Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N7/00—Television systems
  • H04N7/18—Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
  • H04N7/188—Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
  • G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
  • G03B17/00—Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor
  • G03B17/02—Bodies
  • G03B17/08—Waterproof bodies or housings
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
  • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
  • H04N23/50—Constructional details
  • H04N23/51—Housings

Definitions

• the present invention relates to subsea image recording devices.
• the present invention relates more particularly to an autonomous underwater device for recording images comprising:
• a waterproof case comprising:
• a recording unit able to store the video images
• the present invention is intended in particular to improve devices for counting aquatic fauna and underwater biodiversity.
• the present invention relates to an autonomous underwater image recording device characterized in that it further comprises a glass cleaning means comprising an arm rotatably mounted about a first axis perpendicular to the glass and rotated by a motor, said arm carrying a broom having a surface perpendicular to the first axis, said broom resting on the pane to scrape at regular intervals the outer surface of the pane, and in that it further comprises programmable control means for controlling the camera and the motor according to at least one predefined sequence.
• a glass cleaning means comprising an arm rotatably mounted about a first axis perpendicular to the glass and rotated by a motor, said arm carrying a broom having a surface perpendicular to the first axis, said broom resting on the pane to scrape at regular intervals the outer surface of the pane, and in that it further comprises programmable control means for controlling the camera and the motor according to at least one predefined sequence.
• the device can operate completely autonomously. Indeed, it can be installed at first, then the ship from which it was installed can move away so as not to disturb the counting of species of aquatic fauna. The device can then collect information autonomously for several weeks or even a few months.
• the device is retrieved by a ship, and the data recorded on the registration unit can be analyzed for statistical purposes.
• the box is cylindrical and has a main axis parallel to the first axis.
• the drive motor is juxtaposed parallel to the box;
• step-type drive motor and in which the programmable control means are adapted to control an angular sweep of a predefined number of steps;
• the box comprises a front face and in which the window is set back from said front face of the box;
• the at least one predefined sequence of said programmable control means comprises a shooting of 2 minutes every 2 hours;
• the recording unit has a capacity of 50 gigabytes
• the battery has a capacity of at least 360 watts-hours
• the autonomy of the device for recording the images video is at least 2 months old
• the at least one predefined sequence of said programmable control means comprises a scan every 6 hours
• the device has a weight of less than 12 kilograms
• the camera is a standard digital webcam
• the device further comprises an auxiliary battery, the cleaning means being powered by said auxiliary battery.
• FIG. 1 is a general view showing an autonomous underwater video device according to the invention
• FIG. 2 represents a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 represents a partial sectional view of the device of FIG. 1, along line III-III of FIG. 2,
• FIG. 4 represents an electrical block diagram of the device of FIG. 1 with programmable means
• FIG. 5 represents a chronogram of the operation of the device of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 6 represents a partial detail view of the cleaning means
• FIG. 7 illustrates a variant of the first embodiment comprising an auxiliary equipment photoelectric recharge.
• FIG. 1 presents an autonomous underwater video device 1 intended to be immersed in a predetermined location of a sea or an ocean, the purpose of which is video device being to record images of aquatic fauna and marine biodiversity.
• the processing of images recorded by sampling over a long enough period allows the counting of aquatic fauna species on the basis of statistical observation of the presence or passage of individuals of each species.
• the autonomous underwater video device 1 comprises in particular:
• a support base 10 fixed to feet 18 adapted to be placed or sunk in the sea floor 80,
• a recording unit 12 able to store the video images that are captured by the camera 6, said recording unit 12 being also enclosed in said watertight case 2,
• programmable control means 3 for controlling at least one sequence of image recordings by the camera, in a predefined sequence, also housed inside the waterproof case 2, and
• the water chamber 2 is in the form of a cylinder of revolution, of main axis Y1, closed by a disk-shaped front face 20 and perpendicular to the main axis Y1 and a rear face 28 also in the form of a disc and perpendicular to the main axis Yl.
• the water chamber 2 is formed by an assembly of two cylinder portions of substantially identical diameter, the front portion 21 comprising the front face 20, and the rear portion 22 comprising the rear face 28. Said two cylinder portions 21,22 are assembled between them sealingly at their interface by means of a seal 23, for example ring or by any other means known in the art.
• the watertight box 2 comprises a flat and disk-shaped transparent window 5 in the example shown, said pane 5 being positioned back from the front face 20 towards the inside of the box. .
• the outer surface of the window is subjected to the pressure of the surrounding water, while the inner surface of the window is subjected to the air pressure prevailing inside the waterproof case 2.
• On the inner surface comes into support the lens of the camera, the camera being held against the glass by conventional holding means (not shown) known in the art.
• the outer surface of the pane 5 is parallel to the front face 20 and perpendicular to the main axis Y1.
• the window 5 is received in a housing having a circular border, the position of this circular border being offset a few millimeters towards the inside of the box 2 with respect to the front face 20.
• the window 5 has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of said border and is fixed to said border by sealed means in a manner known in the art and not shown in detail.
• an autonomous underwater image recording device 1 further comprises a means of cleaning the outer surface of the window 5.
• This cleaning means comprises:
• a shaft 7 driven in rotation about a first axis X by said motor 4, provided with an O-ring or a lip seal at the place where said shaft leaves the motor,
• a broom 8 fixed on the arm 9 in the vicinity of its second end 92, the side of the arm facing said window 5, the blade 8 having a bearing surface parallel to the outer surface of the window 5.
• the blade 8 bears on the outer surface of the window 5, and when the motor 4 controls the movement of the arm 9, the blade 8 undergoes an arcuate movement in a plane parallel to the window 5 so as to be able to scrape, at least in part, the outer surface of the pane 5, in particular that which is opposite the objective of the camera 6.
• the motor 4 is held against the casing 2 by flanges 49 or by any other means such as collars which surround the casing 2 with the motor 4.
• the motor 4 is juxtaposed parallel to the casing 2, and the first X axis is parallel to the main axis Yl.
• the waterproof case 2 comprises, in its inner compartment:
• the programmable control means 3 for controlling at least one sequence of image recordings by the camera 6 and of cleaning the pane 5, in a predefined sequence, as will be detailed later,
• the recording unit 12 intended to store the video images that are captured by the camera 6, which is in the form of a hard disk or a nonvolatile mass memory,
• Said platinum 29 comprises distribution circuits electrical devices, in particular circuits which make it possible to connect the control means 3 to the following elements:
• the electrical equipment of the autonomous underwater video device of the invention comprises an accumulator battery 11, the video camera 6, the driving motor 4 of the cleaning means, the d recording 12 as well as the programmable control means 3.
• the accumulator battery 11 delivers a voltage y + V and has for reference its negative pole connected to the ground potential called y Gnd '.
• the motor 4 which drives the arm and the brush is a stepping motor by means of which it is advantageous to control an angular displacement in an open loop, by counting the steps that are generated. It is thus possible to control a movement while knowing at any time the angular position of the shaft 7 and the arm 9, without resorting to a position sensor.
• the electrical equipment of the autonomous underwater video device of the invention further comprises, among the programmable control means 3, a logic unit 40, such as for example a microcontroller 40, an output transistor 86 and a control relay 88 connected to this output transistor 86, the output of the relay 88 being connected via the cable 61 to the video camera 6 and to the recording unit 12.
• a logic unit 40 such as for example a microcontroller 40
• an output transistor 86 and a control relay 88 connected to this output transistor 86, the output of the relay 88 being connected via the cable 61 to the video camera 6 and to the recording unit 12.
• the programmable control means 3 furthermore comprise a series of four transistors 81, 82, 83, 84, able to control the phases of the stepper motor 4 in a succession of combinations corresponding to the displacement. one or more steps in one direction or the other.
• Each of the transistors 81, 82, 83, 84 is connected to its corresponding phase by means of electrical conductors 16 which form part of the connecting cable 16.
• the recording unit 12 is supplied by the logic control unit 40 and receives the video signals from the camera 6 via the cable 62.
• the logic control unit 40 the transistors
• 81,82,83,84, and 86 and the relay 88 can be mounted on an electronic card 34 itself contained in a protective housing 35, these being not described here in detail because known in the art.
• the logic control unit 40 no longer controls the relay 88, the contact of said relay 88 is then open and the camera 6 as well as the recording unit 12 are no longer powered, the device is then said to be in phase. rest 'and the power consumption is then reduced very significantly so as to give the device a significant autonomy.
• the timing diagram shown in FIG. 5 shows a standard sequence comprising relatively short recording phases 42, for example of a duration of 2 minutes, and rest phases 41 between the recording phases 42, the rest phases being much longer.
• a typical sequence may consist of a recording phase of 2 minutes every 2 hours.
• the device At the beginning of the timing diagram (t0), the device is in the idle phase, the power supply voltage 41 of the video camera (VC) is at potential massive. After the lapse of a time of 2 hours, the device passes (time t1) in the recording phase, the supply voltage 41 of the video camera (VC) is at the positive potential, this phase 42 for 2 minutes up to at time t2 where the device returns to the rest phase. Such a cycle is then repeated, giving rise to recording phases between instants t3 and t4, then between t6 and t7, then between t8 and t9, then between t10 and t11, then between t13 and t14.
• the logic control unit 40 triggers a scanning of the window through the cleaning means.
• This frequency may be low, such as for example a scan 44 every 6 hours, which is represented between instants t5 and t6, then between times tl2 and tl3.
• the arm 9 of the cleaning means has a reference position CCO, a position in which it is not in front of the objective of the camera 6 and an extreme travel position ⁇ 1, the gap between the two positions approaching 30 ° in the illustrated example, and the area covered by the scanning encompasses the surface 64 of the camera lens 6.
• the position 43 of the arm 9 remains at CCO as long as the device is in the rest phase or until the device 1 does not trigger a cleaning sequence.
• the position changes from CCO to al and then moves back from al to a0, this being done by a succession of steps controlled on the stepper motor 4.
• a regular cleaning of the window 5 makes it possible to prevent micro ⁇ organisms having time to establish a permanent position on the window 5, thus constituting a simple, robust anti-fouling system that does not require no chemicals. Thanks to this cleaning at regular intervals, the glass 5 remains clean and the video sequences captured by the camera and recorded in the recording unit 12 are sharp even after the device 1 has spent several weeks in the middle.
• the battery Preferably, according to the invention, the battery
• the recording unit 12 has a storage capacity of at least 50 gigabytes.
• a standard digital webcam is chosen as camera 6, which has the advantage of being inexpensive, small and light.
• the mass of the autonomous underwater image recording device 1 is less than 12 kilograms, which allows a single individual to wear and put in place the device 1, without handling means or outside help. More specifically, the mass of the waterproof case 2 is substantially less than 7 kilograms and the mass of the battery 11 is substantially less than 5 kilograms.
• the autonomous underwater image-recording device 1 no longer comprises a single battery 11, but two electric batteries:
• the autonomous underwater video device 1 can optionally include the lighting means 19 already mentioned above (shown only in Figure 1) being an underwater beacon powered by the battery.
• This lighting means 19 makes it possible to illuminate the zone of capture of the video images when the natural luminosity is not sufficient, for example at night or when the device is immersed to a depth greater than that which benefits from the natural light of the day, depending on the turbidity of the water.
• the logic control unit 40 may further include a clock (not shown in the drawings).
• This clock makes it possible, when the device 1 is immersed to a relatively low depth which benefits from the natural light of the day and the device 1 is not equipped with a lighting means 19, to modulate the controlled sequence or sequences by function of day or night, to avoid recording phases when natural light is insufficient.
• the support base 10 could be fixed to a single foot 18 by means of one or more clamps, the support base 10 being pivotable about the axis of the single foot 18, the collar or collars tightening that can be tightened to immobilize the support base 10 relative to the single foot 18.
• the video recording device 1 must indeed be very securely fixed to withstand violent ocean currents, for example cyclonic currents.
• the fixing of the waterproof case 2 on the support base 10 can be achieved by means of a flange (not shown in the figures) surrounding the watertight box 2 and firmly fixed on the support base 10 for example by means of bolting .
• the device comprises wireless transmission means (Not shown) adapted to transmit to a remote device, for example a data server, all or part of the data collected by said device and stored in the recording unit 12.
• a remote device for example a data server
• This transmission can be performed at regular intervals, for example once a day.
• the battery 11, and if necessary the auxiliary battery already mentioned, can be recharged by ancillary equipment comprising photocells 35.
• this auxiliary equipment comprises an auxiliary float 30 with buoys 32 and an anti-overturning mass 36 as well as a marker flag 34. Furthermore, an electric cable 26 connects said auxiliary float 30 to the autonomous device 1 and in particular to the battery 11.
• the auxiliary float 30 is connected by another cable 27 to a ballast 31 placed on the bottom 80 and supplemented, if necessary, by an anchoring device 37.
• Said photocells 35 produce electrical energy, particularly under the effect of solar radiation, this electrical energy can be converted by a converter (not shown) into electrical energy at a voltage slightly greater than that of the battery 11.
• the battery 11 can be recharged by the electrical energy sensed by said photoelectric 35 and shaped if necessary by the converter.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Studio Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=42115468

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2009
  • 2009-11-09 FR FR0957905A patent/FR2952496B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2010
  • 2010-11-08 EP EP10792982A patent/EP2499826A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2010-11-08 WO PCT/FR2010/052396 patent/WO2011055099A1/fr active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events