JP2001268416A - Reflection type image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reflection type image pickup device in which the structure of a turning operation is simplified and even the image of a back surface direction can be picked up without being provided with a complicated structure. SOLUTION: This reflection type image pickup device 10 is provided with visual field windows 13a and 13b provided on a front surface and a back surface for inputting an incident optical axis C, that is inputting a visual field image and a reflection mirror 12 whose front surface and back surface are both composed of mirrors for reflecting the visual field image from the visual field windows 13a and 13b and leading it to a CCD 11. By turning the reflection mirror 12, the incident optical axis C made incident from the front surface and the back surface is led to the CCD 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus used as a small camera such as a portable telephone, a surveillance camera, a medical camera, and more particularly to an image pickup apparatus which uses an image pickup range by switching between front and back. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the spread of mobile phones and the like,
2. Description of the Related Art In mobile terminal devices, data such as e-mail and image information has been increasingly transmitted and received, and small cameras have been used as image input devices used in these mobile terminals.

[0003] However, such a small camera is often fixedly installed on a portable terminal device, and furthermore, has a wide imaging range, is easy to use, and has good durability and is not easily broken when being carried. Is required.

Conventionally, in this type of image pickup apparatus, there is a type in which a camera unit of the image pickup apparatus is rotated by 180 degrees to cover the front and rear image pickup areas. Shown in

An image pickup apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B has a camera section 2 having an image pickup device for photoelectrically converting an image formed.
And a lens 3 for adjusting the focal point and the imaging range, and an output cable 4 for transmitting an image obtained by photoelectric conversion. The camera unit 2 has a pivot shaft 5 at the center thereof. Is rotated 180 degrees around the center axis.

As described above, by rotating the camera unit 2 by 180 degrees, it is possible to take an image not only in the front direction but also in the rear direction.

[0007]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-described image pickup apparatus, since the camera section itself is rotated, wiring for connecting the rotating camera section and the fixed section is required, and therefore, the rotation operation is not performed. As a result, there is a problem that the wiring life is shortened due to bending during rotation, and a printed circuit board having an electric circuit inside the camera unit is frequently moved, thereby increasing the failure rate.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention can take an image not only in the front direction but also in the rear direction, and can simplify the structure of the rotating operation and eliminate the cause of the failure due to the rotating operation. An apparatus is provided.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a reflection type imaging apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a photoelectric conversion device which is provided at right angles to an incident optical axis which is incident from one direction, and which forms an image. An image sensor for conversion, a reflection plate having a reflection surface on the front surface and the back surface, provided on the optical axis of the image sensor, and guiding the image sensor by reflecting the incident optical axis; and rotating the reflection plate. And by changing the reflection surface,
A rotation unit configured to guide an incident optical axis from another direction to the image sensor. According to this configuration, the image pickup element can be input to the image pickup element even on an incident optical axis that is incident from another direction without rotating, so that the rotation unit does not have a complicated structure and wiring, and thus can be used for one. It is possible to easily capture an image in not only the direction but also the other direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the reflection type imaging apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the turning means uses the central axis of the reflection plate as a rotation axis to rotate the reflection plate. The plate is configured to rotate. According to this configuration, the image pickup element can be input to the image pickup element even on an incident optical axis that is incident from another direction without rotating, so that the rotation unit does not have a complicated structure and wiring, and thus can be used for one. It is possible to easily capture an image in not only the direction but also the other direction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the reflection type imaging apparatus according to the second aspect, the rotating means has a rotating knob, and the rotating knob is provided on an outer surface of the main body. It has the structure arranged in. With this configuration, the reflection plate can be arbitrarily rotated from the outside by the rotation knob, and the reflection surface of the reflection plate can be easily switched.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the reflection type imaging apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a gear provided at one end of the reflection plate;
A planar gear fixed to the gear and opposed to the gear is provided. With this configuration, when the reflector is rotated, the gear can be rotated on the plane gear, so that the reflector can be moved smoothly, and after the movement, the reflector is fixed at an appropriate position accurately. can do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reflection type imaging apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein: a detecting means for detecting a rotational position of the reflection plate; Image inverting means for electrically inverting the image formed on the image sensor is provided, and the image inverting means is operated based on the detection information detected by the detecting means. With this configuration, since the position of the reflector can be detected, it is possible to determine which direction the image is being captured, and to output an image in the same phase even if the imaging direction is different.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the reflection type imaging apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the detecting means comprises: a detection target provided at an end of the reflection plate; And a position sensor for detecting the position of the end. With this configuration, the position of the end portion of the reflector can be detected by the position sensor, so that the turning position of the reflector can be detected.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reflection type imaging apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein a convex mirror is used as a reflection surface of the reflection plate. have. With this configuration, the imaging range can be easily widened only by changing the reflection surface to a convex mirror.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reflection type imaging apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein a concave mirror is used as a reflection surface of the reflection plate. have. With this configuration, the object to be imaged can be easily enlarged simply by changing the reflection surface to a concave mirror.

[0018]

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

FIGS. 1 to 6 are views showing an embodiment of the reflection type imaging apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a reflection type imaging apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the reflection type imaging apparatus at the time of imaging in a front direction, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of the reflection type imaging device at the time of a direction contact image.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a reflection type imaging device
10 includes a camera housing 50 provided with an image pickup device (hereinafter referred to as a CCD) 11 for photoelectrically converting an image formed on the bottom, and a reflecting mirror housing 51 provided with a reflecting mirror 12. Reflecting mirror 51
Has an upper curved portion 52 that is curved, and is formed along the outermost arc trajectory through which the end of the reflecting mirror 12 passes.
Further, the camera housing 50 and the reflecting mirror housing 51 are joined so that an image can be transmitted.

The reflection type imaging device 10 is provided on the front and rear sides, and has viewing windows 13a and 13b for inputting an incident optical axis C, that is, for inputting a field image, and mirrors for both the front and rear sides. A reflecting mirror 12 reflects the field images from the windows 13a and 13b and guides them to the CCD 11. The CCD 11 is provided at right angles to the incident optical axis C.

The CCD 11 has an image pickup lens 14 disposed on the upper front surface thereof and is fixed to a CCD mounting board 15. Also, CC
D11 forms a visual field image reflected by the reflecting mirror 12 through the imaging lens 14, and photoelectrically converts this image.

The reflecting mirror 12 is provided in a reflecting mirror housing 51 provided above the optical axis C of the CCD 11. This reflector housing 51 is joined to the camera housing 50,
The joint surface 16 with 51 has a structure transmitting the optical axis C.

The reflecting mirror 12 has rod members 17a and 17b joined to the upper and lower ends of the reflecting mirror 12, and the reflecting mirror 12 is carried by the rod members 17a and 17b. The reflecting mirror 12 and the rod-like members 17a and 17b constitute a reflecting plate according to the present invention.

Support members 18a and 18b are provided at both ends of the rod members 17a and 17b. This support member 18a
Is joined to one end of the rod-shaped member 17a and one end of the rod-shaped member 17b, and the strut member 18b is connected to the rod-shaped member 17a.
And the other end of the rod-shaped member 17b.

A part of a turning knob 19 provided on the side surface of the image pickup device 10 is fitted into the center of the support members 18a and 18b, and the turning knob 19 is turned. Thereby, the reflecting mirror 12 is rotated. This fitting portion will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), a roller 20 is provided on the joint surface between one end of the rod-shaped member 17a and one end of the column member 18a.
a is provided, and the roller 20a is
Is in contact with the inner wall surface of the upper curved portion 52 of the upper portion. When the reflecting mirror 12 is turned by the turning knob 19, the roller 20a
The roller 20a itself is rotated and moves along the inner wall surface of the upper curved portion 52.

A roller 20b is also provided on the joining surface between the other end of the rod-shaped member 17a and one end of the support member 18b. Like the roller 20a, the roller 20b is provided on the inner wall surface of the upper curved portion 52 of the imaging device 10. When the reflection mirror 12 is rotated by the rotation knob 19, the roller 20b rotates the roller 20b itself and moves along the inner wall surface of the upper curved portion 52. .

As shown in detail in FIG. 3 (b), a gear roller 21a is provided on a joint surface between one end of the rod member 17b and one end of the support member 18a.
A plane gear 22a is provided on a contact surface between the contact surface 21a and the joint surface 16. The gear roller 21a meshes with the flat gear 22a, and when the reflecting mirror 12 is rotated, the gear roller 21a
The device itself rotates about the center of the gear roller 21a as a rotation axis, and moves on the plane gear 22a.

Similarly, a gear roller 21b is provided on a joint surface between one end of the rod-shaped member 17b and one end of the column member 18b, and a contact surface between the gear roller 21b and the joint surface 16 is A plane gear 22b is provided. The gear roller 21b meshes with the flat gear 22b, and like the gear roller 21a, when the reflecting mirror 12 is rotated, the gear roller 21b itself rotates about the center of the gear roller 21b as a rotation axis, It moves on the plane gear 22b.

Therefore, even if the turning operation of the reflecting mirror 12 is stopped at an arbitrary position, the gear rollers 21a and 21b are
The gears are meshed with the plane gears 22a and 22b.
The reference numerals 21a and 21b are fixed at a stationary position, so that the reflecting mirror 12 can be fixed at an arbitrary position.

Support members 18a, 18b, rotation knob 19, roller
20a, 20b, gear rollers 21a, 21b, flat gears 22a, 22
“b” constitutes a rotating means according to the present invention, and the gear rollers 21a and 21b and the plane gears 22a and 22b constitute a gear and a plane gear according to the present invention, respectively.

Here, the structure of the turning knob 19 for turning the reflecting mirror 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the rotary knob 19, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view of an eccentric hole 30 provided at the center of the support member 18a and having a rectangular hole. .

As shown in FIG. 4A, a rectangular fitting portion 32 is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 31 of the rotating knob 19, and the eccentric hole 30 is provided.
It can be fitted to. In addition, this fitting portion 32
Is held in the eccentric hole 30 by two coil springs 33a and 33b.

Therefore, when the turning knob 19 is turned,
Since the rollers 20a and 20b rotate while abutting on the upper curved portion 52, the support member 18a is
, A pressure is generated. For this reason, pressure is also generated from the gear roller 21a to the flat gear 22a on the meshing surface between the gear roller 21a and the flat gear 22a, and the gear roller 21a
21a applies a pressing force to the plane gear 22a and rotates.

At this time, as described above, since the center of the column member 18a is eccentric while the position of the rotating shaft 31 is fixed, the rotating shaft 31 is not displaced. , So that the reflecting mirror 12 can be smoothly rotated
Power is transmitted to 12 times.

A position sensor 23 is incorporated in the plane gear 22a. When the gear roller 21a rotates on the plane gear 22a, the position sensor 23 detects the position of the gear roller 21a.

The position sensor 23 has, for example, a structure of a sensor whose resistance value changes with pressure. Therefore, as described above, when the reflecting mirror 12 is rotated, pressure is generated from the gear roller 21a to the plane gear 22a.
A change in resistance value is detected at a position where pressure is generated. Further, the position sensor 23 constitutes a detecting unit according to the present invention.

Next, the members of the reflecting mirror 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

Normally, a flat mirror is used as a member of the reflecting mirror 12 on both the front and rear surfaces. For example, if a convex mirror and a concave mirror are used instead of the flat mirror, the imaging can be performed simply by replacing the surface member. The range can be changed and various imaging effects can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a part of the combination of the members of the reflecting mirror 12. Here, three kinds of reflecting mirrors, namely a plane mirror, a convex mirror and a concave mirror, are used.

FIG. 5 (a) has a plane mirror on the front side and a convex mirror on the back side, and FIG. 5 (b) shows a plane mirror on the front side.
FIG. 5 (c) has a concave mirror on the back surface and a convex mirror on the back surface, and FIG.
(D) has a convex mirror on both the front and back surfaces.

When a convex mirror is used as the reflecting mirror 12, FIG.
As shown in (2), since the viewing angle is wider than when a plane mirror is used, the imaging range is widened, and a fisheye image can be obtained.

When a concave mirror is used as a reflecting mirror, FIG.
As shown in (b), since the viewing angle is reduced, the imaging range is narrowed, while the subject is enlarged.

As described above, by combining the plane mirror, the convex mirror, and the concave mirror, the imaging range can be easily changed, and various imaging effects can be easily obtained.

Next, the image correction obtained by the CCD 11 will be described with reference to the system diagram of the image correction circuit shown in FIG.

The image correction circuit 40 shown in FIG.
The CCD 50 corrects and outputs image data photoelectrically converted by the CCD 11.

The image correction circuit 40 includes an A / D converter 41 for converting image data from an analog signal to a digital signal.
An image data inverting unit 42 for inverting the image data vertically and horizontally, a D / A converting unit 43 for converting the image data output from the image inverting unit 42 into an analog signal, and determining whether to perform image inversion. Central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as
A position data processing unit 45 for processing the position data of the reflecting mirror 12 acquired by the position sensor 23 into a digital signal, and a memory 46 for storing phase data.

The A / D converter 41 converts the image data obtained by the CCD 11 into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal to the image inverting unit 42.

The image inverting section 42 receives the image data converted into a digital signal by the A / D converting section 41,
In accordance with the instruction of the PU 44, the image data is turned upside down and left and right. In addition, the image reversing unit 42
Constitutes an image reversing means according to the present invention.

The D / A converter 43 converts the image data obtained by inverting the image in the image inverting unit 42 into an analog signal and outputs an externally corrected image.

The CPU 44 receives the position data converted into a digital signal by the position data processing section 45.

For example, the CPU 44 compares the position data with position data stored in the memory 46 and holding reflection surface information in which the position of the reflection mirror 12 and the reflection surface are associated with each other. Is calculated, and the imaging direction is determined based on the calculation result.
Is controlled.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the CCD 11 is provided at a right angle to the incident optical axis C that is incident from the front and photoelectrically converts the formed image. A reflecting mirror 12 provided on the optical axis and guiding the CCD 11 by reflecting the incident optical axis C.
Since the incident optical axis C from the back is guided to the CCD 11 by rotating the mirror 12 to change the reflection surface,
D11 does not rotate and can be input to the CCD 11 even on the incident optical axis C incident from the back, and can easily rotate without having a complicated structure and wiring. The range can be widened.

In the present embodiment, the central axis of the reflecting mirror 12 is used as a rotation axis, and the rotation knob 19 provided on the outer surface of the imaging device 10 is provided on the rotation axis. Knob
By 19, the reflecting mirror 12 can be arbitrarily rotated,
The imaging directions on the front surface and the back surface can be easily switched.

In this embodiment, gear rollers 21a and 21b provided at one end of the reflecting mirror 12 and flat gears 22a and
When the reflecting mirror 12 rotates, the gear rollers 21a and 21b are moved to the flat gears 22a and 22b.
b, the reflecting mirror 12 can be smoothly moved, and after the movement, the reflecting mirror 12 can be accurately fixed at an arbitrary position.

In this embodiment, a position sensor 23 for detecting the rotational position of the reflecting mirror 12 and an image inverting section 42 for electrically inverting the image formed on the CCD 11 are provided.
Since the image inverting unit 42 is operated based on the detection information detected in 23, the position of the reflecting mirror 12 can be detected, and an image can be output in the same phase even if the imaging direction is different.

In this embodiment, a convex mirror and a concave mirror are used for the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror 12, so that
The imaging range can be easily changed only by changing the member of the reflection surface, and various imaging effects can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, a pressure sensor is used as the position sensor 23 of the reflecting mirror 12;
It may be configured to include a detected portion provided at the 12 rotating end and a position sensor for detecting the position of this end.

For example, a position to be detected is provided inside the gear roller 21a, and a ferromagnetic material is disposed in the position to be detected.
The position of the gear roller 21a may be detected by using a magnetic sensor for 23.

[0063]

As described above, in the reflection type imaging apparatus of the present invention, since the imaging element does not rotate, the light can be input to the imaging element even on the incident optical axis incident from another direction. In addition, the rotating means can be easily rotated without having a complicated structure and wiring, and the imaging direction can be switched.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a reflective imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view at the time of imaging in the front direction according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view at the time of close-up image in the rear direction.

FIG. 3 (a) is a side perspective view of one embodiment,
(B) is a figure for explaining a meshing structure of a gear roller and a plane gear of one embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a rotation knob according to one embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining a fitting portion between a center portion of a support member and the rotation knob. is there.

FIG. 5A is a diagram using a plane mirror on the front surface and a convex mirror on the back surface in the reflecting mirror of one embodiment, and FIG.
It is a figure which used the plane mirror for the surface and the concave mirror for the back,
Is a diagram using a concave mirror on the front surface and a convex mirror on the back surface,
(D) is a diagram using a convex mirror for both the front and back surfaces.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram of an image correction circuit according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional reflection type imaging device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CCD (imaging device) 12 Reflector (reflector) 17a, 17b Bar-shaped member (reflector) 18a, 18b Post (rotating means) 19 Rotating knob (rotating means) 20a, 20b Roller (rotating means) 21a, 21a Gear roller (rotating means, gear) 22a, 22b Planar gear (rotating means, plane gear) 23 Position sensor (detecting means) 42 Image reversing unit (image reversing means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H054 AA01 BB02 2H101 AA00 5C022 AA01 AC42 AC51 AC78 5C024 BX04 BX07 CX00 EX41 GY01

Claims (8)

[Claims] An image pickup device provided at a right angle to an incident optical axis that enters from one direction and photoelectrically converts a formed image,
A reflecting plate having a reflecting surface on the front surface and the back surface, provided on the optical axis of the image sensor, for guiding the image sensor by reflecting the incident optical axis, and rotating the reflecting plate to change the reflecting surface And a rotating means for guiding an incident optical axis from another direction to the image pickup device. 2. The reflection type imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotation means rotates said reflection plate about a central axis of said reflection plate as a rotation axis. 3. The reflection type imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said rotation means has a rotation knob, and said rotation knob is provided on an outer surface of the main body. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gear provided at one end of said reflection plate, and a plane gear fixedly opposed to said gear and meshing with said gear. 3. The reflection-type imaging device according to 1. 5. A detecting means for detecting a rotating position of the reflector, and an image inverting means for electrically inverting an image formed on the image sensor, wherein detection information detected by the detecting means is provided. 5. The reflection type imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image reversing means is operated based on said operation. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said detecting means comprises a detected portion provided at an end of said reflection plate, and a position sensor for detecting a position of said end. Reflective imaging device. 7. The reflection type imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a convex mirror is used as a reflection surface of said reflection plate. 8. The reflection type imaging device according to claim 1, wherein a concave mirror is used as a reflection surface of said reflection plate.