JP2001313929A - Remote panhead system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the change of the installation site while reducing cost and period of installation construction by housing power line modems in a main body of a remote panhead and its operation unit, respectively and making a power line also serve as a signal transmission path for communication. SOLUTION: The power line modems 22 are housed in the main body of the remote panhead 10 mounting a television camera and in the main body of the operation unit to perform remote control of the panhead 10, respectively. While supply of power is performed by inserting a power source plug 14 into a receptacle of AC power, a communication channel is formed between the remote panhead and the operation unit, and remote operation of the remote panhead by the operation unit can be performed. A TCP/IP or a protocol according this is applied to the communication protocol. Construction of a network system which controls two or more sets of remote panheads by the one set of the operation unit is also easy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote pan head system for remotely controlling a television camera or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art JP-A-10-171014 and JP-A-5-56475 disclose systems for remotely controlling a camera platform equipped with a camera. As shown in these publications, the conventional system is operated by performing communication between the camera platform and the operation unit using a general telephone line modem, a dedicated line modem, or a private modem. I have. In particular, in the case of a system using an in-house modem, it was necessary to construct a communication line in addition to the modem.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are conceptual diagrams of a system in which a single operation unit 50 controls a plurality of remote pan heads 52A, 52B. FIG. 5 shows a mode using a private branch exchange (PBX) 53, and FIG.
An embodiment utilizing N60 is shown. In the system shown in FIG. 5, a private branch exchange 53 is installed, a communication network is constructed, and communication modems 54, 55A, 5A, 5A, 52A, 52B,.
5B ... must be connected.

[0004] In the system shown in FIG.
LAN 60 facility construction and corresponding hubs 62, 6
4A, 64B and an interface board need to be attached.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional system, providing a dedicated communication line requires cost and time, and installation work is complicated. Also, the remote head 52
In order to change the installation locations of the A and 52B and the operation unit 50, it is necessary to perform a communication line removal work, a new communication line facility work, and an installation work. For this reason, not only enormous costs are required, but also free change of the installation location is hindered.

[0006] In the case of FIG.
0, remote heads 52A, 52B and each modem 54, 5
Power plugs 56, 5B for each of 5A and 55B
7A, 57B, 58, 59A, and 59B need to be connected to an AC power outlet (not shown), and wiring work for communication is also required separately from power system wiring. In the case of FIG.
Wiring work for the power path and the communication path is required, and the installation work is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a remote pan head system that can reduce the cost required for installation work, achieve a period, and easily change the installation location. I do.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a remote head system according to the present invention, wherein communication means for also using a power line as a communication line is built in the main body and operation unit of the head, respectively. By connecting each power plug of the base and the operation unit to the outlet of the power line, power is supplied to the head and the operation unit, and the head and the operation unit are connected via the power line. Is established, and the head unit can be remotely operated by the operation unit.

According to the present invention, since a power line is used as a transmission path for communication signals, there is no need to provide a separate communication line. Further, since the communication path is formed only by plugging the power plugs of the camera platform and the operation unit into the outlet of the power line, the installation location can be easily changed.

[0010] A remote camera platform system according to another aspect of the present invention is a camera platform on which a camera is mounted, an operation unit for giving an operation instruction to the camera or the camera platform, and each of the camera platform and the operation unit. A power line having an outlet through which a power plug can be inserted and removed, first communication means built in the main body of the camera platform, and communicating with the operation unit using the power line as a communication line, and built in the operation unit And a second communication unit that communicates with the camera platform using the power line as a communication line.

According to the present invention, by inserting the power plug of the camera platform into the outlet and the power plug of the operation unit into the power outlet, a communication path using the power line as a transmission path is formed, and the remote operation of the camera platform by the operation unit is achieved. Operation becomes possible.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a remote pan head system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a remote pan head system according to an embodiment of the present invention. A remote controllable pan head device (hereinafter referred to as a remote pan head) 10 includes a housing 1.
2, a television camera (not shown) is mounted, and includes a pan driving mechanism, a tilt driving mechanism, and a lifting / lowering driving mechanism that change a shooting direction and a height of the television camera by driving a motor. In addition, the remote head 10 incorporates a power line modem (described as reference numeral 22 in FIG. 2) described later, and the power plug 14 is inserted into an AC power outlet (described as reference numeral 32 in FIG. 4). Power is supplied and communication with the operation unit 16 is enabled.

The operation unit 16 is an operation device for giving operation instructions to the remote camera platform 10 and the television camera. The operation instructions include instructions for various operations such as a pan operation, a tilt operation, a lifting operation, a start / stop of a wiper and a defroster (a fogging device), a zooming operation, a focusing operation, and an aperture adjustment.

The operation unit 16 also has a built-in power line modem 22. By plugging the power plug 18 into an AC power outlet 32, power is supplied and communication with the remote camera platform 10 becomes possible. .

FIG. 2 is a main block diagram showing the internal configuration of the remote head 10. As shown in FIG. 1, a power supply circuit 20 and a power line modem 2 are provided in the main body of the remote head 10.
2. A CPU 24 and its peripheral circuits (hereinafter, referred to as CPU, etc.) are provided. The power / signal line 26 led from the power plug 14 is branched in the main body, one of which is connected to the power circuit 20 and the other is connected to the power line modem 22.

The AC power introduced through the power plug 14 is converted into a required DC voltage by the power circuit 20 and power is supplied from the power circuit 20 to each circuit block.

The power line modem 22 is a communication modem that uses a power line as a transmission path of a communication signal, and has a power plug 14 connected to a 100 V or 200 V power line outlet 32.
A communication environment can be achieved simply by inserting a.

As a modulation technique for superimposing data on a power line, spread spectrum is applied. The original data is multiplied by a PN (pseudo-noise) code to spread the spectrum, which is then mixed by a mixer at a frequency of 140 kHz to 450
Convert to kHz signal. This signal is transmitted by being superimposed on a power line via a transformer. Demodulation is the reverse of the above modulation. In addition, due to laws and regulations, when using the above-mentioned frequency band, it is necessary to submit a notification of permission to use high frequency equipment.

The power line modem 22 has a power / signal line 26.
And demodulates the received data signal to provide it to the CPU 24, modulates the transmission data in accordance with the command of the CPU 24, and outputs it to the outside via the power / signal line 26.
The power line modem 22 and the CPU 24 are connected by a communication signal line 28.

In the operation unit 16,
As in the configuration described with reference to FIG. 2, a power supply circuit 20, a power line modem 22, a CPU 24, and the like are mounted, and bidirectional communication is performed between the operation unit 16 and the remote camera platform 10.

Due to the configuration of the system, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of remote heads 10A, 10B, 10C...
6, a system for remotely controlling a plurality of remote pan heads 10A, 10B, 10C... Can be constructed. It is preferable to use TCP / IP or a protocol similar thereto as a protocol for communication data.

Next, the operation of the remote pan head system configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 shows a single operation unit 16 and a plurality of remote heads 10.
A configuration diagram of a system capable of controlling A, 10B, and 10C is shown. Each node connected to the system is assigned an exclusive address (unique identification address) and has a function to access any address equally.

In FIG. 4, one operation unit 16 and three remote heads 10A, 10B, and 10C are connected. The number of nodes that can be connected to the same network is defined in advance. It is assumed that the maximum is 31. Communication condition parameters such as a communication speed, a bit configuration, and a node address can be set by software, and the setting contents are recorded in a nonvolatile memory in the power line modem 22 or a nonvolatile memory included in a peripheral circuit of the CPU 24. . Therefore, even if the power is turned off, the setting contents are retained.

A plurality of outlets 32 are provided on the power line 30, and the power plugs 18 and 1 of the operation unit 16 and the remote heads 10A, 10B and 10C are provided.
A network is formed by plugging 4A, 14B, and 14C into outlet 32, respectively.

In the present system, since the power line 30 is used as a transmission path for communication signals, if an insulator such as a transformer is present in the wiring of the power line 30, data can be transferred between the electrically insulated power lines. Can not. In such a case, a bridge device (not shown) can be added to connect power lines of different systems so that only signals in a frequency band necessary for data transmission can be passed.

According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, a network capable of communicating within a limited power supply system can be easily constructed. In addition, since the mounting / removal work is only insertion / removal of the power plug, the installation location can be easily moved or changed. For example, a video shooting system at a wedding hall, a video conference system, etc.
There is a demand to appropriately change the installation location of the operation unit as needed, and the effect of applying the present invention is very large.

[0028]

As described above, according to the remote pan / tilt head system of the present invention, since the communication means using the power line as the communication line is used, the communication line is separately provided by using the existing power line. There is no need, and the cost and period of installation work can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the mounting of the camera platform and the operation unit is as simple as plugging the power plug into the outlet, it is easy to change the installation location.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a remote pan head system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a main block diagram showing the internal configuration of a remote head body.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a system in which one operation unit can remotely control a plurality of remote heads;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote pan head system shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional remote pan head system;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a conventional remote pan head system;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 remote head (head device), 14, 18 power plug, 16 operation unit, 22 power line modem (communication means), 30 power line, 32 outlet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C022 AB40 AB61 AB62 AB65 AC27 AC69 AC77 5C054 AA01 BA01 CF03 CF05 CG02 CG05 DA08 HA25 5K046 AA03 BA02 BA03 BB05 CC05 CC09 CC17 PP01 PS03 PS13 PS55

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A communication unit that also uses a power line as a communication line is built in the main body of the camera platform and the operation unit, and the power plugs of the camera platform and the operation unit are connected to the outlets of the power line, so that While power is supplied to the camera platform and the operation unit, a communication path between the camera platform and the operation unit is established via the power line, and the camera unit can be remotely operated by the operation unit. A remote head system characterized by the following. 2. A head on which a camera is mounted; an operation unit for giving an operation instruction to the camera or the head; and a power line having an outlet through which power plugs of the head and the operation unit can be inserted and removed; A first communication unit built in the main body of the camera platform and communicating with the operation unit while also using the power line as a communication line; and a cloud built in the operation unit and using the power line as a communication line. A remote head system, comprising: a second communication means for communicating with the base. 3. The remote pan head system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of pan heads are connected to the power line, and one operation unit can control the plurality of pan heads. Remote head system. 4. A pan head device used in the remote pan head system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that also uses a power line as a communication line. 5. An operation unit used in the remote camera platform system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that also uses a power line as a communication line.