Patent ID: 8212872

Claim:
A surveillance camera system comprising: a camera having an adjustable field of view; a display screen displaying images acquired by said camera; a processing device operably coupled to said camera and said display screen, said processing device configured to allow a user to define a privacy mask obscuring a portion of the displayed images, said processing device further configured to transform said privacy mask in accordance with changes in the field of view of said camera, wherein, in a first field of view, said privacy mask is defined by a plurality of vertices having coordinates (x1, y1), .. . (xn, yn), and, in a second field of view differing from said first field of view, said processing device determines transformed coordinates, (x1′, y1′), . . . (xn′, yn′), for each of said vertices based upon changes in the field of view of said camera wherein said privacy mask and said transformed privacy mask obscure substantially common subject matter in both said first field of view and said second field of view respectively; and wherein said privacy mask in said first field of view is definable by pixel rows and said processing device is configured to identify opposing ends of a plurality of said pixel rows, each of said identified ends defining one of said vertices of said privacy mask, and wherein said processing device is programmed to determine a polygon defined by said vertices of said privacy mask and to infill said polygon to form said privacy mask without scanning an entire displayed image.