US5990934A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and system for panoramic viewing
Assignee: FULLVIEW Inc A Corp DELAWARE
•
Filing: 1995-04-28
•
Granted: 1999-11-23
•
Expires: 2015-04-28
Abstract
Abstract Four cameras provide a 360 degree view of an area using a four sided pyramid shaped element. The four sides of the pyramid shaped element are reflective and reflect images from four different directions. Each camera is positioned to receive a reflected image from one of the reflective sides of the pyramids. The cameras are arranged so that they share a common virtual optical center. Pixel data from the cameras is stored in a memory, and the data is selectively retrieved from the memory for viewing based on a user's input.
Inventors
- 👤 Vishvjit Singh Nalwa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 12:23
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/18; H04N7/181; G; G02; G02B; G02B13/00; G02B13/06; G02B23/00; G02B23/02; G02B23/08; G03; G03B; G03B17/00; G03B17/02; G03B17/17; G03B37/00; G03B37/04; H04N23/00; H04N23/58; H04N5/00; H04N5/222; H04N5/262; H04N5/2628
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
143 words
A panoramic viewing system, comprising: a plurality of image gathering devices producing a plurality of video signals, each of said plurality of image gathering devices having an optical center; a pyramid shaped element having a plurality of reflective side facets facing in different directions so as to reflect images from different directions to said plurality of image gathering devices and to create a virtual optical center for each of said optical centers, each of said plurality of facets reflecting an image to an image gathering device belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices and each of said virtual optical centers being substantially at a common point; a memory for storing digitized video data representative of said video signals; and control means for selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory in response to user signals produced in response to a user's input.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
143 words
A panoramic viewing system, comprising: a plurality of image gathering devices producing a plurality of video signals, each of said plurality of image gathering devices having an optical center; a pyramid shaped element having a plurality of reflective side facets facing in different directions so as to reflect images from different directions to said plurality of image gathering devices and to create a virtual optical center for each of said optical centers, each of said plurality of facets reflecting an image to an image gathering device belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices and each of said virtual optical centers being substantially at a common point; a memory for storing digitized video data representative of said video signals; and control means for selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory in response to user signals produced in response to a user's input.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying an image representative of digitized video data retrieved from said memory.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 1, further comprising a user input device for producing said user signals.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 3, wherein said user input device is a mouse.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 3, wherein said user input device is a joystick.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 3, wherein said user input device is a keyboard.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
52 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 1, wherein digitized video data retrieved from said memory is representative of a partial image from a first image gathering device and a partial image from a second image gathering device, said first and second image gathering devices belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
170 words
A panoramic viewing system, comprising: a plurality of image gathering devices producing a plurality of video signals, each of said plurality of image gathering devices having an optical center; a pyramid shaped element having a plurality of reflective side facets facing in different directions so as to reflect images from different directions to said plurality of image gathering devices and to create a virtual optical center for each of said optical centers, each of said plurality of facets reflecting an image to an image gathering device belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices and each of said virtual optical centers being substantially at a common point; a memory for storing digitized video data representative of said video signals; control means for selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory in response to user signals produced in response to a user's input; and communication network interface means for transmitting digitized video data retrieved from said memory over a communications network and for receiving said user signals over said communications network.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
170 words
A panoramic viewing system, comprising: a plurality of image gathering devices producing a plurality of video signals, each of said plurality of image gathering devices having an optical center; a pyramid shaped element having a plurality of reflective side facets facing in different directions so as to reflect images from different directions to said plurality of image gathering devices and to create a virtual optical center for each of said optical centers, each of said plurality of facets reflecting an image to an image gathering device belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices and each of said virtual optical centers being substantially at a common point; a memory for storing digitized video data representative of said video signals; control means for selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory in response to user signals produced in response to a user's input; and communication network interface means for transmitting digitized video data retrieved from said memory over a communications network and for receiving said user signals over said communications network.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 8, wherein said communication network interface means is a modem.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
52 words
The panoramic viewing system of claim 8, wherein digitized video data retrieved from said memory is representative of a partial image from a first image gathering device and a partial image from a second image gathering device, said first and second image gathering devices belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
163 words
A method for providing panoramic viewing to a remote user, comprising the steps of: producing a plurality of video signals using a plurality of image gathering devices, each of said plurality of image gathering devices having an optical center; providing each of said plurality of image gathering devices with an image using a pyramid shaped element having a plurality of reflective side facets facing in different directions so as to reflect images from different directions to said plurality of image gathering devices and to create a virtual optical center for each of said optical centers, each of said virtual optical centers being substantially at a common point; storing digitized video data representative of said video signals in a memory; selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory in response to user signals produced in response to a user's input and received over a communications network; and transmitting digitized video data retrieved from said memory representative of said video signals over said communications network.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
163 words
A method for providing panoramic viewing to a remote user, comprising the steps of: producing a plurality of video signals using a plurality of image gathering devices, each of said plurality of image gathering devices having an optical center; providing each of said plurality of image gathering devices with an image using a pyramid shaped element having a plurality of reflective side facets facing in different directions so as to reflect images from different directions to said plurality of image gathering devices and to create a virtual optical center for each of said optical centers, each of said virtual optical centers being substantially at a common point; storing digitized video data representative of said video signals in a memory; selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory in response to user signals produced in response to a user's input and received over a communications network; and transmitting digitized video data retrieved from said memory representative of said video signals over said communications network.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 11, wherein the step of selectively retrieving digitized video data from said memory comprises retrieving data representative of a partial image from a first image gathering device and retrieving data representative of a partial image from a second image gathering device, said first and second image gathering devices belonging to said plurality of image gathering devices.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4355328A
Cited
US5030823A
Cited
US4985762A
Cited
US5023725A
Cited
US5194959A
Cited
US5130794A
Cited
US5016109A
Cited
US5187571A
Cited
WO1992014341A1
Cited
US5179440A
Cited
US5236199A
Cited
US5264945A
Cited
US5495576A
Cited
US5526133A
Cited
US5745305A
Cited
US5539483A
Cited
US5793527A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-11-22 | 2003-05-24 | 2003-11-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-11-22 | 2007-05-24 | 2007-11-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-11-22 | 2011-05-24 | 2011-11-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |