Method for controlling monitoring camera, and monitoring system employing method

1. A method of controlling a monitoring camera, performed by a user input/output (I/O) device that receives information of an event and a live-view video from the monitoring camera, the method comprising:

displaying the live-view video received from the monitoring camera on a first region of a display panel;

displaying, on a second region of the display panel, a plurality of angle-range icons corresponding to respective panning angle-ranges or respective tilting angle-ranges, the respective panning angle-ranges covering an entire angle range to which panning of the monitoring camera is executable and the respective tilting angle-ranges covering an entire angle range to which tilting of the monitoring camera is executable, each of the plurality of angle-range icons being assigned with an equal size of a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range; and

in response to one of the plurality of angle-range icons being selected, transmitting, to the monitoring camera, a control signal for executing the panning or the tilting at a representative angle of a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range assigned to the selected angle-range icon,

wherein the plurality of angle-range icons comprise a first plurality of angle-range icons that are arranged in a first direction in the second region of the display panel, and a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range are assigned, without a user's manipulation, to each of the first plurality of angle-range icons to increase incrementally, by the equal size of the panning angle-range or the tilting angle-range between neighboring icons, in the first direction, the first plurality of angle-range icons being displayed simultaneously on the second region of the display panel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the representative angle is a center angle of the panning angle-range or the tilting angle-range.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 1 .

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angle-range icons comprise a second plurality of angle-range icons that are arranged in a second direction in the second region of the display panel, and a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range assigned to each of the second plurality of angle-range icons decreases incrementally in the second direction.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the panning angle-ranges or the tilting angle-ranges of the plurality of angle-range icons cover a range of 0° to (+180°) and a range of 0° to (−180°).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angle-range icons are assigned with the respective panning angle-ranges or the respective tilting angle-ranges without requiring a presetting function to set a panning angle or a tilting angle of the monitoring camera corresponding to each of the plurality of angle-range icons to be performed.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of angle-range icons include an N number of angle-range icons (N being an integer equal to or greater than 2), and each of the N number of angle-range icons is assigned with a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range of which a size is obtained by dividing the entire angle range to which the panning or the tilting of the monitoring camera is executable by N.

8. A monitoring system comprising:

a user I/O device in which a display panel is installed; and

a monitoring camera configured to perform photography while performing panning or tilting according to control signals from the user I/O device and to provide information of an event and a live-view video to the user I/O device,

wherein

the live-view video received from the monitoring camera is displayed on a first region of the display panel,

a plurality of angle-range icons assigned with respective panning angle-ranges or tilting angle-ranges are displayed on a second region of the display panel,

when one of the plurality of angle-range icons is selected, panning or tilting is performed at a representative angle of a panning angle-range or tilting angle-range assigned to the selected angle-range icon,

the representative angle is a center angle of the panning angle-range or tilting angle-range, and

when one of the plurality of angle-range icons is selected and a panning angle-range or tilting angle-range assigned to the selected angle-range icon includes a point that is not currently viewable on the display panel,

based on the one of the plurality of angle-range icons being selected according to a first method, the panning or the tilting is performed at a representative angle of the panning angle-range or tilting angle-range assigned to the selected angle-range icon, and

based on the one of the plurality of angle-range icons being selected according to a second method, cumulative information of an event that has occurred in the panning angle-range or tilting angle-range assigned to the selected angle-range icon is displayed.

9. The monitoring system of claim 8 , wherein

in the first method, the one of the plurality of angle-range icons is touched, but is not dragged, and

in the second method, the one of the plurality of angle-range icons is dragged while being touched.

10. The monitoring system of claim 8 , wherein, according to a number of times the event has occurred in the panning angle-range or the tilting angle-range assigned to each of the plurality of angle-range icons, a color of each of the plurality of angle-range icons is changed.

11. The monitoring system of claim 8 , wherein the displaying the cumulative information of the event comprises displaying a cumulative-information icon providing the cumulative information of the event around the selected angle-range icon.

12. The monitoring system of claim 11 , wherein the cumulative-information icon comprises:

a character indicating a type of the event; and

a number of times the event has occurred.

13. The monitoring system of claim 11 , wherein

when the cumulative-information icon is selected, a list of event videos corresponding to the cumulative-information icon is displayed, and

when one video is selected from the list of event videos, the selected video is reproduced.

14. The monitoring system of claim 13 , wherein the list of event videos comprises thumbnail still images respectively representing the event videos.

15. The monitoring system of claim 8 , further comprising sensors configured to indicate that the event has occurred,

wherein, when the event occurs, event occurrence signals from the sensors are transmitted to the monitoring camera, and the monitoring camera transmits the information of the event based on the event occurrence signals to the user I/O device.

16. The monitoring system of claim 15 , wherein

in the user I/O device, panning angle-ranges or tilting angle-ranges corresponding to respective locations of the sensors are set, and

upon receiving the information of the event, the user I/O device displays cumulative information of the event for a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range of a location where the event has occurred, for a set period of time.

17. The monitoring system of claim 16 , wherein displaying the cumulative information of the event comprises displaying a cumulative-information icon providing the cumulative information of the event is displayed around an angle-range icon of the panning angle-range or the tilting angle-range of the location where the event has occurred, for the set period of time.

18. A monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured to detect that an event has occurred;

a monitoring camera; and

a user I/O device in which a display panel is installed, the user I/O device configured to:

display, on a first region of the display panel, a live view based on information received from the monitoring camera, and

display, on a second region of the display panel, a plurality of angle-range icons assigned with respective panning angle-ranges or tilting angle-ranges based on which panning or tilting of the monitoring camera is executable,

wherein,

in response to one of the plurality of angle-range icons being selected in the user I/O device, the monitoring camera is configured to execute the panning or the tilting at a representative angle of a panning angle-range or a tilting angle-range assigned to the selected angle-range icon,

in the user I/O device, panning angle-ranges or tilting angle-ranges corresponding to respective locations of the plurality of sensors are set among the panning angle-ranges or the tilting angle-ranges of the plurality of angle-range icons, and

a first angle-range icon is assigned with a panning angle-range or tilting angle-range including a point that is not currently viewable on the display panel, and upon receiving information of the event from at least one of the plurality of sensors, of which location is set to the panning angle-range or tilting angle-range of the first angle-range icon, the user I/O device selectively displays cumulative information of the event at or adjacent to the first angle-range icon.