GB2468162A

GB2468162A - Image Recording and Reproducing Installation

Info

Publication number: GB2468162A
Application number: GB0903479A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Georgina Laura Clarke; Gabrielle Suzanne Motola
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-02-27
Filing date: 2009-02-27
Publication date: 2010-09-01
Also published as: GB0903479D0

Abstract

An image recording and reproducing installation (10) comprises a box-like structure (11) defining a work zone (12), at least one display screen (20) carried by the structure and image recording and transmission means located in the zone and operable to record an image of a subject (13) temporarily in the zone and to transmit the recorded image to the screen, the screen(s) being arranged to display the transmitted image at a side of the screen facing away from the zone, thus at the outside of the structure. The image recording and transmission means preferably comprises a digital camera (15), a digital data processor (18) receiving and storing digital image data from the camera and a projector (19) receiving stored image data from the processor and projecting images in correspondence with the data onto the screen (20), which is preferably a rear projection screen. The structure is preferably multi-part and collapsible.

Description

IMAGE RECORDING AND REPRODUCING INSTALLATION

The present invention relates to an image recording and reproducing installation, especially, but not exclusively, for the purpose of recording images of a person or persons at a venue and displaying these images at the venue as, for example, visual entertainment or a backdrop.

Installations of the kind described and for the indicated specific purpose are known and are primarily used as an additional entertainment feature at a venue such as a party, book launch and other social gatherings. Participants can chose to be photographed individually or in company with one or more other persons by the installation, after which the resulting photographic image is projected onto a display screen. United States patent specification 20080106613 describes a system consisting of a camera for recording digital images, an electronic folder for storing the images and controllers for reading out the stored images and delivering them via a network to several displays, in particular a number of large screens. These screens are discrete components and apparently erected separately from the camera and associated electronic equipment, which, together with a light bank, are incorporated in a case. The system components are, in effect, arranged in loose association in an ad hoc relationship on site with the principal system parts dispersed to desired locations. The network delivers the images to the screens in a wired or wire-free manner, thus requiring cable links or open transmission paths free of interference to the remote screen locations.

The object of the present invention is to provide a more cohesive or integrated image recording and reproducing installation in which the principal components have in general a defined relationship, so that the installation overall can be of relatively compact dimensions and communication between the components, whether in wired or wire-free manner, is simplified, as a result of which spacing between components may be able to be fixed and remain fixed.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of displaying recorded images, particularly so as to avoid expenditure of time and consequently cost on separate erection of a display medium and linking of the medium with image projection or other image output means.

Other objects and advantage of the invention will be apparent from the following

description.

According to the present invention there is provided an image recording and reproducing installation comprising a structure defining a work zone, a display screen arranged at the structure and image recording and transmission means located in the zone and operable to record an image of a subject temporarily in the zone and to transmit the recorded image to the screen, the screen being arranged to display the transmitted image at a side of the structure facing away from the zone.

An installation embodying the present invention has the advantage that a work zone in which image recording and transmission is carried out is defined by a structure, at which an image display screen is arranged, so that the installation can have a generally cohesive construction and form an integrated or largely integrated unit. All aspects of image recording and reproduction are thus carried out in a specific area, which can be of relatively compact dimensions, and it is not necessary to set up items of equipment at discrete locations. If the installation is intended to be portable and thus set up at different sites, especially at different social venues, transport and erection can be significantly eased by the unit concept and need not require special technical skills such as accurate orientation of screens and determination of image transmission paths and focal planes.

The structure is, for preference, of multi-part construction, for example panels of lightweight material such as frames with coverings. The structure is preferably unitary in form, but can alternatively be composed of at least two unconnected parts, which can be simply placed against one another or, if desired, at a spacing or spacings from one another. If the installation is intended to be portable the structure is preferably collapsible or capable of disassembly so as to simplify transport to venues and storage when not in use.

The structure preferably defines an enclosure so that the work zone is entirely surrounded at the sides and optionally also at the top, the enclosure preferably including at least one access opening allowing entry of persons into the zone. The enclosure therefore preferably comprises a plurality of walls, in a simple embodiment four walls bounding a work zone of square or oblong plan. At least one of the walls can be removable or openable, for example to expose a natural or other background as a backdrop for the subject. With construction of the structure as an enclosure, it is convenient if the screen is incorporated in a side wall, or even forms a side wall, of the enclosure. The screen can, however, be mounted on that side wall, for example attached as an external fixture, or positioned against or adjacent to the wall, for example as a free-standing component.

The screen is, for preference, located at a side of the image recording and transmitting means remote from a side thereof intended to face the subject, but can, if desired, be located laterally of the image recording and transmitting means with respect to that side.

The image display capability of the installation can be extended if it comprises a further screen arranged at the structure and disposed so as to display an image transmitted thereto by the image recording and transmitting means at a side of the structure thereof facing away from the zone, in which case advantageously one screen can be positioned at the side of the image recording and transmitting means remote from the subject and the other screen positioned laterally of the image recording and transmitting means. More than one such further screen can also be provided if desired.

In an advantageous embodiment the image recording and transmitting means comprises image projecting means and the or each screen is a rear projection screen arranged so that an image projected by the image recording and transmitting means onto the screen is visible at the side thereof facing away from the zone. A rear projection screen, namely a screen onto which a preferably reversed image is projected at a rear face and which displays the image in correct orientation at a front face on a side of the screen opposite the rear face, represents a particular simple and economic means of displaying images. It is, however, conceivable to use a television screen with wired or wire-free connection with the image recording and transmitting means, albeit with a penalty in cost and/or complexity particularly if a large-area screen is desired. If optical transmission is employed, it may be advantageous to provide diverting means, for example a mirror or prism, to divert a projected image in its path between the image transmitting means and the screen, so that the image projection means does not necessarily have to be located in a specific position relative to the screen.

The image recording means is preferably arranged to record still images, but moving images and also sound can be recorded if desired. For either purpose use can be made of, for example, a digital camera.

The installation can also include image storing and processing means for storing and processing the recorded image and supplying the stored and processed image to image transmitting means of the image recording and transmitting means. The image storing and processing means can be arranged to additionally store prerecorded images and to control the transmitting means to transmit the stored prerecorded images for display by the screen or screens. The transmitting means is preferably controlled to maintain transmission of each image for a period of time, the length of which is, for preference, selectable. Inclusion of image storing and processing means, for example a digital data processor, imparts additional operating flexibility to the installation, for example by allowing control of the image transmitting means to provide a rolling display of prerecorded images, images recorded in the work zone or a combination of the two, in the manner of a slide show. In general, it becomes possible to provide a preferred sequence of image display so that individual subjects, whether individual persons or individual groups of persons, entering the work zone can be photographed and their images displayed immediately or with a delay and for a selectable or programmed period of time, with or without intermediate display of prerecorded images.

Operation of the image recording and transmitting means, particularly when recording images, can be facilitated by incorporation in the installation of illuminating means for illuminating the subject, for example one or more strategically placed and oriented light units. Manually operable actuating means for actuating the image recording and transmitting means can also be provided so that, for example, the subject -if a person or persons -or an operator of the installation can select the instant of image recording, whether immediate or after a delay.

Embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a first image recording and reproducing installation embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a second image recording and reproducing installation embodying the invention; and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a third image recording and reproducing installation embodying the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, three embodiments of an image recording and reproducing installation respectively denoted by 10, 30 and 50 are shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The installation can be employed in various situations, but in the embodiments described below it is intended to be a portable item taken to and erected at venues to record and display images of persons participating in social occasions at the venues. The object of recording and displaying the images is purely for entertainment purposes. The installation could in principle be used for other purposes, however, such as security screening and entrant recognition on the occasion of temporary public access to sensitive areas, and could also be a permanent fixture, particularly at venues with rooms regularly used for parties, wedding receptions and other such events.

The installation 10 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a structure 11 in the form of an enclosure with four walls, which define an oblong plan area, and preferably also a ceiling. The structure 11 is erected or placed directly on the ground or a floor. With a view to minimising cost and particularly if it is to be portable, the structure 11 can be a collapsible unit composed of frames with a textile or plastic sheet covering. The frames themselves can be assembled on site from individual poles or tubes to which the covering, which can be transported in rolled or folded form, is attached. The structure can, however, also be assembled from individual panels of rigid material. Depending on the construction of the structure it can be of fixed or variable area and/or height.

The structure bounds a work zone 12 in which the working components of the installation are located and in which a subject 13 whose image is to be recorded and reproduced is positioned during a recording phase. The subject 13 can be a single person or a group of two or more persons. An opening 14, optionally closable by a door, can be provided in a wall of the enclosure for access to the work zone. If so desired, at least one of the walls can be wholly or partly openable or removable, especially behind the subject 13 so as to allow a natural or other background to feature in the recorded image of the subject.

Recording of images of subjects is carried out by a camera 15 arranged in the work zone 12 at a suitable spacing from a place where the subjects are intended to stand and with its lens oriented towards that place and focally adjusted so to be able to receive a clearly defined image of the entire subject or, if desired, a part of the subject, such as the head and shoulders of a person. The camera 15, which is preferably a digital camera and of a kind intended to record still images, but alternatively moving images, can be mounted on a suitable support or, for preference, enclosed in a housing 16 standing on a part of the floor or ground surrounded by the structure 11. When triggered, such as by a switch 17 on the housing 16, operation of the camera preferably takes place with a delay of, for example, five seconds and in conjunction with a pulse of light for flash illumination of the subject 13.

The switch 17 can be a manually actuable pushbutton or similar and actuated by an operator of the installation, but with advantage the switch is located on the housing in such a position that, taking into account the delay in camera operation, the subject can conveniently actuate the switch and then have sufficient time to prepare to be photographed. The structure can also be a remote switch or a switch located in the work zone close to the subject.

Images recorded by the camera are passed on as digital image signal data to image storing and processing means in the form of a digital data processor 18, such as a laptop-type computer, with a writable and readable memory for storing successively recorded images in a folder, as well as, if desired, other images prerecorded at the venue or elsewhere. Images in the folder are individually accessed by software designed to provide a slide show of the images by output of the image data to image transmitting means in the form of a projector 19. Both the data processor 18 and the projector 19 can be accommodated in the housing 16, which for this purpose can be constructed with appropriate compartments or shelves, apertures for transmission of light to and from the equipment in the housing and cooling vents. The housing provides protection for sensitive and expensive components and in general contributes to the aesthetics of the installation, not least through concealment of cabling and connections, but other forms of support and arrangement of the camera, data processor and projector are possible depending on the respective requirements.

The image signals received by the projector 19 from the data processor 18, either by wire-bound or wire-free transmission from an intermediate computer, are optically projected onto a rear projection screen 20 of known construction incorporated in a rear wall of the enclosure defined by the structure 11, namely a wall remote from the side of the camera intended to face the subject 13. The projector is located at a distance of, for example, one-and-a-half metres from the screen. Images projected onto the rear or inside face of the screen, that is to say the side towards the work zone 12, are reproduced in laterally correct orientation on the front or outside face of the screen at the exterior of the structure 11, thus at the side of the structure -or screen -facing away from the work zone.

Recorded images then appear as a pictorial background feature at, for example, a social event and provide a focus for conversation and entertainment. A particular advantage of the described arrangement of the image display screen is that it is carried by the structure and thus forms part of an integrated unit and has a fixed relationship to the projector. In addition, persons moving in the vicinity of the installation cannot interrupt transmission paths.

The data processor is preferably controlled to cause projection of an image by the projector 19 to be maintained for a given period of time, the length of which can be selected by way of an appropriate control component of the image storing and processing means. Typically, each image is displayed for several seconds. In the case of an image display simulating a slide show, prerecorded images may be displayed until images are recorded in the work zone and can be added to or replace the prerecorded images. An available set of images can be displayed repeatedly to maintain continuity of the visual entertainment provided by the screen. Other permutations of the duration and timing of display of the images are possible, depending on the requirements of the occasion; for example, each recorded image can be displayed for a fixed period of time and, in intervals between display of these images, a master image or images can be displayed, such as a pre-recorded corporate logo or other image relating to a theme of the occasion. Provision can also be made for accessing the stored images to generate, in situ or subsequently, hard copies in the form of photographs or digitally recorded storage media, such as compact discs. The stored images can in addition be communicated to and made accessible from an electronic database, including an Internet website.

Although optical projection and display by way of the projector 19 and rear projection screen 20 represent a preferred form of image display, the screen could also be, for example, a television screen receiving images by wire or wirelessly from an image recording and transmitting system such as a video camera and video processing unit.

As mentioned, the camera 15 preferably functions with flash illumination of the subject 13 to be photographed, but the installation can also include a lighting arrangement 21, for example one or more spotlights of suitable intensity, directed towards the area where the subject is to be photographed. Such an arrangement is preferably provided at or towards the top of the structure 11, where it can be suspended from a rail or other support, mounted on the housing 16 or, if preferred, attached to an individual stand. Provision can be made for adjustment or repositioning of the direction of lighting.

The described embodiment has a single image display screen 20 incorporated in a rear wall of the enclosure defined by the structure 11, but the screen could equally well be provided in a side wall of the structure, in particular a wall laterally of the housing 16.

Equally, two or more such screens can be provided, for example in the rear wall and a side wall of the enclosure. If the screens are rear projection screens displaying optically projected images, the screens can be supplied with the images by multiple projectors or via a beam divider of suitable kind. Any further screen additional to the screen 20 can, like the screen 20, also be mounted on or positioned against or adjacent to the respectively associated wall.

The operation of the installation 10 is largely evident from the foregoing description. The structure 11, if a portable unit, is assembled on site and the image recording and transmitting equipment appropriately positioned in the work zone 12 and coupled to a power supply. The components of the equipment, if not already linked, are connected together as required and the camera 15 and projector 19, or just the housing 16 if these items are in fixed positions in the housing, positioned so that focussed images can be taken of subjects in a designated area of the work zone 12 and projected in similarly focussed form onto the screen 20. The equipment can then be operated in the described manner to record and display images of persons entering the enclosure and operating the camera by way of the switch 17.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate alternative embodiments of the installation respectively denoted 30 and 50. Components in Figs. 2 and 3 corresponding with components 11 to 21 in Fig. 1 are respectively denoted 21 to 31 in Fig. 2 and 51 to 61 in Fig. 3. The embodiments of Figs. 2 and 3 employ projectors 39 and 59 arranged to allow some degree of flexibility in the required optical transmission paths. In Fig. 2 the projector 39, which can be inside or outside the housing 36, is located in an elevated position and angled downwardly. In Fig. 3 the projector 59 transmits images to the screen 60 by way of prisms 62 or similar beam deflecting means. These embodiments are merely examples of possible forms of co-operation of the projector with the image display screen.

The described embodiments of the image recording and reproducing installation each provide a compact and manageable unit which, if required, can be constructed for assembly/disassembly and transport and in which the working components have a defined relationship in association with a work area bounded by an enclosing structure.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An image recording and reproducing installation comprising a structure defining a work zone, a display screen arranged at the structure and image recording and transmission means located in the zone and operable to record an image of a subject temporarily in the zone and to transmit the recorded image to the screen, the screen being arranged to display the transmitted image at a side of the structure facing away from the zone.
2. An installation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structure is of multi-part construction.
3. An installation as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the structure is composed of at least two unconnected parts.
4. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structure is collapsible or capable of disassembly.
5. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structure comprises frame elements with coverings.
6. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structure defines an enclosure.
7. An installation as claimed in claim 6, wherein the enclosure includes at least one access opening allowing entry of persons into the zone.
8. An installation as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the enclosure comprises a plurality of walls.
9. An installation as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one of the walls is removable or openable.
10. An installation as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the screen is incorporated in a side wall of the enclosure.
11 An installation as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the screen forms a side wall of the enclosure.
12. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the screen is located at a side of the image recording and transmitting means remote from a side thereof intended to face the subject.
13. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the screen is located laterally of the image recording and transmitting means with respect to a side thereof intended to face the subject.
14. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a further screen arranged at the structure and disposed so as to display an image transmitted thereto by the image recording and transmitting means at a side of the structure thereof facing away from the zone.
15. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the image recording and transmitting means comprises image projecting means and the or each screen is a rear projection screen arranged so that an image projected by the image recording and transmitting means onto the screen is visible at the side thereof facing away from the zone.
16. An installation as claimed in claim 15, comprising diverting means arranged to divert a projected image in its path between the image transmitting means and the screen.
17. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the image recording and transmitting means is arranged to record still images.
18. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the image recording and transmitting means is arranged to record movable images.
19. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the image recording and transmitting means comprises a digital camera.
20. An instaflation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising image storing and processing means for storing and processing the recorded image and supplying the stored and processed image to image transmitting means of the image recording and transmitting means.
21. An installation as claimed in claim 20, wherein the image storing and processing means comprises a digital data processor.
22. An installation as claimed in claim 20 or claim 21, wherein the image storing and processing means is arranged to additionally store prerecorded images and to control the image transmitting means to transmit the stored prerecorded images for display by the screen or screens.
23. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the image storing and processing means is arranged to control the image transmitting means to maintain transmission of each stored image for a period of time.
24. An installation as claimed in claim 23, comprising means for selecting the length of the period of time.
25. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising illuminating means for illuminating the subject.
26. An installation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising manually operable actuating means for actuating the image recording and transmitting means.