JP2023168122A - Imaging apparatus, method for controlling imaging apparatus, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an imaging apparatus that can electrically drive pan and tilt, and that facilitates manual pan and tilt adjustment.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus has: imaging means; driving means that electrically drives the imaging means in a pan direction or a tilt direction; and control means that, in a manual mode allowing manual rotation of the imaging means, reduces stop excitation current or stop excitation voltage applied to the driving means while the drive is stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to an imaging device, a method of controlling the imaging device, a computer program, and the like.

Conventionally, cameras capable of panning, tilting, and zooming (hereinafter referred to as PTZ cameras) have been widely used for surveillance purposes. Due to the increasing demand for PTZ cameras, in recent years they are increasingly being used for purposes other than surveillance.

For example, there are cases where it is used to record and distribute classes, and there are cases where cameras are traditionally used by photographers to take pictures, such as at video production sites and concerts, using portable video cameras. Even at such sites, PTZ cameras are increasingly being used to reduce the number of people entering the site. In addition, PTZ cameras have come to be used for video production, and the specifications of PTZ cameras have also become specifications that assume that they will be used at video production sites.

For example, in video production, PTZ cameras may be installed so that about 10 PTZ cameras can point at a subject from different directions and take pictures. In such a case, the angle of view is often adjusted by operating the PTZ camera by remote control using operating equipment (hereinafter referred to as a controller) connected to each PTZ camera.

The controller is equipped with a joystick or the like that can perform pan/tilt operations, and by operating the joystick included in the controller, the PTZ camera can be pan/tilt operated.

When shooting with a portable video camera fixed on a tripod at a video production site, generally a portable monitor is installed near the portable video camera, and the images shot by the portable video camera are displayed on the portable monitor. You may decide on the angle of view while checking the

On the other hand, when taking pictures with a PTZ camera fixed to equipment such as a tripod, it is possible to remotely operate a plurality of PTZ cameras using a controller as described above. Also, in order to install a PTZ camera and determine the approximate angle of view, install a portable monitor near the PTZ camera and measure the approximate angle of view while watching the video, just as you would when using a portable video camera. There is a way to decide.

When determining a rough angle of view while watching a video, if you are using a general portable video camera, set up a tripod so that the approximate optical axis direction of the portable video camera is in the direction of the subject in the panning direction. The tilt direction is determined by manually operating the pan head installed on the tripod.For example, if you want to shoot diagonally upward, manually operate the pan head installed on the tripod to tilt the portable video camera diagonally. Fix it facing upward.

On the other hand, with a PTZ camera, if you manually operate the tripod head with the camera body fixed on a tripod and try to take a picture with the PTZ camera facing diagonally upward, the PTZ camera may be tilted. It will be used in the condition. However, a PTZ camera is provided with an electric drive mechanism for pan-tilting, and if the PTZ camera is pan-tilted while being tilted, there is a possibility that the pan-tilt will not operate correctly due to unintentional rubbing between parts.

That is, pan-tilt operations are often not guaranteed when the PTZ camera is tilted. Therefore, when a PTZ camera is installed on a tripod or the like to take pictures, it is desired that the angle of view can be easily adjusted without tilting the entire PTZ camera with a pan head.

Patent No. 6080066

In Patent Document 1, a configuration of a general PTZ camera that can pan and tilt is proposed. In the proposed configuration, the angle of view can be determined by performing pan/tilt driving by remote control from the controller.

On the other hand, PTZ cameras used for video production are used by connecting various cables such as video output, audio output, and input/output for controlling the camera. Also, since cables need to be routed taking into account the flow line of the shooting site, first decide on the rough angle of view and where to install the PTZ camera, and then set the video output, audio output, etc. A common method is to connect cables.

However, the configuration of the imaging device described in Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that the angle of view is confirmed by connecting cables and performing pan/tilt movement by remote control. There was a problem in that the angle of view could not be easily adjusted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an imaging device in which panning or tilting can be driven electrically, and in which manual panning or tilt adjustment is easy.

In the imaging device,
an imaging means;
a driving means for electrically rotating the imaging means in a panning direction or a tilting direction;
In a manual mode in which the imaging means can be manually rotated, the image pickup apparatus is characterized by comprising a control means for reducing a stop excitation current or a stop excitation voltage applied to the drive means when the drive is stopped.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an imaging device in which panning or tilting can be driven electrically, and in which manual panning or tilt adjustment is easy.

1 is an overall diagram of the device configuration of an imaging system 100 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a PTZ camera 101 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is an external view of a PTZ camera 101 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a tilt drive section 207 inside the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment is installed on a tripod. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a PTZ camera 601 according to a second embodiment is fixed to a tripod 501. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the PTZ camera 601 according to the second embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In each figure, the same reference numerals are given to the same members or elements, and overlapping explanations are omitted or simplified.
In the embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a network camera as an imaging device will be described. However, the imaging device includes electronic equipment having an imaging function, such as a camera for a broadcasting station, a vehicle-mounted camera, a drone camera, and a camera mounted on a robot.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail using FIGS. 1 to 6.
FIG. 1 is an overall diagram of the device configuration of an imaging system 100 according to the first embodiment. The imaging system 100 includes a PTZ camera 101 as an imaging device capable of panning, tilting, and zooming, an information processing device 102, a display device 103, and the like.

The PTZ camera 101 and the information processing device 102 are connected by a cable 104, a network 105, and a cable 106. A cable 107 connects the information processing device 102 and the display device 103. The display device 103 can also directly acquire images from the PTZ camera 101 via the cable 110 or the like on the network 105 or wirelessly.

The PTZ camera 101 captures a moving image with a predetermined angle of view using an imaging unit such as a CMOS image sensor, and delivers various data including the moving image data to the information processing device 102 via a cable 104, a network 105, a cable 106, etc. . The various data include the pan angle, tilt angle, rotation angle of each imaging unit, and imaging settings such as zoom magnification, focus position, exposure, and white balance.

The information processing device 102 is composed of a general-purpose computer or workstation equipped with hardware resources such as a CPU (central processing unit), RAM, storage device, operation unit, and various I/Fs. The display device 103 is a liquid crystal display or the like that acquires moving image data and various data distributed from the PTZ camera 101 and displays the information.

The information processing device 102 transmits control commands for controlling imaging settings such as pan angle, tilt angle, rotation angle, zoom magnification, focus position, exposure, and white balance to the PTZ camera 101 . control the behavior of

The cables 104 and 106 are so-called LAN (Local Area Network) cables such as twisted pair cables and optical fiber cables that satisfy communication standards such as Gigabit Ethernet (registered trademark). Note that the configuration is not limited to a wired LAN such as the cables 104 and 106, but may be a wireless LAN.

The network 105 is a WAN (Wide Area Network) composed of routers, switches, cables, and the like. 108 is an input device such as a keyboard or a pointing device (eg, a mouse).

The imaging system of this embodiment can configure a client-server system in which the PTZ camera 101 is a server and the information processing device 102 is a client. The PTZ camera 101 can be connected to a plurality of information processing apparatuses 102, and the plurality of information processing apparatuses 102 can acquire moving image data from the PTZ camera 101. Furthermore, by managing the transfer of control rights for the PTZ camera 101, a plurality of information processing apparatuses 102 can control the PTZ camera 101.

In the example of FIG. 1, an imaging system is configured by three devices: a PTZ camera 101, an information processing device 102, and a display device 103, but the configuration of this embodiment is not limited to this configuration. For example, an information processing device integrated with an imaging unit and a display device, such as a notebook PC or a tablet terminal, may be used.

Further, the functions of the information processing device may be incorporated into the imaging device. Conversely, the functions of the imaging device may be incorporated into the information processing device. Further, in this embodiment, the PTZ camera 101 has an electrically operated panning function, tilting function, and zooming function. However, it is sufficient if it has at least one of an electric panning function and a tilting function, for example.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment. Note that some of the functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 are realized by causing the CPU 209 as a computer included in the PTZ camera 101 to execute a computer program stored in a memory as a storage medium. However, some or all of them may be realized by hardware.

As the hardware, a dedicated circuit (ASIC), a processor (reconfigurable processor, DSP), etc. can be used.
Moreover, the respective functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 do not need to be built into the same housing, and may be configured as separate devices connected to each other via signal paths.

The PTZ camera 101 includes a lens 202, an imaging section 203, an image processing section 204, a focus drive section 205, a zoom drive section 206, a tilt drive section 207, a pan drive section 208, a CPU 209 as a computer, and the like. The CPU 209 controls the zoom drive unit 206, and the zoom drive unit 206 moves a zoom lens (not shown) in the lens 202 along the optical axis to perform zoom-in and zoom-out.

Similarly, the CPU 209 controls the focus drive unit 205, and the focus drive unit 205 moves a focus lens (not shown) within the lens 202 along the optical axis to perform a focusing operation. Further, the CPU 209 controls the tilt drive unit 207, and the tilt drive unit 207 tilts and rotates the PTZ camera 101 along, for example, a vertical plane.

The CPU 209 also controls a pan driving unit 208, and the pan driving unit 208 pans and rotates the PTZ camera 101 along, for example, a horizontal plane. In this way, the tilt drive unit 207 and the pan drive unit 208 function as a drive unit for electrically rotating the imaging unit 203 as an imaging unit in the pan direction or the tilt direction. It also functions as a control means for controlling the entire imaging device.

The imaging unit 203 (imaging means) is configured with a two-dimensional image sensor that converts an optical image of a target object into an electrical signal through photoelectric conversion, and includes, for example, a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. The imaging unit 203 outputs RAW data that has not been irreversibly compressed to the image processing unit 204 . The image processing unit 204 performs development processing such as black correction processing, demosaicing processing, and filter processing on the RAW data output from the imaging unit 203, and stores the developed data in the RAM 211 connected to the bus 210 via the bus 210. Store data.

The CPU 209 sequentially transfers the development data of the PTZ camera 101 to the image compression unit 213 and then to the network via the I/F 214. It also performs calculations to calculate the imaging direction and imaging angle of view of the imaging unit from the position and orientation information of the imaging unit.

The ROM 212 is a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, and stores computer programs and various parameters for realizing the functions according to this embodiment. These programs and parameters are appropriately loaded into the RAM 211 via the bus 210 under the control of the CPU 209, and are executed by the CPU 209 to cause each functional block according to the present embodiment to function. The RAM 211 is a volatile memory such as SRAM or DRAM.

The I/F 214 is various I/Fs (interfaces) related to input/output. The I/F 214 receives instruction information from input devices 108 such as operation keys including a relay switch and a power switch, a cross key, a joystick, a touch panel, a keyboard, and a pointing device (for example, a mouse), and notifies the CPU 209 via a bus 210. .

Further, I/F 214 is connected to network 105 via LAN. The I/F 214 is connected to the display device 103 such as an LCD display via the network 105, and displays information such as images and user interfaces temporarily recorded in the RAM 211 on the display device 103.

The image compression unit 213 generates compressed data by performing irreversible compression processing or the like on the development data sent from the imaging unit in accordance with control instructions from the CPU 209 via the bus 210. The compressed data is output to the network 105 via the I/F 214 and supplied to the display device 103, for example.

Furthermore, the image compression unit 213 decompresses the compressed data. For compression/expansion processing in the image compression unit 213, compression methods based on the JPEG standard are used for still images, and MOTION-JPEG, MPEG2, AVC/H. 264, AVC/H. Compression/expansion is performed in accordance with standards such as H.265.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment. The PTZ camera 101 includes a base unit 340 including a mounting portion for the camera body, a tally lamp 320, and a manual pan/tilt button 310. That is, in this embodiment, a manual pan/tilt button 310 is provided as an operation section provided on the casing of the imaging means, and the manual mode is entered by the user operating the operation section.

The PTZ camera 101 also includes a pan unit 330 that rotates around the Z-axis, which is the panning center passing through the approximate center of the main body, and a camera that rotates around the Y-axis, which is the horizontal tilt axis. It has a unit 300. Note that the X-axis is a horizontal axis in the optical axis direction, the Y-axis is a horizontal axis perpendicular to the X-axis, and the Z-axis is a vertical axis perpendicular to the X-axis and the Y-axis.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the tilt drive section 207 inside the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, a tilt drive section 207 for tilting and rotating the camera unit 300 is provided inside the PTZ camera 101. Further, a pan driving section 208 (not shown) is provided for panning and rotating the panning unit 330 together with the camera unit 300.

A tilt pulley 207a is coupled to the camera unit 300, and by rotating a tilt motor 207c as a drive source, the camera unit 300 is tilted via a belt 207b.

The tilt pulley 207a, the tilt motor 207c, and the belt 207b function as a speed reduction mechanism, and when the tilt motor 207c rotates, the camera unit 300 is driven to tilt at an angular velocity according to the speed reduction ratio. In this embodiment, the speed reduction mechanism uses a belt drive, but a speed reduction mechanism using gears may also be used. In this embodiment, the tilt motor 207c as a driving means and the pan motor (not shown) both use a stepping motor as a driving source.

Pan driving is also performed using the same principle as that of the tilt driving section 207, but the explanation will be omitted. Further, as described above, the camera unit 300 is provided with a zoom drive unit 206 for zooming and a focus drive unit 205 for focusing, making it possible to focus at a desired focal length. ing. Since zooming and focusing are also well-known techniques, details will be omitted.

Here, the view angle adjustment of the PTZ camera 101 in video production will be described.
The PTZ camera 101 is provided with a control board (not shown) for controlling driving, and controls pan driving, tilt driving, zoom driving, etc. via the control board. A user who is a photographer using the PTZ camera 101 operates the PTZ camera 101 to obtain an image at a desired angle of view.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment is installed on a tripod.
In this embodiment, in video production, as shown in FIG. 5, a PTZ camera 101 is installed on a tripod, an information processing device 102 is connected, and panning and tilting positions are adjusted. In the example of FIG. 5, the information processing apparatus 102 is provided with an operation unit 109, and the user operates the operation unit 109 to adjust the pan position, tilt position, and zoom position.

Note that in this embodiment, the display device 103 is directly connected to the PTZ camera 101 with the cable 110 in FIG. 5, so that image data can be directly acquired without going through the information processing device 102. Therefore, the user can manually adjust the pan or tilt while referring to the image displayed on the display device 103 without using the information processing device 102.

As described above, the PTZ camera 101 is driven to pan and tilt using the tilt motor 207c and the pan motor (not shown) as drive sources. When the PTZ camera 101 is powered on, current flows to the tilt motor 207c and the pan motor (not shown) via a control board (not shown) provided inside the PTZ camera 101.
When the PTZ camera 101 is powered on, it performs an initialization operation, checks the operation of each electrical component, and then stops the pan drive and tilt drive at a predetermined position.

In this embodiment, when the pan drive and tilt drive stop at a predetermined position, current is controlled to flow through the tilt motor 207c and the pan motor (not shown) in order to maintain the tilt and pan positions. For example, even if the PTZ camera 101 is installed in an environment where vibrations occur, the tilt motor 207c has a current (hereinafter referred to as stop excitation current) that can exert the necessary drive torque so that the pan position and tilt position do not move. and flows to the pan motor (not shown).

This stop excitation current prevents the pan position and tilt position from changing easily. However, there are cases where it is moved unintentionally, such as when a person comes into contact with it. Assuming such a case, the pan drive section 208 and the tilt drive section 207 are provided with a pan encoder (not shown) and a tilt encoder (not shown) for detecting the pan position and tilt position.

When a pan encoder (not shown) and a tilt encoder (not shown) detect unintended pan and tilt position movements, a control board (not shown) provided inside the PTZ camera 101 places them in a position error state. I recognize that. When the position error state is recognized, an LED indicator (not shown) provided on the front side of the PTZ camera 101 is made to blink in red, for example, to notify the user that the position error state has occurred.

The PTZ camera 101 according to the present embodiment has a function of holding the pan and tilt positions using a stop excitation current, and also has a manual pan and tilt mode that allows the user to manually change the pan and tilt positions. That is, in this embodiment, the driving means has a manual pan/tilt mode as a manual mode in which the drive means can be rotated manually. Note that the manual mode may be one in which only panning or only tilting is manually rotated.
Next, details of the manual pan/tilt mode will be explained.

In the present embodiment, in the manual pan/tilt mode, the CPU 209 as a control means controls the stop excitation current and voltage of the pan motor and tilt motor to be reduced, so that the user can easily manually move the pan position and tilt position. I have to. Further, in this embodiment, by directly connecting the PTZ camera 101 and the monitor 502 with the cable 110, panning and tilting can be adjusted manually while viewing the image on the monitor 502. Note that as the cable 110, for example, a video output cable such as an HDMI (registered trademark) cable or an SDI cable may be used.

Note that in this embodiment, panning and tilting can be adjusted manually while checking the image without connecting the information processing device 102; It may be adjusted.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the PTZ camera 101 according to the first embodiment. Note that each step in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is performed by the CPU 209 serving as a computer executing a computer program stored in a memory.

First, in step S601, the CPU 209 determines whether the power of the PTZ camera 101 is on, and if Yes, the process advances to step S602. Power on may be determined by detecting that the power has been turned on by a hard switch, or by detecting that the power has been turned on by PoE (Power over Ethernet) when a LAN cable is connected.

As described above, the PTZ camera 101 is provided with the manual pan/tilt button 310, and in step S602, the CPU 209 determines whether the manual pan/tilt button 310 has been pressed, and if YES, the process advances to step S603. If No, the process returns to step S601.

In step S603, the CPU 209 turns on the manual pan/tilt mode, and in step S604, the CPU 309 blinks the tally lamp 320 to notify the user that the manual pan/tilt mode has been entered. At this time, in order to emphasize that the mode is different from the normal mode, the tally lamp 320 is lit in a color or brightness different from that in the normal lighting mode, or it is blinked at a predetermined cycle. Alternatively, a combination of both may be used.

In this embodiment, the pan/tilt position error detection function normally operates in order to detect when the pan/tilt is moved unintentionally. However, in this embodiment, when the manual pan/tilt mode is set, the CPU 209 turns off the position error detection function in step S605. That is, in this embodiment, the drive means has a position error detection function, and during the manual mode, the position error detection function is turned off, so that unnecessary warnings are not issued.

After turning off the pan/tilt error detection function in step S605, the CPU 209 sets the current applied to the pan motor and tilt motor 207c to be smaller than the stop excitation current in step S606. Here, step S606 functions as a control step for reducing the stop excitation current or stop excitation voltage applied to the drive means when the drive is stopped in the manual mode in which the imaging means can be manually rotated.

At this time, the current applied to the tilt motor 207c may be a weak current that does not cause the camera unit 300 to rotate in the tilt direction due to its own weight. On the other hand, in the pan direction, since it does not rotate under its own weight, the current applied to the pan motor is smaller than the current applied to the tilt motor 207c. That is, in the manual mode, the stop excitation current value of the pan motor is made smaller than the stop excitation current value of the tilt motor.

By reducing the stop excitation current applied to the pan motor and tilt motor 207c in step S606, the holding torques of the pan drive section 208 and tilt drive section 207 that maintain the positions of the pan unit 330 and camera unit 300 are reduced.

Therefore, in this state, the user can easily move the panning or tilting position by hand, and while checking the monitor 502 connected to the PTZ camera 101, adjust the panning or tilting position until the desired angle of view is obtained. be able to. Once the desired angle of view has been adjusted, the user presses the manual pan/tilt button 310 again.

In this embodiment, the stop excitation current to the pan motor and the tilt motor is reduced, but the stop excitation voltage may be reduced. In this way, in the present embodiment, in the manual mode, the drive means reduces the stop excitation current or stop excitation voltage applied when the drive is stopped, so the manual rotation load can be reduced and the manual operation can be easily performed. Pan or tilt rotation can be performed.

In step S607, the CPU 209 determines whether the manual pan/tilt button 310 has been pressed again. If Yes, the process advances to step S608; if No, the process returns to step S603. In this embodiment, the manual pan/tilt button 310 is a button that is switched on and off each time it is pressed.

When the manual pan/tilt button 310 is pressed, the CPU 209 turns off the manual pan/tilt mode in step S608, and applies the stop excitation current to the pan motor and tilt motor again in step S609. Furthermore, in step S610, the CPU 209 turns on the pan/tilt position error detection function, thereby completing the return to the normal mode.

When the pan position and tilt position are manually moved, the state of the speed reduction mechanism used for pan drive and tilt drive may be different from the drive state of the stepping motor in the normal mode. For example, positional displacement due to backlash may occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, the PTZ camera 101 initializes the pan-tilt drive in order to make the speed reduction mechanism similar to the state driven by the stepping motor.

In the present embodiment, before that, in step S611, the CPU 209 detects the position before the pan/tilt initialization operation using the position detection means provided in the pan drive unit and the tilt drive unit of the PTZ camera 101, Memorize that location.

After that, in step S612, the CPU 209 initializes the pan/tilt position and sets the pan/tilt position stored in step S611. That is, the pan/tilt position after manual adjustment is maintained. Then, in step S613, the CPU 209 turns off the tally lamp 320 to notify the user that the return to the normal mode is complete.
The above-described flow completes the manual angle of view adjustment in the manual pan/tilt mode.

By having a mode in which the pan/tilt position can be manually adjusted as in this embodiment, it becomes possible to adjust the angle of view even when a camera operating device such as a controller is not connected. Particularly in shooting situations where a large number of cameras are installed, the angle of view can be adjusted before connecting many cables to the camera body, making installation easier. As a result, it becomes possible to reduce the number of man-hours required for preparation for photographing.

In this embodiment, the manual pan/tilt button 310 is pressed to enter the manual pan/tilt mode. However, if the camera can be controlled with an infrared remote control, for example, you can enter manual pan/tilt mode by pointing the infrared remote control at the infrared remote control signal receiver on the camera body and pressing the manual pan/tilt button on the infrared remote control. You can also enter it. Alternatively, it may be possible to enter the manual pan/tilt mode using a PC, tablet, smartphone, or the like.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, when the manual pan/tilt button 310 is pressed to enter the manual pan/tilt mode, the current applied to each of the pan motor and the tilt motor 207c is reduced. However, when shooting with a camera fixed on a tripod, the panning direction can also be changed by changing the orientation of the tripod while the camera is fixed on the tripod.

In such a case, it is sufficient to set the mode in which only the tilt drive can be operated manually. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the configuration is such that the manual pan mode and manual tilt mode can be entered separately for pan drive and tilt drive. Note that descriptions of parts that overlap with those of Embodiment 1 will be omitted.

A flow in which a user manually adjusts, for example, a tilt position will be described using FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a PTZ camera 700 according to the second embodiment is fixed to a tripod 501, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the PTZ camera 700 according to the second embodiment. Note that each step in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is performed by the CPU 209 serving as a computer executing a computer program stored in a memory.

As shown in FIG. 7, the pan unit 703 and camera unit 704 of the PTZ camera 700 are provided with a manual pan button 701 and a manual tilt button 702, respectively, as operation units for entering manual pan mode and manual tilt mode. By operating these manual pan button 701 and manual tilt button 702, respectively, a manual pan mode and a manual tilt mode are entered.

First, in step S801, the CPU 209 determines whether the power of the PTZ camera 101 is on, and if YES, the process advances to step S802. Power on may be determined by detecting that the power has been turned on by a hard switch, or by detecting that the power has been turned on by PoE (Power over Ethernet) when a LAN cable is connected.
In step S802, the CPU 209 determines whether the manual tilt button 702 has been pressed, and if Yes, the process advances to step S803. If No, the process returns to step S801.

In step S803, the CPU 209 turns on the manual tilt mode, and in step S804, the CPU 309 blinks the tally lamp 320 to inform the user that the manual tilt mode has been entered. At this time, in order to emphasize that the mode is different from the normal mode, the tally lamp 320 is lit in a color or brightness different from that in the normal lighting mode, or it is blinked at a predetermined cycle. Or a combination thereof may be used. Here, in the manual mode, the tally lamp 320 functions as a status display unit that displays that the manual mode is present.

Note that under normal conditions, a pan/tilt error detection function is activated to detect if the pan/tilt has been moved unintentionally. However, in the manual tilt mode, it is assumed that only the tilt is moved manually, so when the manual tilt mode is set, in step S805, the CPU 209 turns off the tilt only position error detection function.

After turning off the pan/tilt error detection function in step S805, the CPU 209 sets the current applied to the tilt motor 207c to be smaller than the stop excitation current in step S806.

At this time, the current applied to the tilt motor 207c may be a weak current that does not cause the camera unit 704 to rotate in the tilt direction due to its own weight. On the other hand, the current applied to the pan motor maintains a large current, which is the same as the stop excitation current.

Although FIG. 8 shows an example in which only tilt rotation is performed manually, the same applies to the case where only pan rotation is performed manually. That is, in the present embodiment, in the manual mode, while being manually rotated in one of the panning direction and the tilting direction, the stop excitation current or stop excitation voltage in the other direction is not reduced. Therefore, while manually adjusting the rotation of one, the rotation angle of the other does not become unstable.

By reducing the current applied to the tilt motor 207c in step S806, the holding torque of the tilt drive unit 207 that holds the position of the camera unit 704 is reduced.
Therefore, in this state, the user can easily move the tilt position by hand, and can adjust the tilt position until a desired angle of view is obtained while checking the monitor 502 connected to the PTZ camera 101. After adjusting the tilt position to the desired angle of view, the user presses the manual tilt button 702 again.

In step S807, the CPU 209 determines whether the manual tilt button 702 has been pressed again. If Yes, the process advances to step S808; if No, the process returns to step S803. In this embodiment, the manual tilt button 702 is a button that is switched on and off each time it is pressed.

When the manual tilt button 702 is pressed again, the CPU 209 turns off the manual tilt mode in step S808, and applies the stop excitation current to the tilt motor again in step S809. Further, in step S810, the CPU 209 turns on the tilt position error detection function, thereby completing the return to the normal mode.
In step S811, the CPU 209 detects the position before the tilt initialization operation using the position detection means provided in the tilt drive section of the PTZ camera 101, and stores the position.

After that, in step S812, the CPU 209 initializes the tilt to the tilt position stored in step S811 along with the row. That is, the tilt position after manual adjustment is maintained. Then, in step S813, the CPU 209 turns off the tally lamp 320 to notify the user that the return to the normal mode has been completed.
The above-described flow completes manual angle of view adjustment in manual tilt mode.

Since the manual pan mode simply performs the same operation as the manual tilt mode by panning, the explanation will be omitted. If you want to manually adjust both the pan and tilt positions, you can press the manual pan button 701 and manual tilt button 702 to adjust the pan and tilt positions respectively, but the operation is the same as in manual tilt mode. , so the explanation will be omitted.

By having a mode in which the tilt position can be manually adjusted as in the above embodiment, it becomes possible to adjust the angle of view even when no operating equipment such as a controller is connected. In addition, when you install the camera body on a tripod and want to adjust the pan position by adjusting the direction in which the tripod is installed and only the tilt position, you can maintain the pan position while adjusting the tilt position. The configuration of this embodiment improves work efficiency during installation.

Although the present invention has been described above in detail based on its preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified in various ways based on the spirit of the present invention. It is not excluded from the scope of the invention. Further, the configurations of Embodiments 1 and 2 described above may be combined as appropriate.

Note that the present invention may be realized by supplying a system or device with a storage medium in which a software program code (control program) that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded. This can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device reading and executing a computer-readable program code stored in a storage medium.
In that case, the program code itself read from the storage medium will implement the functions of the embodiments described above, and the storage medium that stores the program code will constitute the present invention.

101... PTZ camera 100... Imaging system 330... Pan unit 300... Camera unit 207a... Tilt pulley 207b... Belt 207c... Tilt motor 207... Tilt drive unit 310...・Manual pan/tilt button 320...Tally lamp 109...Joystick 501...Tripod

Claims (9)

an imaging means;
a driving means for electrically rotating the imaging means in a panning direction or a tilting direction;
An imaging apparatus comprising: a control means for reducing a stop excitation current or a stop excitation voltage applied to the drive means when driving is stopped in a manual mode in which the image pick-up means can be manually rotated. The control means is characterized in that, in the manual mode, while the imaging means is manually rotated in one of the pan direction or the tilt direction, the control means does not reduce the other stop excitation current or stop excitation voltage. The imaging device according to claim 1. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the driving means uses a stepping motor as a driving source. The drive means includes a tilt motor and a pan motor, and the control means makes the value of the stop excitation current of the pan motor smaller than the value of the stop excitation current of the tilt motor in the manual mode. The imaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation section provided on a housing of the imaging means, and entering the manual mode by a user operating the operation section. The imaging device according to claim 1, further comprising a status display section that displays, in the manual mode, that the camera is in the manual mode. The driving means has a position error detection function,
The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the position error detection function is turned off during the manual mode. an imaging means;
A method for controlling an imaging device, the method comprising: driving means for electrically rotating the imaging means in a panning direction or a tilting direction;
A method for controlling an imaging device, comprising a control step of reducing a stop excitation current or a stop excitation voltage applied to the drive means when driving is stopped in a manual mode in which the imaging means can be manually rotated. A computer program for controlling each means of the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 by a computer.

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