JP2002229139A - Image pickup device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such the problem that large parallax arises in the case of forming a wide video by joining videos photographed by several cameras. SOLUTION: By arranging a lens mount 8 with fixed objective lenses 2a to 2e on a camera mount 10 with fixed CCD cameras 3a to 3e through a hollow supporting pole 9 with optical rods 2a to 2e stored, and then, connecting the CCD cameras 3a to 3e to the objective lenses 2a to 2e through the optical rods 4a to 4e, the objective lenses 2a to 2e are adjacently arranged, then, a distance between respective NP points of the objective lenses 2a to 2e is reduced, so that the parallax is reduced.

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, in which parallax between images to be pasted together to form a wide-range image is reduced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to obtain a wide area image such as a panoramic image by taking a point in a space as a viewpoint and photographing the surrounding area on a horizontal plane, a plurality of cameras are arranged at equal intervals along a circumference centered on the viewpoint. It is conceivable to arrange the images and fix the optical axes of the respective cameras in the radial direction, and connect the images captured by the respective cameras.

[0003]

However, since the distance between the NP points (described later) of the objective lens in each camera is large, the images coincide with each other in a portion where images taken by adjacent cameras overlap. Without parallax. This is because each camera itself occupies a large space, so that the objective lenses cannot be arranged close to the center of the camera group, which is a group of cameras.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus which solves the above problem.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image pickup apparatus configured to divide a portion to be photographed into a plurality of portions to be photographed, A plurality of imaging means for individually photographing a portion to be photographed are provided, and a wide-range image is obtained by combining images from the respective imaging means. In 1, the imaging means may include a light input unit that receives light from a part to be imaged, a photoelectric conversion unit that converts light into electricity, and an optical transmission unit that transmits light from the light input unit to the photoelectric conversion unit. In the configuration of the imaging apparatus according to Claim 3, the objective lens is used as the light-entering unit, an imaging element is used as the photoelectric conversion unit, and a plurality of optical transmission units are used as the optical transmission unit. Optical lock with relay lens Or an optical rod having a fiber lens, wherein the configuration of the imaging device according to claim 4 is such that, in claim 3, adjacent ones of images captured by the imaging element overlap each other. The configuration of the imaging apparatus according to claim 5 is characterized in that, among the principal rays passing through the center of the stop provided in the imaging means, a principal ray passing through a Gaussian region is selected, A point intersecting the optical axis by extending a linear component in the object space of the principal ray is set as an NP point, and any one of the NP points among the NP points in each imaging unit is set.
In the NP point area inside the sphere centered on the P point, another N
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the point P is arranged.
The configuration of the imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the NP
Characterized in that the radius of the point area is approximately 20 mm,
The configuration of the imaging apparatus according to claim 7 is as described in claim 6.
The plurality of objective lenses are mounted on a lens mount, the plurality of image sensors are mounted on a camera mount, the plurality of optical rods are housed in a cylindrical support, and the lens mount and the camera are mounted via the support. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 8 is characterized in that the lens mount and / or the camera mount are detachably connected to the support, and are connected. In the state, the corresponding objective lens and the image pickup device are connected via the optical rod, and the configuration of the image pickup apparatus according to claim 9 is the same as that of claim 8, wherein the lens mount Further, both the objective lens and the imaging element are set detachably on the camera mount.

The NP point and the NP point area are defined below. FIG. 11 illustrates a state in which light reflected by a subject (not shown) reaches the imaging unit 301 via the equivalent convex lens 300 and forms an image on the imaging unit 301. The equivalent convex lens expresses a group of a single or a plurality of lenses for forming an image on the imaging unit as one convex lens, and not only a lens but also a convex mirror or a concave mirror is a component of the equivalent convex lens. Here, the equivalent convex lens 300 includes lenses 302 to 308, and an aperture 309 is provided between the lens 304 and the lens 305. Among the innumerable chief rays passing through the center of the stop 309, a chief ray 311 whose lens aberration is negligible is selected through a Gaussian region near the optical axis 310, and a straight line in the object space 312 among the selected chief rays 311 is selected. A point where the component is extended and intersects with the optical axis 310 is defined as an NP (non-parallax) point 313, and a radius of 20 m centered on the NP point
The inside of the sphere within m is the NP point area 314. The reason why the NP point area is within the sphere having a radius of 20 mm centered on the NP point is that the NP point of another imaging means is located within the sphere having a radius of 20 mm centered on the NP point in any one of the imaging means. Further, if the NP points are close to each other, the occurrence of parallax can be suppressed to a negligible level. 315 is an image space.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention will be described. (A) First Embodiment First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0008] In the present embodiment, a wide range of 360 degrees around a horizontal plane, which is a part to be photographed, and an upper part thereof is divided into five parts to individually photograph five parts to be photographed. An imaging unit is provided. These five imaging means are one imaging means 1a for photographing vertically above.
And four imaging units 1b to 1e for photographing 360 degrees around the horizontal plane.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the image pickup means. Imaging means 1
Is composed of an objective lens (light incident section) 2, a CCD camera (photoelectric conversion section) 3, and an optical rod (light transmission section) 4 connecting the objective lens 2 and the CCD camera 3. Since there are five image pickup means 1, the image pickup means 1a to 1e include the objective lenses 2a to 2e, the optical rods 4a to 4e, and the CCD camera 3.
a to 3e respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the optical rod 4 is such that relay lenses 6 are arranged and fixed at predetermined intervals inside a pipe 5 made of metal or resin having a diameter of about 6 mm. As a fixing means for fixing the relay lens 6 at a predetermined position, a pipe-shaped spacer (not shown) is provided between the adjacent relay lenses 6 inside the pipe 5, or both sides of the relay lens 6 in the pipe 5 are set inside. For example, it is extruded toward to form a protrusion. Of the optical rod 4, a rod whose both sides are bent at 90 degrees is also used, which connects the ends of the pipes 5 at 45 ° to the axis as shown in FIG. The mirror (or prism) 7 for reflection is provided. Instead of using a plurality of relay lenses, a selfoc lens (fiber lens) whose refractive index increases toward the center may be provided in the pipe 5.

The five image pickup means 1 are constituted by the objective lens 2, the CCD camera 3 and the optical rod 4 as described above, and the portion of the objective lens 2 which is a light-entering portion is concentratedly arranged at the center position of the portion to be imaged. For this purpose, a structure for supporting these parts is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, a lens mount 8 for supporting the objective lenses 2a to 2e in the air.
Is provided on the camera mount 10 via a support 9 having a length of 1 to 2 m. Then, the CCD cameras 3 a to 3 e are mounted on the camera mount 10, and the optical rods 4 a to 4 e are accommodated in the support 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, five lens mounts 8
Two lens mounts 11 are attached, and as shown in FIG.
a to 2e are screwed in while the lens mount 11 is
One end of each of the optical rods 4a to 4e is connected to an end face on the opposite side via an adapter 12 for diameter conversion for connecting the objective lens 2 having a large outer diameter and the optical rod 4 having a small outer diameter. Similarly, the other ends of the optical rods 4a to 4e are connected to an adapter 14 via an adapter 13 for diameter conversion, and male threads formed on the adapter 14 are CCD cameras 3a to 3e.
e. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical rod 4 a penetrates the camera mount 10 and is connected to the CCD camera 3 a arranged below the camera mount 10, while the optical rods 4 b to 4 e have holes 15 formed in the support 9. Through the camera mount 10 through the CCD cameras 3b to 3e.
It is connected to the.

Next, a system for recording images captured by the CCD cameras 3a to 3e will be described with reference to FIG. An image composed of hundreds of thousands to millions of pixels is formed for each of the CCD cameras 3a to 3e, and a driving portion for extracting brightness and color as electric charges is provided for each pixel. The CCD
The cameras 3a to 3e are provided with an eyepiece 16 and CCD image sensors 17a to 17e, and a central processing unit (CPU)
A timing generator 19 and a clock driver 20 for transmitting pulses are connected to respective CCDs 18.
It is connected to the imaging elements 17a to 17e. Each of the CCD image sensors 17a to 17e has an amplifier (AMP) 21a to 2A for amplifying the electric charge output from each pixel.
1e and converters (A / D) 22a to 22e for converting an analog signal into a digital signal are connected to the multiplexer 23. The multiplexer 23 collectively arranges seven images at each time among the pixels from the CCD image pickup devices 17a to 17e and arranges them in a chronological order. Driver (HDD)
24.

In addition, a CCD image pickup device 17a is provided so that an image being shot can be viewed on a monitor screen.
To 17e are connected to the monitor 26 via the video driver 25.

Next, the operation of the imaging apparatus will be described.
When a plurality of images are connected to form a wide-area image, as shown in FIG.
Points 27a, 27b matches the imaging plane 28a, angle theta _a time in which a 28b, theta _b is if Sessure a linear P principle parallax is ideal not occur.

However, although it is necessary to optically contact the imaging surfaces 28a and 28b, it is essential to provide a member for supporting the imaging surface around the imaging surface. It is actually impossible to provide in a state of contact with each other. In addition, a slight overlap is required in order to bond the images together.
In the state of (a), a wide area image cannot be created.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the imaging surfaces 29a and 29b on the spherical surface A having a large diameter are physically separated from each other,
The angle of view with respect to the points 30a and 30b is as shown in FIG. Arranging the imaging surface on the spherical surface A in this way corresponds to a conventional technique. The arrangement of the imaging surface on the spherical surface A having a large diameter in this way is as follows.
This is because a large camera must be placed near Q.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the objective lenses 2a to 2a
By moving the CCD cameras 3a to 3e away from the position 2e, the objective lenses 2a to 2e can be arranged close to each other, and can be placed on the small-diameter spherical surface B in FIG. The shooting surface is arranged. That is, another NP point is arranged in one of the NP point regions of the objective lenses 2a to 2e. As a result, the NP points 33a and 33b approach the adjacent imaging surfaces 32a and 32b, and an overlap portion 34 occurs. Lens mount 8
Is the center of Q, the distances between the overlapped portions 34 and 31 and the portion close to Q are L ₁ and L ₂ . As the distance from Q to the overlap portion is smaller, parallax is less likely to occur even for a nearby image, and a good image can be obtained. When all the NP points 33a and 33b overlap and coincide with the Q point, the NP point becomes single and the parallax becomes zero.

In order to perform photographing using an imaging device, the imaging device is installed at the center of the space to be photographed.
At this time, the images on the four sides and the upper side on the plane centered on the imaging device enter the objective lenses 2a to 2e, are transmitted through the optical rods 4a to 4e, and are separated from the objective lenses 2a to 2e. 17e, but optically equivalent to the one in which the objective lens 2 and the CCD camera 3 are connected via the lens mount 11 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2A, R is the focal plane of the objective lens 2, S is the CCD image sensor surface of the CCD camera 3, and C is
The optical rod 4 performs optical connection as if the CD imaging element surface S is at the position of the focal plane R.

For example, in the case of the image pickup means 1a, the image is transmitted sequentially within the optical rod 4a and reaches the CCD image pickup device 17a as shown in FIG. The optical rods 4b to 4e are bent in a U-shape as shown in FIG. 3 (b), and the top, bottom, left and right of the image are reversed depending on the relationship between the bending direction and the mounting direction of the CCD camera 3. There is no problem because the video is once taken into the hard disk driver (HDD) 24 and processed by the computer.

Images captured from the five objective lenses 2a to 2e are converted into electric signals by five CCD image pickup devices 17a to 17e. Each CCD image sensor is as shown in FIG. In the figure, 35 is one pixel,
The _m pixels 35 are vertically arranged in columns V _{1 to} V _m, and n pixels are horizontally arranged in each column H _{1 to} H _n . In the figure, 3
Reference numeral 6 denotes a vertical transfer unit for transferring charges in the vertical direction.
Is a horizontal transfer unit for transferring in the horizontal direction.

The pulses _{V 1, H 1, H 2} ... H n is generated by the clock driver 20 pulse timing is set by the timing generator 19, then V _2, H _1,
When H ₂ ... Pasuru from V ₁ row in the order that the H _n to V _m columns is generated, the charge generated in the pixel 35 at the position corresponding to this Pasuru move the little horizontal direction as shown by arrows in FIG. 7 Into the vertical transfer unit 36, move downward in the vertical transfer unit 36, enter the horizontal transfer unit 37, and finally the horizontal transfer unit 3
7, the (m × n) pixels 35 at a certain time t are arranged in order in the order of moving from right to left in C7.
Amplifier (AMP) 2 for each of the CD imaging devices 17a to 17e
1a to 21e, and then the converter (A / D) 2
The signals are converted from analog signals to digital signals by 2a to 22e.

(V₁H₁, V₁H_Two, V₁H_Three, ...), (V_Two
H₁, V_TwoH_Two, V_ThreeH_Three,…)…, V_mH_n(Mx
n) pixels make one picture at a certain time t
Time axis from five CCD image sensors 17a to 17e
Along t₁, T_Two, T_Three... t_xVideo data in parallel
It is sent to the multiplexer 23, and here
Now, the images from the five CCD image sensors at each time t
(At₁, Bt₁, Ct₁, Dt₁, E
t₁), (At_Two, Bt_Two, Ct_Two, Dt_Two, Et_Two), (A
t_Three, Bt_Three, Ct_Three, Dt_Three, Et_Three), ... (at_x, Bt
_x, Ct_x, Dt _x, Et_x)
The data is recorded in the driver (HDD) 24.

If it is desired to view the recorded video when recording the video, the monitor 26 may be viewed. It is possible to switch and view any one of the individual images by the five CCD cameras 3a to 3e and a wide-area image combining these images.

When it is desired to reproduce the video recorded on the hard disk driver (HDD), the video is displayed on the display 39 via the video processing means 38 as shown in FIG. Thus, the image can be displayed on the dome screen 40 as a wide-area image. (B) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Attachment bases 41 and 4 each having five common mounts 44 that can be attached to either an objective lens or a CCD camera.
2 are connected via a support 43. A plurality of optical rods 4 shown in FIG.
One of the adapters 12 and 13 is connected to a common mount 44 of the mount 41, and the other is connected to the common mount 44 of the mount 42.

A female thread (not shown) is formed on the common mount 44. An external thread of the objective lens is screw-connected to one of the common mounts 44 of the mounts 41 and 42, and the other common thread is mounted. An internal thread portion of the CCD camera is screwed to the mount 44 via an adapter having both ends. If one of the mounts 41 and 42 is selected for mounting the CCD camera, and the selected one is mounted on a base (not shown) and the support column 43 is erected, an imaging device can be completed.

The number and arrangement of the common mounts 44 can be arbitrarily changed. (C) Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, the arrangement of the common mount 44 of the mount 41 in the second embodiment is changed.

In the case of FIG. 8A, the arrangement of the common mount 44 on the mounting tables 41 and 42 is the same, so that the photographing direction is the same regardless of whether the objective lens is mounted on either of the mounting tables 41 and 42. In the case of FIG. 8B, the direction of photographing differs depending on whether the objective lens is mounted on the mount 41 or the mount 42. in this case,
In order to obtain an optimal image, the angle of view of the objective lens to be used should be different depending on which mount is used. (D) Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 45 denotes a camera mount, and 46 denotes a lens mount. The camera mount 45 is mounted on a base (not shown) in the same manner as described above. Lens mount 46 on column 43
The side is configured to be detachable via a pair of connectors 47a and 47b, and can be connected and exchanged with another lens mount 46 having a different arrangement of the common mount 44. The connectors 47a and 47b are configured to be relatively positioned and connected, and the connection allows the corresponding optical rods to be positioned and connected. (E) Fifth Embodiment Finally, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, seven imaging means 1a,
1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, and 1g constitute an imaging device. In the first embodiment, four surrounding areas correspond to four imaging means, whereas in this embodiment, six imaging devices are used. This corresponds to the means 1b to 1g.

As photoelectric conversion units, CCD cameras 49a-49
49g is provided, and an optical rod 48a is used as an optical transmission unit.
However, unlike the first embodiment, no objective lens is provided in the light incident portion. Then, an image can be directly taken into the optical rod without passing through an objective lens. That is, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), light directly enters the optical rod 48a from above vertically, and the optical rods 48b to 48g
A window 50 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end of the optical rod 48, and a mirror 7 is provided. The mirror 50 is set so that light from the horizontal direction enters the optical rods 48b to 48g via the mirror 7. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9A, the vicinity of the upper ends of the optical rods 48a to 48g constitutes the light incident portion 51. The CCD cameras 49a to 49g are connected to a base (not shown) as in the first embodiment, and
48 g is accommodated in a support (not shown) provided upright on the base.

In such an imaging apparatus, since the objective lens as in the first embodiment is not used, the windows 50 and the like can be arranged close to each other as shown in FIG. For this reason,
In FIG. 5B, the NP point can be made closer to Q than in the case of the first embodiment, and the parallax can be made smaller than that of the first embodiment by reducing the distance between adjacent NP points. Can be.

The other configuration and operation are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

[0033]

As can be seen from the above description, claim 1
According to the imaging apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8), a plurality of imaging means for capturing partial images for forming a wide-range image are provided as an imaging apparatus. The imaging means separates the photoelectric conversion unit from the light entrance unit and optically transmits the photoelectric conversion unit. Because it was configured by connecting via
By arranging the light-entering parts close to each other, the distance between the NP points can be reduced to make the parallax small or zero, and a high-quality wide-area image can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing Embodiment 1 of an imaging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 relates to the first embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention,
(A) is a block diagram of an imaging means, (b) is a reference diagram.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an optical rod in Embodiment 1 of the imaging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a video recording / reproducing system in Embodiment 1 of the imaging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 relates to Embodiment 1 of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention;
(A) is an explanatory diagram of an ideal state where NP points coincide, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of a case where the NP points change.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of the optical lens according to the first embodiment of the imaging apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing movement of charges in a CCD image sensor in Embodiment 1 of the imaging device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing a main part of the second embodiment,
(B) is a perspective view showing a main part of the third embodiment, and (c) is a perspective view showing a main part of the fourth embodiment.

9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a main part according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a structure of a distal end of an optical rod according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for defining an NP point and an NP point area of the imaging means according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a-1e ... Imaging means 2a-2e ... Objective lens 3a-3e ... CCD camera 4a-4e ... Optical rod 8 ... Lens mounting 9 ... Post 10 ... Camera mounting 17a-17e ... CCD imaging device

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tsukasa Yoshimura 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo F-term within Sony Corporation (reference) 2H054 AA01 BB05 BB07 2H059 BA02 BA11 BA15 2H105 AA01 5C022 AB61 AB68 AC21 AC42 AC51 AC54 AC69 AC77 AC78

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of image pickup means for separately dividing a part to be photographed into a plurality of parts to be photographed and photographing each part to be photographed, and pasting an image from each image pickup means. An imaging device characterized by obtaining a wide-range image. 2. The image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving unit receives light from a part to be imaged, a photoelectric conversion unit converts light into electricity, and a light transmission unit transmits light from the light receiving unit to the photoelectric conversion unit. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is configured by a unit. 3. An optical rod having a plurality of relay lenses or an optical rod having a plurality of relay lenses as the light transmitting section, wherein an objective lens is used as the light incident section, an image sensor is used as the photoelectric conversion section, and an optical rod having a plurality of relay lenses is used as the light transmitting section. The imaging device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein adjacent ones of the images by the imaging element are set so as to overlap each other. 5. A chief ray passing through a Gaussian region is selected from chief rays passing through the center of a stop provided in the imaging means,
A point intersecting the optical axis by extending a linear component in the object space of the principal ray is set as an NP point, and the inside of a sphere centered on any one of the NP points among the NP points in each imaging means. 5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein another NP point is arranged in the NP point area. 6. A radius dimension of the NP point region is approximately 20 mm.
The imaging device according to claim 5, wherein: 7. Mounting the plurality of objective lenses on a lens mount, mounting the plurality of image sensors on a camera mount,
The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of optical rods are accommodated in a cylindrical support, and the lens mount and the camera mount are connected via the support. 8. The lens mount and / or the camera mount are detachably connected to the support, and in the connected state, the corresponding objective lens and the imaging device are connected via the optical rod. The imaging device according to claim 7, wherein: 9. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 8, wherein both the objective lens and the image pickup element are set detachably on the lens mount and the camera mount.