JP4448001B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus suitable for use in a surveillance camera, a video conference camera, and the like, and in particular, imaging at all viewing angles and enlargement of a desired subject by pan / tilt / zoom operations. The present invention relates to an imaging device that can be switched.

  Conventionally, as a method of photographing a wide area, a method of photographing the entire periphery using a hyperbolic mirror as shown in FIG. 9 has been proposed. One camera 101 is arranged below the hyperbolic mirror 102 and an image of the entire circumference is formed on the image sensor of the camera 1. An image formed on the image sensor will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, an image of the entire circumference is formed on a ring-shaped region 104 on the image sensor 103. When displaying an image on a monitor or the like, image processing for correcting distortion is performed by a processing circuit (not shown), and a horizontally long panorama is displayed. Convert to image and display. Such a system is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, for example.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a monitoring system using one omnidirectional camera and one pan / tilt / zoom pan head camera (hereinafter referred to as a PTZ camera).

  FIG. 8 shows the system configuration. 801 is a PTZ camera and 802 is an omnidirectional camera using the hyperbolic mirror, which are arranged at a predetermined distance. The video signal of the omnidirectional camera 802 is taken into the computer 42 and an omnidirectional image is displayed on the monitor 43 by the control program. The control program divides the omnidirectional image area into blocks, and sets the corresponding pan / tilt position information and zoom information in advance so that the PTZ camera can magnify and photograph each block of the omnidirectional image. When the observer designates a block to be enlarged, the information is transmitted to the PTZ camera control unit 803, and the PTZ camera 801 is controlled to zoom up the block, and is enlarged and displayed on the monitor 44.

As a result, the position of the PTZ camera can be easily controlled in the designated area of the omnidirectional image so that enlarged shooting can be performed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-295333 Japanese National Patent Publication No. 09-505447 JP 2003-259349 A

  However, in the omnidirectional cameras disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when the designated area is enlarged in detail, a ring-shaped image formed on the image sensor is corrected for distortion by image processing. Thus, the image is converted into a normal image, and the image of the designated area is cut out and enlarged, so that the resolution of the enlarged image is lowered, and there is a problem in quality for use for monitoring purposes. In addition, since the ring-shaped image is converted into a normal image by image processing, the pixel density of the converted image is not uniform between the outer periphery and the inner periphery of the ring-shaped image. There was a disadvantage that the image quality was deteriorated roughly.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, since the omnidirectional camera and the PTZ camera are placed at positions separated from each other, there has been a shift between the viewpoint of the omnidirectional camera and the viewpoint of the PTZ camera when shooting a subject. Therefore, even if the PTZ camera pan / tilt / zoom control values are uniquely set in the area divided into blocks of the omnidirectional image in advance, the PTZ camera actually depends on the distance of the shooting subject to the omnidirectional camera. Since the shooting direction of the camera changes, there is a problem that the PTZ camera does not always capture the shooting subject even if the block indicating the shooting subject is indicated in the omnidirectional camera image. In addition, since two cameras, an omnidirectional camera and a PTZ camera, are used, a large installation space is required, resulting in an expensive system.

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and provides an imaging apparatus that can zoom in on a desired imaging area with high resolution and does not need to be corrected in the camera direction, and that is more inexpensive. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention is an image pickup apparatus having a shooting camera , wherein panning operation for rotating the shooting direction of the shooting camera in a horizontal direction with respect to the image pickup apparatus and the image pickup apparatus are provided. And a drive control means for controlling a tilting operation for rotating the photographing direction of the photographing camera in a vertical direction, and a part of a dome for protecting the photographing camera, on an extension line of a rotation axis of the panning operation of the driving control means. And a mirror having at least one curved surface including a cone, a sphere, a parabola, or a hyperbola, and the drive control means directs the photographing camera on an extension line of the rotation axis of the pan operation. wherein a mode in which photographing camera for photographing the photographing object through said mirror, said drive control means wherein the imaging camera in a direction different from the extension of the rotation axis of the pan operation It takes the photographic camera by is characterized by having a a mode for photographing the photographed object without passing through the mirror.

  According to the present invention, by arranging an optical element capable of observing all directions on a part of the dome of the PTZ camera, it is possible to easily switch between omnidirectional imaging and PTZ imaging, and within a region of the omnidirectional captured image By instructing the shooting area, the desired shooting area can be zoomed with high resolution. Further, by making the optical axis for omnidirectional imaging coincide with the rotation axis of the pan turntable, it is not necessary to correct the direction of the omnidirectional image and the PTZ camera depending on the installation state of the PTZ camera, and it can be used easily. With such a configuration, since only the dome portion of a normal PTZ camera is replaced with an omnidirectional optical element, a compact and inexpensive system can be realized.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the entire image pickup apparatus, 2 is a base of the PTZ camera, 3 is a pan rotation base, 5 is a tilt support base, and supports the photographing camera 4 so that it can be rotated in the pan and tilt directions. ing. Inside the base 2, the pan turntable 3, and the tilt support base 5, there are drive mechanisms consisting of motors and gears that rotate in the pan and tilt directions, respectively, and are incorporated together with a substrate such as a camera drive control circuit and a video signal control circuit. ing. The photographing camera 4 has a zoom and autofocus drive mechanism, and can be controlled from the outside together with pan / tilt operations. A transparent dome 6 made of polycarbonate or the like that protects the camera is fixed to the base 2. A conical mirror 7 is fixed to the inner surface of the dome 6 at a position on an extension line of the rotation axis of the pan turntable 3.

  The base 2 is provided with a mark 8 indicating the reference of the shooting direction of the PTZ camera, which is the reference direction of the omnidirectional image shot by the shooting camera 4.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a side view of the image pickup apparatus of the present embodiment, and explains the shooting modes of the PTZ camera and the omnidirectional camera. FIG. 2A shows a case where it is used as a PTZ camera, and an area of approximately 360 ° can be arbitrarily magnified except for an area where the conical mirror 7 is disposed. FIG. 2B shows a case where the camera is used as an omnidirectional camera. By holding the photographing camera 4 toward the center of the conical mirror 7, a 360 ° region can be photographed simultaneously as shown in the figure. Thus, the function as an omnidirectional camera can be provided by only changing the direction of the photographing camera with a single PTZ camera.

  Next, the overall system configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawing, a portion surrounded by a dotted line indicates the entire imaging apparatus 1 and represents a configuration of an electric circuit inside the apparatus. Reference numeral 31 denotes a camera drive control circuit, and reference numeral 32 denotes an image signal processing circuit that converts a video signal output from an image sensor of the photographing camera 4 into a digital signal, performs pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing, and converts the image signal into imaging data. Reference numeral 33 denotes a memory control circuit that controls the image signal processing circuit 32 and the memory 34 to acquire and store imaging data.

  The memory 34 is a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, and can be used as a storage area for processing programs for the operation control of the system controller 35 or a work area for the system controller 35. it can.

  Reference numeral 37 denotes a video encoding circuit that compresses and encodes image data using an encoding method such as JPEG. Reference numeral 36 denotes a communication control circuit for transmitting / receiving imaging data, imaging control data, and the like. Reference numeral 40 denotes an internal bus that transmits imaging data and various control signals. The system controller 35 controls the memory control circuit 33, the video encoding circuit 37, and the communication control circuit 36 through the internal bus 40, and performs overall imaging. The device is controlled.

  Reference numeral 41 denotes a network line, which can transfer image data to a monitor device including a personal computer 42 and a monitor 43 placed remotely via the network line, and display the image on the monitor 43.

  Next, the operation of the imaging apparatus configured as described above will be described. The video signal from the photographic camera 4 is converted into digital image data by the image signal processing circuit 32, subjected to pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing, and temporarily stored in the memory 34 for each video frame by the memory control circuit 33. .

  Next, the imaging data is encoded by the video encoding circuit 37, sent to the communication control circuit 36, and sent to the network line 41. Here, the network is an Internet network using the TCP / IP protocol, for example.

  The personal computer 42 receives the encoded imaging data, performs a decoding process by the control program for the imaging apparatus mounted on the personal computer 42, and displays a captured image on the monitor 43.

  The control program for the image pickup apparatus mounted on the personal computer 42 can control the pan / tilt / zoom operations of the photographing camera, and the camera control signal output from the control program is transmitted from the personal computer 42 to the network. It is sent to the line 41. The communication control circuit 36 of the imaging apparatus receives the camera control signal, is transmitted to the system controller 35, and can cause the photographing camera to perform a desired operation through the camera drive control circuit 31.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a captured image on the monitor 43 according to the present embodiment. On the screen 401 of the monitor 43, an omnidirectional image display window 402, a zoom image display window 403, a pan / tilt operation button 404, a zoom operation button 405, and an omnidirectional photographing button 406 are displayed by a control program.

  The omnidirectional image display window 402 displays an image obtained by correcting the distortion of a ring-shaped image captured when the imaging apparatus is in the omnidirectional imaging mode and converting the image into a landscape shape. The zoom image display window 403 displays a zoom image when the imaging apparatus is in the PTZ shooting mode.

  The pan / tilt operation button 404 is provided with direction keys, the photographing camera can be moved in the pan / tilt direction in real time, and the zoom ratio can be changed by the slide bar of the zoom operation button 405.

  The omnidirectional shooting button 406 is used to set a mode for acquiring an omnidirectional image by directing the shooting camera in the direction of the conical mirror.

  Next, the control flow of the control program of the system using this imaging apparatus is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the control program of the personal computer 42 is operated, the above screen is displayed on the monitor 43. First, in step 501, the photographing camera is directed to the direction of the conical mirror by pan / tilt operation so that the photographing camera enters the omnidirectional photographing mode. It is done. At that time, the photographing camera uses the mark position of the base as a reference, aligns the pan direction so that the direction is the origin of the omnidirectional image, and is directed toward the conical mirror by a tilting operation. Further, the zoom of the photographing camera is set to a predetermined zoom ratio suitable for omnidirectional photographing, and the autofocus is also fixed at a focus position suitable for omnidirectional photographing.

  In step 502, an omnidirectional image is acquired from the imaging apparatus, and the distortion-corrected image is displayed in the omnidirectional image display window 402.

  Next, in step 503, the observer designates an area to be enlarged with a mouse or the like on the image of the omnidirectional image display window 402, and the corresponding enlarged image frame 205 is displayed. In step 504, the omnidirectional image display window 402 is switched to a still image and stored. In step 505, the photographing camera is switched from the conical mirror to enter the PTZ mode and pan in the direction indicated on the omnidirectional image display window 402. The tilt is moved, and the zoom ratio is also set to a zoom ratio corresponding to the size designated by the enlarged image frame 205. In step 506, the zoom image is displayed in the zoom image display window 403. In step 507, the pan / tilt / zoom operation of the photographing camera can be freely performed by the pan / tilt operation button 404 and the zoom operation button 405 on the display screen. To the mode that can.

  When the observer observes the omnidirectional image again, clicking the omnidirectional shooting button 406 on the screen in step 508 returns to step 501 and can switch to the omnidirectional shooting mode. The omnidirectional image is changed from a still image to a moving image. Return.

  With the system configuration as described above, it is possible to easily switch between omnidirectional imaging and PTZ imaging, and to perform zoom imaging of a desired observation area with high resolution within the omnidirectional area. In addition, since the optical axis for omnidirectional photographing and the rotational axis of the pan turntable are coincident, there is no discrepancy in photographing direction due to the distance between the photographing subject and the camera.

  In the present embodiment, the omnidirectional mirror is described as a conical mirror. However, a convex mirror such as a hyperbolic mirror, a parabolic mirror, or a spherical mirror may be used. Moreover, you may use the omnidirectional optical element which combined multiple uneven | corrugated mirror curved surfaces.

  In this embodiment, the observer arbitrarily selects the subject to be photographed and zoomed in, but the system detects the subject's motion from the omnidirectional image by image processing and automatically zooms in on the motion-detected area. It is also possible to do.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the omnidirectional photographing mirror is arranged on the inner surface of the dome. However, as shown in FIG. 6A, a transparent cylindrical member 8 is attached to the outer side of the dome, and an omnidirectional photographing mirror such as a conical mirror is attached to the end. In the omnidirectional imaging mode, omnidirectional imaging is performed from the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical member 8 as shown in FIG. This makes it possible to add an omnidirectional photographing function by simply replacing the dome with an omnidirectional photographing mirror without changing the dome diameter of the conventional PTZ camera.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration in which the omnidirectional photographing mirror is replaceable. The omnidirectional photographing mirror 72 is made of a cylindrical resin block, and the reflecting surface 73 is formed by depositing a metal reflecting film on a concave curved surface. It is fixed to the mounting portion 71 on the dome 6 so as to be replaceable by screwing or the like. By changing the curvature of the omnidirectional shooting mirror, the vertical shooting viewing angle changes, so that an optimum shooting viewing angle can be obtained by replacing only the omnidirectional shooting mirror as necessary.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of an imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an imaging apparatus system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the picked-up image of the imaging device of Embodiment 1 of this invention. Control flowchart of control program of system using imaging device of embodiment 1 of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the imaging device of Embodiment 2 of this invention Explanatory drawing of the omnidirectional photography mirror of the imaging device of Embodiment 2 of this invention Explanatory drawing of a system using an omnidirectional camera and a PTZ camera of a conventional example Illustration of conventional omnidirectional mirror Explanatory drawing of the image on the image sensor of the conventional omnidirectional mirror

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 The whole imaging device 2 Base 3 Pan pan 4 Photographing camera 5 Tilt support stand 6 Dome 7 Conical mirror 31 Camera drive control circuit 32 Image signal processing circuit 33 Memory control circuit 35 System controller 36 Communication control circuit 41 Network 42 Personal computer 43 Monitor 402 Window for omnidirectional image display 403 Window for zoom image display 404 Button for pan / tilt operation 405 Button for zoom operation 406 Omnidirectional shooting button 801 PTZ camera 802 Omnidirectional camera 102 Hyperbolic mirror

Claims (3)

An imaging apparatus having a photographing camera ,
Drive control means for controlling a panning operation for rotating the photographing direction of the photographing camera in a horizontal direction with respect to the imaging device and a tilting operation for rotating the photographing direction of the photographing camera in a vertical direction with respect to the imaging device ;
A mirror that is a part of a dome that protects the photographing camera and is disposed on an extension line of a rotation axis of the pan operation of the drive control means and has at least one curved surface including a cone, a sphere, a parabola, or a hyperbola; Have
The drive control means directs the photographing camera on an extension line of the rotation axis of the panning operation so that the photographing camera takes a photographed subject through the mirror; and the drive control means causes the photographing camera to move the panning camera. imaging apparatus characterized by having a mode for photographing the photographed object without passing through the imaging camera the mirror by orienting in a direction different from the extension of the axis of rotation of the operation. It further has instruction means that can instruct the drive control means from outside,
The instruction unit instructs the drive control unit to shoot in a mode in which the photographic camera shoots a photographic subject through the mirror in response to an operation of the observer with respect to a button displayed on a monitor screen. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: Imaging area of the mode of the photographing camera for photographing the photographing subject through the mirror, the imaging camera is equal to or wider than the imaging area of the mode for photographing the photographed object without passing through the mirror The imaging device according to claim 1 or 2 .

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