Claims
- 1. A motion detector camera comprising:
a housing; a camera mechanism mounted within the housing; a motion detector; a controller connected to the camera mechanism and the motion detector; and a display screen exposed on an outer surface of the housing.
- 2. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the display screen includes an LCD screen.
- 3. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the housing is adapted to be mountable with a back surface of the housing against a supporting object such that the display screen is exposed on a front surface of the housing.
- 4. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the camera mechanism includes digital camera electronics.
- 5. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the display screen is configured to display a power level of a power source located within the housing.
- 6. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the display screen is configured to display a number of triggering activities received by the controller from the motion detector.
- 7. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the controller includes a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not activate the camera mechanism after receiving a triggering event signal from the motion detector.
- 8. The motion detector camera of claim 1, wherein the controller includes a test mode, wherein when put into the test mode, the controller causes a test indicator to activate but does not cause the camera mechanism to take a picture.
- 9. A motion detector camera comprising:
a camera mechanism located inside a housing; a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; an activity counter for displaying a number of triggering signals received from the motion detector; and a controller to receive the triggering signals from the motion detector, wherein when the controller receives a triggering signal from the motion detector, the controller increases the number displayed by the activity counter.
- 10. The motion detector camera of claim 9, wherein the controller includes a test mode, wherein when put into the test mode the controller activates a test indicator and does not activate the camera mechanism when a triggering activity occurs.
- 11. The motion detector of claim 9, wherein the camera mechanism includes digital camera electronics.
- 12. The motion detector camera of claim 9, including a flash exposed on a surface of the housing and having a range of at least 23 feet.
- 13. The motion detector camera of claim 9, wherein the controller includes a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not activate the camera mechanism after receiving a triggering event signal from the motion detector.
- 14. A motion detector camera comprising:
a camera mechanism mounted inside a housing; a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; an activity counter for recording a number of triggering signals received from the motion detector; and a controller to receive the triggering signals from the motion detector, wherein when the controller receives a triggering signal from the motion detector, the controller increases the number recorded by the activity counter.
- 15. The motion detector camera of claim 14, wherein the camera mechanism includes digital camera electronics.
- 16. The motion detector camera of claim 14, including a flash exposed on a surface of the housing and having a range of at least 23 feet.
- 17. The motion detector camera of claim 14, wherein the controller includes a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not activate the camera mechanism after receiving a triggering event signal from the motion detector.
- 18. A motion detector camera comprising:
a housing; a camera mechanism mounted within the housing; a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; a controller operatively coupled to the camera mechanism and the motion detector, wherein the controller is adapted to send an activation signal to the camera mechanism when the controller receives a triggering signal from the motion detector; and a memory connected to the controller, wherein the controller can be programmed to store a number designating a total of the received triggering signals in the memory.
- 19. The motion detector camera of claim 18, wherein the controller can be programmed to time and date stamp each of the triggering signals in the memory.
- 20. The motion detector camera of claim 19, wherein a user can retrieve the time and date of each of the triggering signals from the memory.
- 21. The motion detector camera of claim 18, wherein the controller includes at least two operating modes, wherein in a first mode the controller activates the camera mechanism when the controller receives a triggering signal from the motion detector, and wherein in a second mode the controller stores the triggering signal in the memory and does not activate the camera mechanism when the controller receives the triggering signal from the motion detector.
- 22. The motion detector camera of claim 18, wherein the controller includes a test mode wherein the controller activates a test indicator and does not activate the camera mechanism when a triggering signal is received from the motion detector.
- 23. A motion detector camera comprising:
a housing; a printed circuit board mounted within the housing; digital camera electronics mounted to the circuit board;
a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; a controller for controlling the digital camera electronics in response to signals received from the motion detector; a flash connected to the circuit board; a first power source connected to the flash and the digital camera electronics; and a second power source connected to the motion detector and not connected to the flash and the digital camera electronics.
- 24. The motion detector camera of claim 23, wherein the first power source and the second power source are both mounted with a battery holding area within the housing.
- 25. The motion detector camera of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first power source and the second power source includes a solar power source.
- 26. The motion detector camera of claim 23, wherein the first power source and the second power source include two or more batteries mounted together within the housing.
- 27. The motion detector camera of claim 23, wherein the controller includes a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not activate the camera mechanism after receiving a triggering event signal from the motion detector.
- 28. The motion detector camera of claim 23, wherein the controller includes a test mode, wherein when put into the test mode, the controller causes a test indicator to activate but does not cause the camera mechanism to take a picture.
- 29. A motion detector camera comprising:
a camera mechanism mounted inside a housing; a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; and a controller to control the camera mechanism in response to triggering signals received from the motion detector; wherein the motion detector is adjustable to alternatively detect motion at up to two different distances.
- 30. The motion detector camera of claim 29, wherein the controller includes a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not activate the camera mechanism after receiving a triggering event signal from the motion detector.
- 31. The motion detector camera of claim 29, wherein the controller includes a test mode, wherein when put into the test mode, the controller causes a test indicator to activate but does not cause the camera mechanism to take a picture.
- 32. A motion detector camera comprising:
a housing; a camera mechanism mounted within the housing; a power source connected to the camera mechanism; a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; a controller operatively coupled to the camera mechanism and the motion detector, wherein the controller is adapted to send an activation signal to the camera mechanism when the controller receives a triggering signal from the motion detector; and an indicator on a surface of the housing to indicate when the power source is low on power.
- 33. The motion detector camera of claim 32, wherein the power source includes one or more batteries mounted within the housing.
- 34. The motion detector of claim 32, wherein the indicator includes a light.
- 35. The motion detector camera of claim 32, wherein the controller includes a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not activate the camera mechanism after receiving a triggering event signal from the motion detector.
- 36. The motion detector camera of claim 32, wherein the controller includes a test mode, wherein when put into the test mode, the controller causes a test indicator to activate but does not cause the camera mechanism to take a picture.
- 37. A motion detector camera comprising:
a camera mechanism located inside a housing; a motion detector exposed on a surface of the housing; and a controller coupled to the camera mechanism to send activation signals to the camera mechanism in response to triggering signals received from the motion detector, the controller including a pause state, wherein when put into the pause state, the controller does not send any activation signals to the camera mechanism until a pre-determined amount of time has elapsed.
- 38. The motion detector camera of claim 48, wherein the pause state is adjustable from between a 1 minute pause to a 60 minute pause.
- 39. The motion detector camera of claim 48, wherein the camera mechanism includes digital camera electronics.
- 40. A method comprising:
providing a motion detector camera configured to take pictures of activities happening away from the motion detector camera; and displaying information concerning the motion detector camera on a display on a surface of the motion detector camera.
- 41. The method of claim 40, wherein displaying information includes displaying a power level of a power source within the motion detector camera.
- 42. The method of claim 40, wherein displaying information includes displaying a number of triggering activities received from a motion detector of the motion detector camera.
- 43. A method comprising:
a controller in a motion detector camera receiving triggering signals from a motion detector; storing information concerning the triggering signals in a memory of the motion detector camera; and retrieving the information concerning one or more of the triggering signals from the memory.
- 44. The method of claim 43, wherein retrieving the information includes retrieving a date and a time of a triggering signal.
- 45. The method of claim 43, wherein retrieving the information includes retrieving a number from the memory indicating a total number of triggering signals stored in the memory.
- 46. A method comprising:
setting a motion detector on a motion detector camera to detect motion occurring between the camera and a first distance away from the camera or occurring between the camera and a second, longer distance away from the camera; and activating a camera mechanism within the motion detector camera in response to signals received from the motion detector.
- 47. The method of claim 46, further including activating a flash in response to signals received from the motion detector.
- 48. The method of claim 46, wherein the motion detector includes an infrared sensor.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/217,327, filed Aug. 12, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/757,803, filed Jan. 10, 2001, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,735,387, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10217327 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Child |
10876899 |
Jun 2004 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09757803 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Child |
10217327 |
Aug 2002 |
US |