Parcel theft deterrence for A/V recording and communication devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11062577-B2
Application number	US-201916680131-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 11, 2019
Priority date	Aug 12, 2016
Publication date	Jul 13, 2021
Grant date	Jul 13, 2021

Abstract

Parcel theft deterrence for audio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices, such as video doorbells and security cameras. When an A/V recording and communication device captures image data that includes a parcel, a parcel boundary may be created for monitoring the parcel within. In various embodiments, when the parcel is removed from the parcel boundary, a user alert may be generated to notify a user of a client device associated with the A/V recording and communication device that the parcel has been removed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An audio/video recording and communication device (A/V device), comprising:
a camera having a field of view (FOV);
a communication module;
at least one processor operatively connected to the camera and the communication module; and
memory storing a program comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the A/V device to:
record, using the camera, image data;
transmit, using the communication module, the image data;
receive, using the communication module, a parcel boundary defining a location within the FOV of the camera for monitoring a parcel within the parcel boundary;
detect that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary; and
transmit, using the communication module, at least partially in response to detecting that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary, an alert.

2. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein the parcel boundary is received, via at least one server, from a client device associated with the A/V device.

3. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein the alert is transmitted, via at least one server, to a client device associated with the A/V device.

4. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary includes analyzing a portion of the image data that is recorded by the camera of the A/V device during a time when the parcel is being moved from within the parcel boundary.

5. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein the program comprises further instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the A/V device to receive an updated parcel boundary defining a location within the FOV of the camera for monitoring a parcel within the updated parcel boundary.

6. The A/V device of claim 1 further comprising a motion sensor, wherein the program comprises further instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the A/V device to detect that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary using the motion sensor.

7. The A/V device of claim 6 , wherein the program comprises further instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the A/V device to receive a command to increase a sensitivity of the motion sensor.

8. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein the alert comprises at least one frame represented by a portion of the image data that is recorded by the camera during a time when the parcel is being moved from within the parcel boundary.

9. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein the parcel boundary is at least one of a predetermined parcel boundary shape and a shape drawn using a client device associated with the A/V device.

10. The A/V device of claim 1 , wherein the parcel boundary is automatically generated to conform to a shape of the parcel.

11. A method for monitoring a parcel using an A/V recording and communication device (A/V device), the A/V device including at least one processor and a motion detector having motion detection rules, the method comprising:
receiving parcel monitoring rules for monitoring the parcel in a FOV of the motion detector, wherein the parcel monitoring rules include a parcel boundary defining a location within the FOV of the motion detector for monitoring the parcel within the parcel boundary;
updating, based on the parcel monitoring rules, the motion detection rules to create updated motion detection rules;
detecting, by the motion detector based on the updated motion detection rules, that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary; and
transmitting, in response to at least the detecting that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary, and based on at least the updated motion detection rules, an alert.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the motion detector is at least one of a camera and a motion sensor, and the motion detection rules and the updated motion detection rules include at least one of camera motion detection rules and motion sensor motion detection rules.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein detecting that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary includes analyzing image data recorded by the camera of the A/V device.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein detecting that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary includes analyzing motion data captured by the motion sensor of the A/V device.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the alert includes an indication that the parcel has been moved from within the parcel boundary.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the alert includes information about a person who moved the parcel from within the parcel boundary.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the alert comprises at least one frame represented by a portion of the image data that is recorded by the camera during a time when the parcel is being moved from within the parcel boundary.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the updated motion detection rules include increased sensitivity.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the parcel boundary is at least one of a predetermined parcel boundary shape and a shape drawn using a client device associated with the A/V device.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the parcel boundary is automatically generated to conform to a shape of the parcel.

Assignees

• Amazon Tech Inc

Inventors

• Modestine John
• Lemberger Elliott
• Siminoff James
• Roth Joshua

Classifications

• H04N23/63

  by using electronic viewfinders · CPC title

• G08B13/196 Primary

  using television cameras · CPC title

• G06T7/70

  Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras (camera calibration G06T7/80) · CPC title

• H04N7/186

  Video door telephones · CPC title

• G06T7/254

  involving subtraction of images · CPC title