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(11) | EP 1 489 571 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Lamp with incorporated miniature surveillance camera |
| (57) An illuminating lamp (1) provided with means (2, 3, 10i) for securing it to the ground
(T) or on a vertical or horizontal support (V) is described, said lamp comprising
an illuminating body (4) provided with a base (9) and housed inside a casing (5) through
which light rays emitted by the said illuminating body (4) can pass. The lamp (1)
in question has, installed inside the said casing (5), the lens (6) of a miniature
camera (7), or a miniature camera (7) connected to a television circuit, at least
the zone (5z) of the said casing (5) situated opposite the said lens (6) being "mirror-machined"
so that the images of the surrounding environment may reach the lens (6), but the
latter is not visible from the outside of the lamp (1, 11). |
[0001] The present invention relates to the sector of components for video surveillance circuits and more particularly to an illuminating lamp having a conventional form, but with a miniature camera incorporated therein as well as means for making it invisible.
[0002] Present-day video surveillance systems comprising one or more videocameras situated in the areas which are to be monitored have two types of drawback: the first one consists in the fact that the said videocameras can be easily recognised and therefore their function can be neutralised by choosing a suitable approach route or even by covering them over. The second drawback, which aggravates further the negative effects of the first drawback, consists in the fact that the videocameras normally used in commonly found systems must, in order to perform their function, be situated in locations which, during the night-time hours, are adequately illuminated by means of a system of lamps, and this results in said videocameras being even more easily distinguishable by persons having a basic knowledge of surveillance systems.
[0003] The inventor of the idea behind the present application has proposed to eliminate the abovementioned drawbacks by incorporating videocameras, provided in the form of miniature cameras of the known type, or at least their lenses, in the same lamps which provide illumination for the premises to be kept under surveillance.
[0004] Since these lamps are composed of an illuminating body provided with a base and contained inside a casing of material through which light rays can pass, by "mirror-machining" the external surface of the casing, at least in the zone thereof situated opposite the lens of the miniature camera, it is possible to ensure that the latter cannot be distinguished from the exterior, especially if it is arranged below the abovementioned base and the illuminating body is situated above it. In this case, in fact, the miniature camera or its lens are situated in the shadow zone created by the base and, from the exterior, it is not possible to note any difference from an illuminating lamp having the same form, but without the videocameras.
[0005] In a lighting and surveillance system comprising several identical illuminating lamps with only one or several of them containing a miniature camera it is impossible to distinguish the latter, and the abovementioned drawbacks are avoided.
[0006] The inventor has also envisaged the possibility of providing the miniature camera(s) of a system with motorised means (mainly small electric motors) which can be remotely actuated, for example from the inside of the premises under surveillance, so as to be able to point them in the appropriate directions.
[0007] The subject of the present invention therefore relates to an illuminating lamp as described in the accompanying Claim 1.
[0008] Two preferred examples of embodiment of a lamp according to the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a lamp according to the invention, provided with means for fixing it on a vertical surface;
- Figure 2 is a perspective view thereof;
- Figure 3 is a perspective view of another example of embodiment of a lamp according to the invention, provided with means for fixing it to the ground.
[0009] If we consider firstly Figures 1, 2, an illuminating lamp 1 according to the invention can be seen in a version thereof suitable for being fixed onto a vertical wall V. The fixing means consist of a plate 3 which is fixed onto the wall V by means of threaded means 10i of the known type and which is connected to the lamp 1 by a tube 2 folded in an L shape with the vertical side aligned with the longitudinal axis N-N of the said lamp 1.
[0010] The actual illuminating lamp 1 consists of an illuminating body 4 which is preferably of the fluorescent type and which in the case in question is oriented vertically and has the base 9 arranged underneath it.
[0011] The illuminating body 4 is enclosed inside a casing 5 which is made of transparent material such as glass or, preferably, because of its resistance to breakage, PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate).
[0012] A miniature camera 7 of known type is installed underneath the base 9, in the shadow zone produced by it, with the lens 6 directed outwards, said camera being powered by a cable 8 and connected, by means of cable or a radio link, to a television system (not shown) terminating in one or more monitors (also not shown in the drawings) installed, for example, in the premises around which surveillance is to be performed or in a remote central surveillance station.
[0013] The zone 5z of the casing 5 situated opposite the miniature camera 7, or only the lens 6 in the case where it sends images by means of optical fibres to a miniature camera arranged in a different location, is "mirror-machined" so that the images are able to reach the lens 6, but the latter is not visible from the exterior.
[0015] By providing one or more lamps 1 according to the invention in a system also comprising further lamps which are identical in appearance, but not fitted with a miniature camera 7, a video surveillance system is obtained such that it is impossible to determine from the outside where the observation points consisting of the said miniature cameras are situated.
[0016] The lamp according to the invention may also be provided with means for fixing it to the ground, as in the case of Figure 3. In this case, the same considerations and description in respect of the previous example being applicable here, the tube 12 is straight and aligned with the longitudinal axis of the lamp 11 and also terminates in a plate 3 which can be secured onto the horizontal support surface T by means of threaded means 10i.
[0017] By changing the form and the position of the said tube, it is also possible to design a lamp according to the invention such that it can be fixed onto a horizontal surface which may consist of a ceiling or of structures which are similarly arranged. The latter case is not shown in the drawings. As already mentioned, the inventor has also envisaged the possibility of providing the miniature camera contained, as mentioned, in a lamp according to the invention with motorised means which can be actuated from a remote position and which cause, cyclically or in accordance with a predefined logic or set of requirements, the miniature cameras to rotate about a vertical axis.
1. Illuminating lamp (1, 11) provided with means (2, 12, 3, 10i) for securing it to the
ground (T) or on a vertical or horizontal support (V), comprising an illuminating
body (4) provided with a base (9) and housed inside a casing (5) through which light
rays emitted by the said illuminating body (4) can pass, characterized in that the lens (6) of a miniature camera (7), or a miniature camera (7) connected to a
television circuit, is installed inside the said casing (5), at least the zone (5z)
of the said casing (5) situated opposite the said lens (6) being "mirror-machined"
so that the images of the surrounding environment may reach the lens (6), but the
latter is not visible from the outside of the lamp (1).
2. Lamp according to Claim 1, in which the said illuminating body (4) is oriented vertically
with the base (9) arranged towards the bottom and the said lens (6) is installed underneath
the said base (9) in the said shadow zone caused by the presence of the latter.
3. Lamp according to one of the preceding claims, in which the said lens (6) is provided
with motorised means able to cause it to rotate about a vertical axis (N-N).
4. Lamp according to Claim 3, in which the said motorised means (10) can be remotely
actuated manually or by a suitably programmed electronic computer.