JP2005286926A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable exact camera control even if deviation occurs in a panning/tilting driving mechanism etc., in a television camera controllable by an external control device. <P>SOLUTION: As shown in Figure (a), the storage unit of a television camera stores variable range information of zooming magnification of the lens of the television camera and the available range information of a panning angle and a tilting angle. Also, as shown in Figure (b), the storage unit 15 of the television camera stores present panning angle information, tilting angle information and zoom magnification information. A control unit 14 of the television camera creates information indicating a range photographed at present for a photographing available range shown in Figure (c) on the basis of the information, and transmits the information to the control unit of the television camera. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus such as a television camera, and more particularly to an imaging apparatus suitable for use in a surveillance camera.

  Conventionally, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) is connected to a TV camera, and the video from the TV camera is displayed on the screen of the PC display device, and an icon for remote control of the camera is displayed on the screen. There is a method of remotely controlling pan, tilt, and zoom of a television camera by designating an icon with a mouse or the like (see Patent Document 1).

  However, in such a remote operation method, for example, in the case of panning or tilting, since the PC operator does not know which part of the image pickup range of the TV camera is currently displayed, the PC operator Another drawback is that it does not know how much panning or tilting is possible.

On the other hand, as a camera control device that solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, the display unit has a first frame showing the maximum field of view defined by the limit of the shooting direction, and is currently shooting within the first frame. It has been proposed that the operator can easily understand which region of the pan / tilt movable range is within the field of view by displaying a second frame indicating the range of movement (patent) Reference 2).
JP-A-9-102945 JP-A-9-102902

  However, in the above-described camera control device, if the pan / tilt drive mechanism is out of order after the TV camera is installed, the displayed frame may not correspond to the state of the TV camera, and accurate camera control may not be possible. There is.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and in a television camera that can be controlled by an external control device, even if a pan / tilt drive mechanism or the like is distorted after installation, accurate camera control is possible. It aims to make possible.

The invention according to claim 1 is a lens, an imaging unit that converts light collected by the lens into an image signal, an imaging range control unit that variably controls the imaging range, an imageable range, and an imaging range An imaging apparatus comprising imaging position information generating means for generating imaging position information indicating
A second aspect of the present invention is the imaging apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the imaging range control means includes means for controlling a zoom magnification of the lens.
The invention according to claim 3 is the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging range control means includes means for panning or tilting the imaging optical axis.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the imaging apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising communication means for transmitting the imaging position information to an external device.
The invention according to claim 5 is the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging range control means variably controls the imaging range based on a control signal input from an external device. .

  According to the present invention, information indicating the range that can be imaged in the imaging apparatus and the range during imaging is generated, so that accurate camera control can be performed even if a pan / tilt drive mechanism or the like is out of order.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a television camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The television camera system of the present embodiment includes a television camera 1 and a control device 2 that are connected to each other via a data transmission path 3. The data transmission path 3 is a wired or wireless transmission path capable of transmitting image data and control data.

  The television camera 1 includes a lens 11, an imaging unit 12 that converts light focused by the lens 11 into an image signal, and predetermined signal processing (gain control, A / D) for the image signal generated by the imaging unit 12. The camera signal processing unit 13 that performs conversion and the like, the control unit 14 that controls the entire TV camera 1, the storage unit 15 and the communication interface unit 16 connected to the control unit 14, and the control unit 14. A lens control unit 17 that controls the zoom magnification of the lens 11, and a pan / tilt control unit 18 that controls a pan / tilt driving mechanism (not shown) under the control of the control unit 14 to pan and tilt the camera 1. ing.

  The storage unit 15 is a ROM in which programs and data used when the control unit 14 executes various processes, and stores various data temporarily when the control unit 14 executes various processes. And an EEPROM in which data for generating imaging position information to be described later is stored. The communication interface unit 16 performs processing necessary for performing data communication with the control device 2 via the data transmission path 3.

  The control device 2 is composed of a PC, and a control unit (CPU) 21 that controls the entire control device 2 and the like, and a storage unit 22, an operation unit 23, and a display unit 24 that are respectively connected to the control unit 21. And the communication interface unit 25. The storage unit 22 is a ROM in which programs and data used when the control unit 21 executes various processes is stored in advance, and various data and the like are temporarily stored when the control unit 21 executes various processes. And a hard disk for storing image data and the like. The operation unit 23 is a mouse, a keyboard, or the like, and is used for inputting various instructions to the control device 21. The display unit 24 includes an LCD or the like, and displays various instructions input from the operation unit 23, image data captured by the television camera 1, and the like. The communication interface unit 25 performs processing necessary for performing data communication with the television camera 1 via the data transmission path 3.

  In the TV camera storage unit 15 (EEPROM), as shown in FIG. 2A, variable range information of the zoom magnification of the lens 11 of the TV camera 1 and variable range information of the pan angle and tilt angle of the TV camera 1 are stored. Memorized at the time of installation. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the current pan angle information, tilt angle information, and zoom magnification information are stored in the storage unit 15 (RAM) of the television camera. Based on these pieces of information, the control unit 14 creates information (hereinafter referred to as camera position information) indicating a range that can be imaged and a range that is currently being imaged as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2C, a matrix of 9 horizontal elements and 10 vertical elements (hereinafter referred to as 9 × 10) means that the imageable range is divided into 9 × 10. In this figure, the hatched range indicates the range currently being imaged. In this figure, the size of the range currently being imaged is 4 × 5, but if the zoom magnification is doubled, the vertical and horizontal sizes will be halved. Can be identified. As the camera position information, for example, the upper left end and the lower right end of the matrix are used. This can be achieved by adding size matrix size information. This camera position information is created in real time and stored in the storage unit 15 (RAM).

An example of the operation of the television camera system having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, when the PC is started up and an image display operation is performed on the screen of the display unit 24 (step S1), the control unit 21 of the PC creates an image data request command and passes through the communication interface unit 25 and the data transmission path 3. To the TV camera 1 (step S2). In the television camera 1, an image data request command is sent from the communication interface unit 16 to the control unit 14. The control unit 14 sends the camera position information to the PC via the communication interface unit 16 and the data transmission path 3 (step S3). Next, the image data from the camera signal processing unit 13 is compressed and encoded, and the communication interface unit 16 The data is sent to the PC via the data transmission path 3 (step S4). The image data may be compressed and encoded using a dedicated encoder instead of the control unit 14, and the output of the encoder may be supplied to the communication interface unit 16.

  In the PC, the received camera position information and image data are stored in the storage unit 22, and then sequentially read out and displayed on the display unit 24 (steps S5 and S6). FIG. 4 is an example of a display screen. Assume that the screen of FIG. 4A is displayed by steps S5 and S6. In this figure, an image data display section 42 is set to about 2/3 on the right of the display screen 41, and a camera position information display section 43 is set on the upper left. Of the patterns displayed on the display unit 43, the 9 × 10 matrix is the imageable range of the television camera 1, and the rectangle 44 corresponds to the current imaged range, that is, the image displayed on the display unit 42. ing. Further, an icon 45 for image movement operation is displayed in the lower left part of the display screen 41. Of the icons 45, four triangular keys are for panning and tilting, and two rectangular keys to the right are for zooming in and zooming out. By instructing these keys with a mouse or the like, it is possible to instruct the television camera 1 to perform pan, tilt, and zoom operations.

  Next, the operator of the PC operates the icon 45 to perform a predetermined image moving operation (step S7). At the time of this moving operation, it can be seen how much the moving operation is possible by looking at the display unit 43. Further, for example, a moving operation display frame similar to the rectangle 44 is displayed on the display unit 43, and when the pan and tilt keys are operated, the frame has a rectangular 44 shape corresponding to the pan and tilt directions and angles. Move in matrix units from the position. Further, when the zoom key is operated, the size of the frame is changed according to the zoom magnification.

  When a predetermined image moving operation is performed in this way, the control unit 21 of the PC creates a camera movement instruction command and sends it to the television camera 1 (step S8). Here, the content of the camera movement instruction command may be camera position information after movement, or may be movement direction and movement amount information (matrix units) with respect to the current position information. The camera movement instruction command may be generated every time the frame moves by one matrix, or may be generated when a confirmation (Enter) key (not shown) is operated after performing a desired movement operation. May be. In the television camera 1, the control unit 14 identifies the camera movement instruction command, and controls the lens control unit 17 and the pan / tilt control unit 18 according to the contents of the command (step S9). Next, the television camera 1 sends camera position information to the PC (step S10), and then sends image data to the PC (step S11). In the PC, the received camera position information and image data are stored in the storage unit 22, and then sequentially read out and displayed on the display unit 24 (steps S12 and S13). FIG. 4B is an example of a display screen, which displays an image and camera position information when the TV camera 1 is panned and tilted from the state of FIG.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, since the television camera 1 creates camera position information, the control device 2 does not need to create camera position information. In addition, even if a pan / tilt drive mechanism or the like is out of order, accurate camera control is possible.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the television camera system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information memorize | stored in the television camera in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of operation | movement of the television camera system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of PC in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Television camera, 2 ... Control apparatus, 11 ... Lens, 14 ... Control part, 16 ... Communication interface part, 17 ... Lens control part, 18 ... Pan / tilt Control unit.

Claims (5)

  A lens, an imaging unit that converts light collected by the lens into an image signal, an imaging range control unit that variably controls the imaging range, and imaging position information that indicates a range that can be captured and a range that is being captured are generated An imaging apparatus comprising: imaging position information generating means.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging range control means includes means for controlling a zoom magnification of the lens.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging range control unit includes a unit that pans or tilts an imaging optical axis.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that transmits the imaging position information to an external apparatus.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging range control unit variably controls the imaging range based on a control signal input from an external device.

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