JP2001346073A - Universal head controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a universal head controller to be favorably controlled by controlling the operation of a universal head in the case of shot operation, etc., by an S shape curved line corresponding to the zoom position of a camera which is mounted on the universal head. SOLUTION: When desired shots (a pan position, a tilt position, a zoom position and a focus position) are previously registered by the shot function of a remote control universal head system, a universal head control part generates a control curved line from a start point A to an end point B by the S-shaped curved line by permitting the pan position (or the tilt position) when shot reproduction is indicated to be the start point A and permitting the pan position (or the tilt position) of the shot to be reproduced to be the end point B by the indication of shot reproduction by a universal head controller and, then, the operation of the universal head is controlled in accordance with the S-shaped curved line. In this case, the positions of passing points (a) and (b) are decided based on respective zoom positions in the case of the start point A and the end point B so that the S shape curved line is generated to pass through the passing points (a) and (b). Then the operation of the universal head is controlled by the S-shaped curved line having a proper characteristic corresponding to the zoom position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pan head control device, and more particularly to a pan head control device that pans and tilts a pan head to move a shooting direction of a camera supported by the pan head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, by operating a pan head controller,
The head supporting the camera can be panned and tilted to adjust the shooting direction of the camera, and the operation of the head controller can adjust the shooting conditions such as the focus and zoom of the camera (lens). There are known remote control head systems that can be used.

In such a remote control head system, if a desired photographing position (pan position, tilt position, zoom position, focus position) is registered in a memory in advance, a predetermined switch of the head controller is pressed. A shot function (preset function) capable of reproducing a registered shooting position from an arbitrary shooting position by simply performing an operation is generally known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-1).
No. 09500). The pan / tilt operation (shot operation) of the camera platform in such a shot function is usually performed by S
Position control is performed according to a characteristic curve (a control curve indicating a pan position or a tilt position with respect to time) called a V-shaped curve. At the start of a shot operation, the operation speed gradually increases from a stopped state to a predetermined speed. Accelerated,
At the end of the shot operation, the operation speed gradually decreases and is decelerated until the operation stops. The shot operation is smoothly performed by such control using the S-shaped curve (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-13646).

[0004]

By the way, in the control of the shot operation as described above, the impact caused by the movement and stop of the camera platform gives a sense of discomfort to the image of the camera. In order to reduce the problems caused by the impact, for example,
This can be dealt with by increasing the curve of the curve and reducing the speed change (the magnitude of acceleration and deceleration) at the start and end of the shot operation.

However, if the curvature of the S-shaped curve is increased and the change in the operation speed at the start and end of the shot operation is made too small, there is a problem that the operation of the camera platform gives an impression that the operation is too slow. Generally, when the zoom position of the camera is on the wide side, the effect of the S-shaped curve operation is small, and it is not necessary to increase the curvature of the S-shaped curve, whereas the zoom position is on the tele side. In some cases, the impact at the start and end of the shot operation significantly affects the image, so it is preferable to increase the curvature of the S-shaped curve.

As described above, the optimal S-shaped curve for controlling the camera platform differs depending on the zoom position of the camera. Had a problem that it was not always optimal.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a pan head control apparatus capable of suitably controlling the operation of the pan head during a shot operation or the like in accordance with the zoom position of the camera. The purpose is to:

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pan head control apparatus for controlling a pan head and moving a shooting direction of a camera supported by the pan head. An instructing means for instructing a photographing direction of the camera, and when the photographing direction of the camera is instructed by the instructing means, the head is operated so as to be in the instructed photographing direction. And control means for controlling the operating speed of the camera platform based on the zoom position of the camera.

The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
In the invention described in (1), the control means reduces the change in the operation speed at the time of starting or ending the operation of the camera platform as the zoom position of the camera becomes closer to the telephoto side.

[0010] Further, the invention according to claim 3 is based on claim 1.
Alternatively, in the invention according to claim 2, the instruction means includes:
It is a means for instructing to reproduce the photographing direction of the camera in a desired photographing direction recorded in advance.

According to the present invention, since the operation speed of the camera platform is controlled based on the zoom position of the camera, the operation of the camera platform at the time of a shot operation or the like can be performed with suitable control according to the camera zoom position. You will be

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a camera platform control device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control pan head system to which the present invention is applied. The remote control head system shown in FIG. 1 includes a head 10 and a head controller 12. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a housing 14 for housing a television camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera), not shown, and a camera platform body 16 for panning and tilting the camera together with the housing 14. A transparent front glass 18 is provided on the front of the housing 14, and a camera housed in the housing 14 can take a picture outside the housing 14 through the front glass 18.

The housing 14 is cantilevered by a tilt shaft (not shown) extending from the camera platform main body 16, and the tilt shaft is driven to rotate by a tilt motor built in the camera platform main body 16. Thereby, the camera in the housing 14 is tilted together with the housing 14. The pan head main body 16 is supported by a pan shaft 19 fixed on a mounting table (not shown), and the pan head main body 16 is rotated around the pan shaft 19 by a built-in pan motor. Thereby, the camera in the housing 14 pans with the housing 14.

The camera platform controller 12 is connected to the camera platform 10 via a public line such as a telephone line or a communication line such as a dedicated line, and operates based on the operation of various operation members provided in the camera platform controller 12. A control signal is transmitted to the camera platform 10 to control various operations of the camera platform 10 and a camera mounted on the camera platform 10.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 2, the pan head controller 12 is provided with an operation stick (joystick) 20, a focus knob 22, and a zoom knob 23.
By operating the joystick 20 back and forth and left and right, the camera can be panned and tilted.
2. By rotating the zoom knob 23, focus adjustment and zoom adjustment of the camera (lens device) can be performed.

The head controller 12 has a memo switch 24 and a page selection switch 28 (28A to 28A) for pages A to C in connection with the shot function.
C), a shot switch 30 from shot No. 1 to shot No. 10 and a shot speed knob 32 are provided. Shot function is for desired shot (pan position, tilt position, zoom position and focus position)
Is registered in advance, a function of automatically reproducing the registered shot from an arbitrary shooting position simply by pressing the shot switch 30. To register a shot, after turning on the memo switch 24, the joystick 20, the focus knob 22, and the zoom knob 23 are operated to set a desired shot, that is, a pan position, a tilt position, a zoom position, a focus position, or After setting a desired shot, the memo switch 24 is turned on, and the shot switch 30 of any shot No. is pressed. As a result, the shot set at that time is the shot N
The shot switch of o is registered. By selecting one of the pages A to C with the page selection switch 28, it is possible to register (play) shot No. 1 to shot No. 10 for each page, and register a total of 30 shots. Can be.

On the other hand, when the registered shot is reproduced, the page selection switch 28 is turned off with the memo switch 24 turned off.
Is selected from the page A to the page C, and the shot switch 30 of the shot No in which the desired shot is registered is turned on. Thereby, the shot registered in the shot No. is reproduced. That is, the pan / tilt operation is performed to perform the pan / tilt operation, and the pan position and the tilt position are registered as shots, and the zoom lens and the focus lens of the camera lens device are operated to obtain the zoom position and the focus position registered as the shots.

FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram of the remote control pan head system. As shown in the figure, the controller control section 34 of the pan head controller 12 detects an operation of the operation member 33 disposed on the pan head controller 12 such as the joystick 20 and sends a control signal corresponding to the operation content to the communication circuit. 35. The communication circuit 35 transmits the control signal to the communication circuit 3 on the camera platform 10 through a communication line (such as a telephone line).
Send to 6. The communication circuit 36 supplies the received control signal to the camera platform control unit 38 of the camera platform 10.

Upon receiving the control signal from the pan head controller 12 as described above, the pan head control section 38 executes various processes based on the control signal. For example, when a control signal for instructing panning or tilting is received, the pan motor 40 or the tilt motor 42 is driven based on the control signal. When a control signal related to control of the camera body 44 or the lens device 46 is received, the camera main body 44 or the lens device 46 executes processing of the control content.
Also, as described later, when a control signal for instructing shot registration or shot reproduction by the shot function is given,
Executes control based on the shot function.

Next, control based on the shot function in the camera platform controller 38 will be described. As described above, when the memo switch 24 of the pan head controller 12 is turned on and the shot switch 30 of a desired shot number is pressed, the shooting function (pan position, tilt position, zoom position, and focus position) at that time is performed. Can be registered as the shot of the shot No. When the memo switch 24 is turned off and the shot switch 30 of the shot No. already registered is pressed, the shot of the shot No. is taken from an arbitrary shooting position. This is a function that can be played. First, the control at the time of shot registration by the pan head control unit 38 will be described. In the pan head controller 12, when the memo switch 24 is turned on and any of the shot switches 30 of the shot numbers are pressed, the pan head control unit A control signal instructing the shot registration of the shot No. is given from the pan head controller 12 to 38. When a control signal instructing shot registration is given, the pan head control unit 38 determines the pan position and the tilt position of the pan head 10 set at that time, and the lens device 46.
, The pan position, the tilt position, the zoom position, and the focus position are recorded in the memory 48 as shot data in association with the shot number for which shot registration has been instructed. Thus, the desired shot is registered in the memory 48.

Next, a description will be given of the control of the pan head controller 38 during the reproduction of a shot. In the pan head controller 12, when the shot switch 30 of any shot No. is pressed with the memo switch 24 turned off. , The pan head controller 38 is supplied with a control signal for instructing the shot No. to reproduce the shot from the pan head controller 12. When a control signal for instructing shot reproduction is given,
The camera platform controller 38 reads the shot data recorded in the memory 48 in association with the shot No. And
The pan motor 40 and the tilt motor 42 are driven to move the camera platform 10 to the pan position and the tilt position of the shot data, and the lens device 46 is instructed to move the zoom lens and the focus lens to the zoom position and the focus position of the shot data. Move. Thus, the shot registered as described above is reproduced.

Next, the control of the camera platform control unit 38 during shot reproduction will be described in detail. At the time of the shot reproduction, the pan head 40 and the tilt motor 42 move the pan head 1 to the pan position and the tilt position of the shot to be reproduced as described above.
When moving the pan head 0, the pan head control unit 38
The tilt operation is controlled by an S-shaped curve, and the control is performed based on the zoom position.

The control based on the S-shaped curve will be described by taking the pan operation of the camera platform 10 as an example. As shown by the control curve S in FIG. The operation speed of the camera platform 10 stopped at the pan position (start point A) is gradually increased, and when a predetermined speed is reached, a substantially constant speed is maintained. When the pan position of the camera platform 10 approaches the pan position (end point B) of the shot to be reproduced, the operation speed of the camera platform 10 is gradually reduced, and the operation of the camera platform 10 is stopped at the end point B. The tilt operation of the camera platform 10 is controlled similarly to the pan operation. The control curve S indicating such control is generally called an S-shaped curve, and the camera platform control unit 38 determines such an S-shaped curve before executing the control of the shot reproduction. The pan position and the tilt position of the camera platform 10 are controlled in accordance with the S-shaped curve.
The time required from the start point A to the end point B can be changed by the shot speed knob 32 (see FIG. 2) of the camera platform controller 12.

As for a specific method of generating the S-shaped curve, various details have been known in the art, so the details are omitted.
In the present embodiment, parameters of a predetermined function (quadratic function, exponential function, etc.) are determined so as to pass through two passing points (a and b in the drawing) in addition to the start point A and the end point B. To generate an S-shaped curve.

Passing points a and b are defined as points at which the pan position (or tilt position) has a predetermined displacement with respect to the start point A and the end point B, respectively. The times of passing through a and b are determined based on the zoom positions of the lens device 46 at the start point A and the end point B, respectively. For example, as shown in an enlarged view of the S-shaped curve from the starting point A to the passing point a in FIG. 5 (the vertical axis is represented by the amount of displacement from the starting point A), the time of the passing point a is , As the zoom position at the start point A is closer to the tele side,
That is, it is determined that the longer the focal length, the later the time. Note that the zoom position at the start point A is acquired from the lens device 46 by the camera platform controller 38 when a shot reproduction is instructed. Then, as described above, the starting point A
And an S-shaped curve generated using a predetermined function system so as to pass through the passing point a, unless the function system used for the generation is changed (unless conditions other than the conditions of the passing point are changed).
As the zoom position becomes closer to the telephoto side, the change in the operating speed of the camera platform 10 near the start point A (the magnitude of acceleration) is represented by S in FIG.
The curves become smaller in order as shown by the curve S ₁ , S ₂ and S ₃ . Therefore, at the start of the shot operation of the camera platform 10, the zoom position is closer to the tele side, which is greatly affected by the impact of the movement of the camera platform 10. The movement speed of the camera platform 10 starts moving more slowly so that the impact is reduced, and even when the zoom position is on the telephoto side, the malfunction caused by the camera platform 10 starting movement is caused. Is prevented.

Similarly, as shown in an enlarged view of the S-shaped curve from the passing point b to the end point B in FIG. 6 (the vertical axis is the displacement amount to the end point B), Is determined such that the closer the zoom position at the end point B is to the tele side, that is, the longer the focal length, the earlier the time (the longer the time required to reach the end point B). .
As described above, the S-curve generated using the predetermined function system so as to pass through the end point B and the passing point b does not change unless the function system used for the generation is changed (except for the conditions of the passing point). Unless the conditions are changed), the change in the operating speed (the magnitude of deceleration) of the camera platform 10 near the end point B as the zoom position is closer to the telephoto side is represented by the S-shaped curves S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ in FIG. And so on. Therefore, at the end of the shot operation of the camera platform 10, the more the zoom position is on the telephoto side, which is greatly affected by the shock at the time of stopping the camera platform 10, the smaller the impact at the time of stopping the camera platform 10. The operation speed gradually changes, and even when the zoom position is on the telephoto side, a problem caused by an impact when the camera platform 10 stops is prevented.

FIG. 7 shows the entire S-shaped curve generated as described above. As the zoom position at the start point A and the end point B is closer to the telephoto side, the S-shaped curves S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ the bending of S-shaped curve is can be seen that larger in the order as.

Note that the example of the S-shaped curve shown in FIG. 7 shows a case where the zoom positions at the start point A and the end point B coincide with each other. , An arbitrary zoom position set when starting the shot reproduction, and the zoom position at the end point B is a zoom position recorded in the memory 48 as shot data of the shot to be reproduced. The zoom position of the end point B does not always match. Therefore, examples of the S-shaped curves when the zoom position of the end point B changes from the zoom position of the start point A to the telephoto side and when the zoom position of the end point B changes from the zoom position of the start point A to the wide side. Are shown by S-shaped curves S ₁ and S ₂ in FIG. 8, respectively.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the positions of the passing points a and b of the S-shaped curve are changed based on the zoom positions of the starting point A and the ending point B of the shot operation of the camera platform 10. Although the S-shaped curve is generated so that the ten shot operations are suitable, the function used for generating the S-shaped curve is not changed based on the passing points a and b of the S-shaped curve based on the zoom position. May be changed, or a passing point other than the passing points a and b may be set to generate a suitable S-shaped curve according to the zoom position. For example, starting point A in FIG.
As shown in an enlarged view of the S-shaped curve from to the passing point a, as the zoom position of the starting point A is closer to the telephoto side, the curvature of the S-shaped curve from the starting point A to the passing point a becomes larger. Even if the S-shaped curve is generated as described above, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained. The same applies to the end point B.

In the above embodiment, the characteristics of the S-shaped curve (particularly, the characteristics between the start point A and the passing point a and the characteristics between the end point B and the passing point b) can be corrected according to the user's preference. You may do so. For example, there is provided a correction means for correcting the positions of the passing points a and b, which are set as standard for each zoom position, by designating a correction amount, and correcting the degree of bending of the S-shaped curve. It may be provided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the control at the time of the shot reproduction by the shot function has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the pan position, the tilt position, and the like of the camera platform 10 are designated by the operation member or the like. The present invention can also be applied to a case of performing control for moving to a target position.

[0033]

As described above, according to the pan head control apparatus of the present invention, the operation speed of the pan head is controlled based on the zoom position of the camera. Is performed by suitable control according to the zoom position of the camera.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a remote control platform system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a camera platform controller.

FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram of the remote control pan head system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating control based on an S-shaped curve at the time of reproducing a shot by a pan position or a tilt position with respect to time;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an S-shaped curve at the start of a shot operation.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an S-shaped curve at the end of a shot operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an entire S-shaped curve generated based on a zoom position.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an entire S-shaped curve generated based on a zoom position.

FIG. 9 is a diagram used to explain another method of generating an S-shaped curve.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 head, 12 head controller, 24 memo switch, 30 shot switch, 33 operation member, 34
... Controller controller, 38 ... pan head controller, 40 ... Pan motor, 42 ... Tilt motor, 46 ... Lens device, 48
…memory

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A head control device for controlling a head by moving a shooting direction of a camera supported by the head, an instruction means for instructing an imaging direction of the camera, and an instruction means for instructing the imaging direction of the camera by the instruction means. Control means for controlling the operation speed of the camera platform during the operation based on the zoom position of the camera, while operating the camera platform so that the camera direction is instructed when the imaging direction is specified; and A head control device, comprising: 2. A head according to claim 1, wherein said control means reduces a change in an operation speed at the time of starting or ending the operation of said head as the zoom position of said camera becomes closer to the telephoto side. Control device. 3. The pan head control device according to claim 1, wherein said instruction means is means for instructing to reproduce a photographing direction of said camera in a desired photographing direction recorded in advance. .