to enhance the dark areas in the captured images. Camera control parameters are then adjusted based on the calculated exposure settings.

Method and system for adjusting exposure settings of video cameras

A system and method of controlling a video camera arranged to provide a video signal on a transmission medium including: transmitting command data on the video transmission medium to the camera, and receiving response data from the camera over the video transmission medium during a single vertical blanking period of the video signal, improving controllability of dome type cameras. Using an encoding format with data with bit widths narrower than those conventionally used in UTC protocols, increases the usable transmission medium length for the system by allowing for longer propagation delays without errors caused by interference. A method of downloading data to a camera by disabling the video signal, and a method of self-instantiating camera functions are also provided.

System and method for communicating data in a video system

A video surveillance camera enclosure that includes a camera housing for receiving a video surveillance camera chassis through a lower end. In one embodiment, the housing is adapted to be inserted into an opening in a ceiling member and includes a flange near the lower end and a plurality of mounting clamps for engaging the perimeter of an opening in the ceiling. The video surveillance camera chassis includes a plurality of positioning members on the perimeter of the chassis. The positioning members are engageable with a plurality of alignment flanges on the interior of the housing to guide the chassis into a preselected position within the housing. Final insertion of the chassis into the housing and electrical connection via blind mating connectors is by threaded fasteners on the positioning members and flanges. In an alternate embodiment, the housing is installed in an enclosure that is not installed in a ceiling but is self-contained and can be located outdoors. In the outdoor installation, a heater and fan assembly can be connected to the chassis. Selection of an address for installation of the camera can be accomplished without the need to disassemble the dome assembly. LEDs can be viewed from below the camera chassis for installation and service.

Integrated enclosure for video surveillance camera

A controller for a video surveillance camera enclosure including a method and apparatus for controlling a stepper motor by decoding a command for a specific camera action, setting the state of a state machine, and instructing a position control process and a speed control process based upon the state of the state machine. A drive signal is send from said position control process to a motor current process and a phase control process to generate the current and phase signals to control the stepper motor. The stepper motor drive current is preferably a non-linear current. The speed control signal includes ramp up and ramp down speed control for gradually increasing motor speed and gradually decreasing motor speed, respectively. Another aspect of the invention detects a plurality of pan and/or tilt positions to reset the pan and/or tilt motor step count to a known count associated with a known location without the need to pan and/or tilt past a preselected home position. Another aspect controls a dome enclosure heater to operate over two different thermostat ranges to provide for manual de-fogging of the dome bubble.

Integrated enclosure and controller for video surveillance camera

An outdoor enclosure for a video surveillance system comprises: a housing having an outer wall with an opening; an observation bubble disposed over the opening, the housing being adapted for supporting a video surveillance camera; and, first and second fans mounted in the enclosure to establish an air flow pattern when the fans are operating which circulates substantially unidirectionally around the video surveillance camera when the camera is disposed in the bubble, the circulating air flow pattern being substantially free of dead zones inside the bubble and efficiently conducting thermal energy from within the enclosure to the outer wall and to the bubble for subsequent dissipation outside the enclosure. The enclosure can comprise a temperature responsive heater mounted in the circulating air flow pattern adjacent to the fans, downstream from the heater and upstream from the bubble. The fans are substantially transversely aligned within the circulating air flow pattern.

Outdoor enclosure for video surveillance system

A video surveillance system has a camera equipped with a fisheye lens having a substantially hemispheric field of view. The system implements operations equivalent to the panning, tilting and zooming of a conventional camera without the use of moving parts. The lens is mounted vertically above a plane under surveillance. The camera produces a fisheye image made up of a plurality of pixels. The fisheye image is distorted due to the properties of the fisheye lens. The system corrects the distortion by mapping the pixels of the fisheye image to coordinates produced by selecting a particular part of the fisheye image to be viewed. This allows an operator to select parts of the field of view of the fisheye lens and view them as if they had been produced by a camera having a conventional lens being panned tilted or zoomed. The fisheye image formed by the camera is split into four separate image components carried by four bundles of optical fibers. Each bundle has a CCD and associated image processing circuitry which forms an electronic representation of the image component carried by that bundle.

Image splitting forming and processing device and method for use with no

A local area data network interconnects devices which make up a video surveillance system. The devices attached to the local area network are divided into distinct classes which are polled with different degrees of frequency. Devices are dynamically reassigned from class to class depending on each device's current requirements for network access. Group polling is also employed, with resolution of contention by means of a probing algorithm. Negative responses to polling messages are formed as a series of line transitions that require less time than transmission of a single data byte. Polling messages have a distinct length in terms of bytes that is shorter than any other message transmitted on the network. Polled devices are permitted to transfer data directly to peer devices in response to polling messages.

Data communication network with highly efficient polling procedure

A surveillance camera assembly housing is releasably locked to a base for the housing. The base is installed in a ceiling or at another location remote from ground level. A removal tool provided at the end of a pole has fingers which are inserted into apertures in the assembly housing. The tool engages the assembly housing by means of the fingers, while also being operated to release a mechanism which secures the housing to the base. The housing, now secured to the tool, is removed from the base and brought to ground level. In this way, removal of the surveillance camera is accomplished without resort to ladders or scaffolding.

Growing community of inventors

Boca Raton, FL, United States of America

Steven W Schieltz