Portable video and imaging system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10257396-B2
Application number	US-201715651599-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 17, 2017
Priority date	Sep 28, 2012
Publication date	Apr 9, 2019
Grant date	Apr 9, 2019

Abstract

A portable video and imaging system includes a camera for capturing video of an event, and a video recording device for recording the captured video of the event. The camera is housed in a first housing, the recording device is housed in a second housing, and the first and second housings are physically separate. Various embodiments provide for the system to be mounted to a user's body, an article of clothing, such as a shirt or a hat, to a vehicle, or to an ancillary component carried by the user, such as a firearm.

First claim

Having thus described various embodiments of the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includes the following:

1. A portable video and imaging system for law enforcement comprising:
a camera configured to capture video of an event and to store the captured video of the event to a memory, wherein said stored video comprises a plurality of video frames of a video file;
an input actuatable by a law enforcement officer in the field and in response to being actuated, generate an activation signal; and
a processor programmed to:
receive said activation signal generated in response to the law enforcement officer actuating the input, and
in response to the activation signal, store a mark in the video file to identify a point in time or location in the video file,
wherein said mark in the video file enables the processor to perform the following:
in response to a user request upon or during playback of the stored video file, automatically advance the playback of the video file to the marked point in time or location in the video file at which the law enforcement officer actuated the input;

wirelessly transmit the video file to a mobile communications device configured for viewing the video on the mobile communications device; and
wirelessly transmit the video file to a computer configured for viewing the video at a website.

2. The portable video and imaging system of claim 1 , wherein said mark in the video file further includes a geolocation for at least one component of the portable video and imaging system when the input was actuated.

3. The portable video and imaging system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the video file to the computer via a wired connection.

4. The portable video and imaging system of claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the camera to begin storing the event in response to receiving information indicative of a triggering event.

5. The portable video and imaging system of claim 4 , wherein the camera is mountable in a law enforcement vehicle.

6. The portable video and imaging system of claim 4 , wherein the camera is mountable on a body of the law enforcement officer.

7. The portable video and imaging system of claim 2 , wherein the computer stores the video file as evidence related to the event.

8. The portable video and imaging system of claim 7 , wherein the video file is transmitted to the computer at least in part via a cellular data standard.

9. A portable video and imaging system for law enforcement comprising:
a camera configured to capture video of an event and to store the captured video of the event to a memory, wherein said stored video comprises a plurality of video frames of a video file,
wherein the camera is configured to be interchangeably mounted on a law enforcement officer's body and a law enforcement vehicle and includes a plurality of inputs actuatable by the law enforcement officer in the field; and
a processor associated with the memory and the plurality of inputs and programmed to:
upon receiving a first actuation signal indicative of a first actuation of a first input of the plurality of inputs while storing the video file, store a mark in the video file to thereby identify a marked location in the video file,
upon receiving a second actuation signal indicative of a second actuation of a second input of the plurality of inputs while playing back the video file, automatically advance the playback of the video file to the marked location in the video file at which the first actuation signal was received,
wirelessly transmit the video file to a mobile communications device configured for viewing the video on the mobile communications device, and
automatically instruct the camera to initiate storing the event in the video file in response to receiving information indicative of a triggering event.

10. The portable video and imaging system of claim 9 , wherein said mark in the video file further includes a geolocation for at least one component of the portable video and imaging system when the input was actuated.

11. The portable video and imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the camera is mountable on a body of the law enforcement officer.

12. The portable video and imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the camera is selectively mountable in a law enforcement vehicle.

13. The portable video and imaging system of claim 12 , wherein the camera is further selectively mountable on a body of the law enforcement officer.

14. The portable video and imaging system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to transmit the video file to a computer configured to allow viewing the video at a website as evidence related to the event.

15. The portable video and imaging system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to transmit the file to the computer at least partly via a wireless connection.

16. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing a video file of a law enforcement event, said video file comprising:
a plurality of frames, each frame including video data of an event,
wherein said video data is captured by a portable video and imaging system comprising a plurality of cameras, said system encoding a respective plurality of video streams into the video file;
information indicative of a plurality of marks identifying a corresponding plurality of marked frames of the plurality of frames in the video file,
wherein each of said plurality marks is initiated by a law enforcement officer actuating an input of the portable video and imaging system,
wherein said plurality of marks in the video file enables, during playback of the video file, successively advancing the video file to each of the plurality of marked frames at which the law enforcement officer actuated the input; and
metadata associated with each marked frame of the plurality of marked frames,
wherein the metadata for each of the marked frames includes a geographical location of at least one component of the portable video and imaging system when the marked frame was captured and a time or date when the marked frame was captured;
wherein the video file is transmitted to a mobile communications device configured for viewing the video on the mobile communications device.

17. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , further storing information indicative of a triggering signal that initiated storing the video file.

18. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , further storing information indicative of the identity of the law enforcement officer.

19. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , further storing audio of the law enforcement event synchronized to the video file of the law enforcement event.

20. portable video and imaging system of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of cameras encode the respective plurality of video streams.

Assignees

• Digital Ally Inc

Inventors

• Phillips Steve
• Troxel Jason R

Classifications

• H04N23/50

  Constructional details · CPC title

• H04N23/51 Primary

  Housings · CPC title

• F16M11/10 Primary

  around a horizontal axis {(F16M11/12 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H04N5/77

  between a recording apparatus and a television camera · CPC title

• G11B27/34

  Indicating arrangements  {(indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D)} · CPC title