Video Router and Method of Automatic Configuring Thereof

Abstract

A video router comprises a multiple port Ethernet switch that may used to connect at least one Internet Protocol (IP) camera; a power over Ethernet unit that supplies power to the at least one connected IP camera; at least one network interface; and a central processing unit (CPU) capable of running a routing software that automatically discovers and configures the at least one connected IP camera.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 040963 filed on Mar. 31, 2008, which is herein incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to a video router apparatus for internet protocol based video monitoring and surveillance, and a method that automatically discovers and configures internet protocol video cameras that attach to the video router and connects to a video surveillance server.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Video cameras that are capable of transmitting video streams utilizing internet protocols (IP) and standards for the purpose of recording and monitoring are becoming widely available. Many different models are available from manufacturers like Axis, Mobotix, IQInVision and Sony. Compare to the existing closed circuit television (CCTV) technology, current generation of IP video cameras have higher resolution, produce superior quality video, support remote viewing, carries a lo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]The present invention is simple to use. A user only needs to physically install the IP video cameras and connect them via typical Ethernet cabling such as twisted pair cables (e.g., Cat. 5) back to the video router. The video router automatically discovers and loads the drivers for the discovered IP camera devices. The video router then communicates back to a surveillance server, e.g., VideoProtein web server and then automatically completes additional processes such as registration of devices, port mapping and creation of a video VPN tunnel through the network. VideoProtein is the market leader in browser based IP video camera management software. VideoProtein is built with Java to run on Linux (e.g., RedHat), Sun (e.g., Solaris), Mac or Windows platforms, and will support any IP video device. Any Java capable web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer®, Netscape®, Firefox®, Opera®, and Safari®) can be used with VideoProtein software.

Problems solved by technology

Since the advent of IP video cameras and network video recorders (NVRs), the implementation and installation of IP video networks has been difficult, time consuming, and very complicated.

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