JP2002262141A - Image input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image input device that radially emits a powerful ray from an image input section through a light guide fiber so as to attain omnidirectional photographing even under various environments not only at a light place. SOLUTION: An image fiber 12a is configured by bundling many optical raw fibers 11, one end of the image fiber 12a is mounted in the inside of a case 14, and a light guide fiber 18 to emit a ray for omnidirectional photographing illumination utilizing an illumination light source is provided to an outer circumference of the cylinder 14 configured to an image input section 15a. The light guide fiber 18 is covered with an outer cylinder 19 and the other end of the fiber 18 is bundled cylindrically to be an illumination fiber bundle 30. The other end of the image fiber 12a is mounted to a fiber bundle 16 so as to be read by a CCD imaging device at the same time via the optical system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-core structure formed by bundling a large number of optical fiber wires, and arranging a plurality of image input sections formed using the structure in a radial manner to perform omnidirectional photography. The present invention relates to an image input device that can perform illumination and arranges illumination fibers on the outer periphery of the image input unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are several conventional image input devices for performing omnidirectional imaging. One of them is, for example, a reflection mirror unit 61 of a convex mirror attached to the ceiling of a building as in a reflection mirror type panoramic photographing device shown in FIG. A camera unit 62 for photographing is arranged at a distance from the camera unit 6.
2 is configured to take in an image projected on the reflection mirror unit 61. FIG. 18B shows an image projected by the camera unit 62. This image is a very distorted image.

[0003] Another one for performing omnidirectional photography is shown in FIG.
As in the super wide angle lens type panoramic photographing apparatus shown in FIG. The captured image in this case also becomes a very distorted image as shown in FIG.

In addition to the above, as shown in FIG.
A camera (not shown) to which the wide-angle lens is attached is housed inside a substantially cubic box 64, and the box 64
There is an image input device configured to allow wide-angle lenses 65a to 65e (the wide-angle lenses 65d and 65e are not shown) from each side and top surface of the camera and to enable shooting in all directions. The image input device thus configured has less image distortion than the above-described two reflection mirror type or super wide angle lens type, but due to the use of the wide angle lens, distortion occurs in the peripheral image. FIG. 20 (b) shows a horizontal and vertical angle of view
It is a developed image taken by each camera when the angle of view is a square of degrees.

[0005]

18 and FIG. 1 described above.
The omnidirectional image input device 9 shown in FIG. 9 employs a means for capturing an omnidirectional image in an optically distorted form in an image pickup section and performing omnidirectional imaging. For this reason, an omnidirectional image obtained by the image pickup unit is very distorted, and therefore, there is a problem that an enormous amount of arithmetic processing is required to process an image without distortion.

Further, in the image input device shown in FIG. 20A, since all directions are covered by a plurality of cameras, the whole image is viewed or an image is cut out in an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary angle of view. In this case, it is necessary to perform a process of joining images shot by different cameras. At this time, the images of the peripheral images having the largest distortion are connected to each other, and there is a problem that an enormous amount of arithmetic processing is required for image matching (stitching) and distortion correction.

Further, even when an omnidirectional image is formed by combining a plurality of camera images, the photographing range covered by each camera is wide. For example, even when eight cameras are used, each camera has a sufficient 35 mm conversion. The angle of view is equivalent to an ultra wide angle lens of several millimeters. Therefore, the images from each camera are
This includes image distortion peculiar to a wide-angle lens. When synthesizing an omnidirectional image obtained by such a system, it is necessary to correct peripheral distortion and perform connection processing with an adjacent image. Therefore, the process requires a great deal of time. In addition, when an image of an arbitrary narrow rectangular area is extracted from these image videos, it is necessary to perform a coordinate conversion process on the distorted image and output the distortion after removing the distortion.

In order to solve these problems, there is a means for increasing the number of photographing cameras and narrowing the angle of view covered by each camera. However, there are new problems that it is extremely difficult to synchronize video images recorded and reproduced by a plurality of photographing cameras, for example, and that the overall system scale is increased.

[0009] Also, the illumination for photographing has a problem that it is very difficult to illuminate in all directions because the range that can be covered by an ordinary illumination body (light) is limited. Furthermore, it is difficult to reduce the size of the lighting body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an image input unit formed by bundling a large number of optical fiber wires is radially arranged without using a reflecting mirror or an ultra-wide-angle lens. In the image input unit, it is possible to guide the omnidirectional video without distortion captured from the narrow angle of view of each front to the imaging unit, thereby eliminating the need for arithmetic processing for correcting the image distortion in the imaging unit, A small camera for omnidirectional photographing can be constituted only by an image input unit and an image pickup unit configured by bundling a large number of optical fiber wires, and an illumination (light guide) fiber is arranged around the image input unit. Although it is a small, compact camera for omnidirectional photography, it can emit strong light rays from outside through the light guide fiber from the image input unit in a bright place. In addition, it enables omnidirectional shooting in various situations, and allows different light beams to be separately supplied to the light guide fiber. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image input device that can be used for omnidirectional imaging.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, an image input apparatus according to the present invention comprises a multi-core structure formed by bundling a plurality of optical fiber wires, and an outer periphery of the multi-core structure. , An image input unit that captures an image formed at one end of a multi-core structure having the illumination fiber, a unit that bundles a plurality of the multi-core structure, and illumination from the unit. Separating the fibers for illumination, an illumination light input unit formed by bundling the fibers, and an illumination light source unit provided with a light source that emits an illumination light beam from the illumination fiber coupled to the illumination light input unit, An image captured from the image input section provided at each end of the multi-core structure separated from the plurality of bundled means is guided to the other end by the multi-core structure, and is imaged via optical means. And characterized by including means for reading in sensor.

Further, the image input apparatus according to the present invention comprises a multi-core structure formed by bundling a large number of optical fiber wires, and a plurality of sets arranged around the multi-core structure and emitting different illumination light beams. Illumination fibers, an image input unit that captures an image formed at one end of the multi-core structure having these illumination fibers, a unit for bundling the multi-core structure, and a plurality of sets for illumination from the unit. Separate fibers, a plurality of illumination light input portions formed by bundling the fibers, and light sources that are coupled to these illumination light input portions and emit different illumination light beams from the illumination fiber are separately provided. A plurality of light source units for illumination, and an image captured from the image input unit provided at each end of the multi-core structure separated from the plurality of bundled means, has a multi-core structure. Characterized by comprising a means for reading an image sensor through an optical means to lead to the other end by.

[0013]

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

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c) are a schematic configuration diagram and an enlarged view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c), FIG. A multi-core structure (hereinafter referred to as an image fiber) 12a such that a number of optical fiber wires 11 are bundled and an image can be taken from one end face;
12b, 12c.... One end of each of the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c.
As shown in (b), it is mounted and covered inside the cylindrical body 14, and is constituted by a plurality of image input units 15a, 15b, 15c...

The image input units 15a, 15b, 15c...
.. Represent image fibers 1 as shown in FIG.
A light guide for mounting one end of each of 2a, 12b, 12c,... Inside the cylindrical body 14 and radiating light rays of omnidirectional photographing illumination to the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 14 by using an illumination light source described later. A fiber 18 is provided and configured. The light guide fiber 18 is covered with an outer cylinder 19. The other end of the light guide fiber 18 is bundled in a cylindrical shape as shown in the figure to form an illumination fiber bundle 30.

Image fibers 12a, 12b, 12
The other end of c is attached to a fiber bundle 16 formed in a square shape so that it can be simultaneously read by an image sensor such as an image sensor (CCD image sensor) via optical means as described later. Is done. Fiber bundle 1
6, a plurality of cylindrical holes 17a, 17
b, 17c... are arranged in a grid pattern. The ends of the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c,... Constituting the image input units 15a, 15b, 15c... Are inserted into the cylindrical holes 17a, 17b, 17c. 12b, 1
The end faces of 2c... Are arranged to be flat so that they are all the same.

FIG. 1C shows the image input units 15a, 15b,
15c are enlarged views of these image input sections 15a, 15c.
The objective lens 13 or a mechanism having an equivalent function is incorporated in b, 15c... As shown in FIG. 1C, the objective lens 13 is provided supported by the outer cylinder 19.

The image input units 15a, 15b, 15c...
.. Are arranged in the spherical omnidirectional image capturing unit 20 shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E so that omnidirectional images can be captured. Are arranged radially. Microphones 24 are arranged at intervals of 60 degrees around the equatorial plane of the spherical omnidirectional image capturing unit 20. This microphone 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a configuration in which audio is recorded in multiple channels as described later, and is reproduced according to the direction of the video being viewed at the time of reproduction. In addition, the omnidirectional video capturing unit 20 is supported and fixed to a base (not shown) by a support 22.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire configuration in the first embodiment configured using FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. In FIG. 3, images captured by the image input units 15a, 15b, 15c... Arranged in the omnidirectional image capturing unit 20 are image fibers 12a, 12b, 1
Are sent to the fiber bundle 16 via 2c..., And an image image is obtained on the end face of the fiber bundle 16.

The illumination fiber bundle unit 30 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with an illumination light source unit 50 shown in FIG. The illumination light source unit 50 is configured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, a light source lamp 52 and reflection mirrors 53 and 54 are arranged inside a box 51 as shown, and light from the light source lamp 52 is reflected by the reflection mirrors 53 and 5.
The light is reflected at 4 and is incident on the light guide fiber 18 of the illumination fiber bundle 30. The light beam incident on the light guide fiber 18 is transmitted to the image input units 15a, 15b, and 15c provided in the omnidirectional image capturing unit 20.
It is irradiated to the surroundings from the tip of.

As described above, the illumination light beam from the illumination light source unit 50 is radiated from the distal end portion of the image input unit through the illumination fiber bundle 30 from the illumination fiber bundle unit 30 to the surroundings. There is no shadow, and the size can be much smaller compared to covering all directions with an illumination light source.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram in which an image image obtained on the end face of the above-described fiber bundle 16 is formed on an element surface of an image pickup element 24 configured as an image sensor via an optical means 23. It is a block diagram.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state in which an image image obtained on the end face of the fiber bundle 16 is formed on the image sensor. In the image on the image sensor in FIG. Since the end faces of 12a, 12b, 12c... Are arranged in a lattice pattern as shown in the drawing, the frame portion of the fiber bundle 16 is observed as black. For this reason, the angles of view (circles shown in FIG. 8) of the image fibers on the image input units 15a, 15b, 15c... Arranged in the omnidirectional video capturing unit 20 overlap each other as shown in the drawing. It is possible to eliminate blind spots by taking a wide area. In FIG. 8, a substantially square portion in the drawing is the angle of view to be used.

The end face of the fiber bundle 16 has
Since an image image is obtained, the image input units 15a, 15b, 15c... Arranged radially and the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c.
If the mutual positional relationship with the end face and the arrangement of the top and bottom are aligned, later image processing will be easier.

The image input unit 15 configured as described above
The omnidirectional images captured by a, 15b, 15c,... are formed on the image sensor 24 via the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c,. The image sensor 24 converts these images into electric signals and inputs them to a signal processing unit 41 shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a circuit device for converting an image obtained by the image input unit into an electric signal by the image pickup device and processing the electric signal.
, And the processed signal is recorded in the recording device 43 via the device interface unit 42 and supplied to an external processing device (not shown) via the external interface unit 44. The image input unit 15a includes a light guide fiber 18 for illumination and an illumination light source unit 50 for supplying light to the fiber 18.
Is provided.

The electric circuits after the signal processing section 41 are as follows.
Almost the same devices as ordinary digital video recording devices can be used, but if necessary, use compression processing etc.
It is also possible to reduce the amount of data.

As for audio recording, in addition to omnidirectional recording using an omnidirectional microphone and general stereo recording, multi-channel recording is also performed using a number of microphones, and the sound is recorded in the direction of the video being viewed during reproduction. The audio signal for switching the channel of the sound to be reproduced in response may be processed by the signal processing unit 41. Note that a power supply unit 46 is provided to supply power to the signal processing unit 41 and other units.

In the above description, the omnidirectional video capturing unit 20
Has been described for the case of a spherical shape, FIG.
(B), (c) is a plan view, a front view, and a side view when the omnidirectional video capturing unit 20 is configured as a regular octahedron. Each face 20a to 20h (face 20h) of this octahedron
Are not shown), the image input units 15a to 15h are arranged at the center of the equilateral triangle so that omnidirectional images can be captured. Note that this octahedral omnidirectional image capturing unit 2
When 0 is used, since the eight image input units 15a to 15h cover all directions, the range covered by one image input unit is 90 degrees in the horizontal plane, and 1
The angle of view is / 4.

FIG. 11 shows a fiber bundle unit 16 in the case where the octahedral omnidirectional image capturing unit 20 is used.
In the schematic configuration diagram of FIG.
The cylindrical holes 17a, 17b,... Are formed in two rows and two steps.

The cylindrical holes formed in the fiber bundles 16 and 16a can be freely selected depending on how the image fibers are bundled. However, a lattice-like structure facilitates the subsequent image processing. .

In the first embodiment configured as described above, an example has been described in which the whole sky is cut at intervals of 30 degrees in latitude and longitude, but this interval can be set arbitrarily. When the shooting angle of view is set to be narrow as described above, a standard lens in a normal 35 mm camera (around 50 mm)
There is an advantage that the angle of view is slightly longer than that on the telephoto side, and distortion or the like of a captured image is small. This is because, since a plurality of image fibers are used and only images captured from a narrow angle of view at each front are used, there is almost no distortion in each image.

Further, since all the image fibers are bundled and imaged by one image pickup device, there is no need to synchronize a plurality of camera images as in the case of using a plurality of cameras. There are advantages.

Further, on the image pickup device, the images of the horizontally arranged image fibers are arranged so as to be picked up on the same horizontal line. Therefore, when taking out an image on the image sensor, by reading out data of necessary pixels (pixels) from the horizontal direction and the vertical direction based on the cutout position, it is possible to synthesize an image in a necessary range. That is, the composition of the video image is greatly simplified as compared with the conventional method.

Therefore, when connecting and viewing images from a plurality of image fibers, it is very easy to connect the images. This has a great advantage that the following processing is simple and the speed is high when an image of an arbitrary angle of view is extracted from an omnidirectional image taken in an arbitrary direction.

When the processing is simplified, distortion correction of each image becomes unnecessary, and it is not necessary to synchronize a plurality of images. Further, the vertical and horizontal relationship of the object to be photographed is maintained vertically and horizontally on the image sensor. Therefore, when a rectangular area is cut out, the processing time is shortened because complicated coordinate transformation is not required.

The image input units 15a, 15b, 15c
When the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c of the image input units arranged at the same latitude on the horizontal plane are arranged in a lattice by the fiber bundle unit 16, they are arranged on the same horizontal line.

Next, by arranging the image input units at the same longitude in the same vertical column and taking in the image to the image pickup device in a form in which the spherical surface is expanded, the omnidirectional image can be viewed like a world map. Become like Therefore, clipping an image in an arbitrary direction at an arbitrary angle of view from the image is clear from the positional relationship between the images, and has an advantage that it can be performed very easily.

As described above, in the image input apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to easily capture an omnidirectional image without distortion, and even when monitoring the captured image, Not only is the visibility of the omnidirectional video high, but also there is an advantage that the time and effort of image processing can be greatly simplified even when cutting out a partial video.

When a computer or the like having a very high computing capability is used and there is a margin in signal processing capability such as coordinate transformation, the arrangement of the image input unit is utilized more effectively with the resolution of the image sensor. Orientation increases the flexibility of the overall system. An embodiment of such an omnidirectional video capturing unit will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams of the omnidirectional video capturing section 20 configured as a regular icosahedron.
Image input units 15a, 15b, 15c,... In which optical fibers are bundled in a regular triangle are arranged at the center of each surface of the 0-plane.

On the image pickup device side, as shown in FIG. 11, image input units 15a, 15b, 15c... So that the resolution of the image pickup device (CCD image pickup device) can be used effectively.
The image pickup devices were arranged without being limited to the spatial arrangement of. In this case, the image input unit and the lens are appropriately selected so that the shooting angle of view can cover the space without any gap. With such a configuration, the utilization efficiency of the imaging device is improved. Note that, in the case of this regular icosahedron, the image input unit is configured by a regular triangle, but similar effects can be obtained with other shapes.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 14 (a) to 14 (c)
Is a schematic configuration diagram and an enlarged view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and described. 14A to 14C, a large number of optical fiber wires 11 are configured as image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c,... So that an image can be captured from one end face. The image fibers 12a, 12b,
12c are connected to a plurality of image input units 15a, 15
b, 15c... The image input unit 15a,
As shown in FIG. 14 (b), one end of each of the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c... Is attached to the inside of the cylinder 14, and A first light guide fiber 18a for emitting light rays for omnidirectional photographing illumination obtained from the illustrated illumination light source unit 50, and a second light guide fiber 18b for emitting strobe light rays from a not-shown strobe illumination light source unit. Are mixedly provided. First,
The second light guide fibers 18 a and 18 b are covered with an outer cylinder 19.

The other ends of the first and second light guide fibers 18a and 18b are bundled into a cylindrical shape as shown in the figure to form first and second illumination fiber bundles 30a and 30.
b.

Image fibers 12a, 12b, 12
The other end of c... is attached to a quadrangular fiber bundle 16 so that it can be read simultaneously by an image sensor such as an image sensor (CCD image sensor) via optical means as described above. Is done. As shown, a plurality of cylindrical holes 17a, 1
7b, 17c... Are formed in a grid pattern.
The ends of the image fibers 12a, 12b, 12c,... Constituting the image input units 15a, 15b, 15c,... Are inserted into the cylindrical holes 17a, 17b, 17c,. 12c ...
Are flattened so that they are all the same.

FIG. 14C shows the image input units 15a and 15
b, 15c... These image input sections 15a,
The objective lens 13 or a mechanism having an equivalent function is incorporated in each of 15b, 15c,.... Objective lens 1
3 is provided to be supported by the outer cylindrical body 19.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire configuration in the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the illumination light source unit 50 shown in FIG. 15 is provided in the first illumination fiber bundle 30a of the first and second illumination fiber bundles 30a and 30b shown in FIG. Is provided. Although the above-mentioned light beam is mainly a continuous light beam, a strobe light beam from a strobe light source unit that emits an intermittent light beam (not shown) may be supplied to the second illumination fiber bundle 30b. In addition, illumination by infrared rays can be used.

As described above, in addition to ordinary illumination with visible light, it is possible to easily cope with various uses by combining with strobe light, and the flexibility of the system becomes extremely high. . Further, for monitoring and security purposes, it is possible to combine a process of normally illuminating with an infrared ray and emitting a strobe light when a change appears in an image.

As described above, the illumination light beams from the illumination light source unit 50 and the strobe illumination light source unit pass through the first and second light fibers 18a and 18b from the first and second illumination fiber bundles 30a and 30b. Since it is illuminated to the surroundings from the tip of the image input unit, there is no shadow due to the direction of the illumination light source, and the size is much smaller compared to covering all directions with the illumination light source. can do.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a circuit device for converting an image obtained by the image input unit into an electric signal by the image pickup device and processing the electric signal. A different part from FIG. 9 is a lighting device formed in the image input unit. First and second light guide fibers 18a,
18b and first and second illumination light sources 50a, 50 for supplying illumination light to the fibers 18a, 18b.
b.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the distortion of the omnidirectional image is very small, and at the same time, the visibility of the monitoring image is very high. In addition, since it is difficult to form shadows due to illumination, the visibility of the images of the simultaneous monitoring is further improved.

The distortion of an image taken through a multi-core structure composed of a number of optical fiber bundles is small.
In addition, since the positional relationship is simple and easy to understand, it is easy to cut out an image at an arbitrary angle of view / direction. Further, by changing the layout of the multi-core structure of the video capturing unit, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the pattern or range of the captured video.

In addition, in addition to ordinary illumination with visible light, illumination with various light is performed only by changing the light source of the illumination light source supplied to the illumination light input unit formed by bundling the fibers. Since it can be easily applied to monitoring and security applications, various effects such as extremely high system flexibility can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A to 1C are a schematic configuration diagram and an enlarged view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A to 2E are a front view, a right side view, a plan view, a cross-sectional view, and a left side view of an omnidirectional video capturing unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram in which an illumination light source unit is provided in the configuration of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a configuration explanatory view showing an internal configuration of a light source unit for illumination.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram when an image image obtained on an end face of a fiber bundle is formed on an image sensor.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an image image obtained on an end face of a fiber bundle is formed on an image sensor.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an angle of view of an image fiber and an angle of view to be used.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a circuit device that converts an image obtained by an image input unit into an electric signal by an image sensor and processes the electric signal.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C are a plan view, a front view, and a side view when an omnidirectional image capturing unit is configured as a regular octahedron.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a fiber bundle.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are schematic configuration diagrams of an omnidirectional video capturing unit configured in a regular icosahedron.

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image arrangement on an imaging device (CCD imaging device).

14 (a) to (c) are a schematic configuration diagram and an enlarged view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a second embodiment.

16 is a schematic configuration diagram in which an illumination light source unit is provided in the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a circuit device that converts an image obtained by an image input unit into an electric signal by an image sensor and processes the electric signal.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a reflection mirror type panoramic image capturing apparatus which is a conventional image input apparatus for performing omnidirectional image capturing.

FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram of a super wide-angle lens type panoramic photographing apparatus which is a conventional image input apparatus for performing omnidirectional photographing.

FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image input device that performs omnidirectional imaging using a plurality of wide-angle lenses.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Optical fiber strands 12a, 12b, 12c Multi-core structure 13 Objective lens 14 Cylindrical body 15a, 15b, 15c Image input unit 16 Fiber bundle unit 17a, 17b, 17c Cylindrical hole Reference Signs List 18: Light guide fiber 18a, 18b: First and second light guide fiber 19: Outer cylinder 20: Omnidirectional video capturing unit 21: Microphone 22: Support column 23: Optical means 24: Image sensor 30: Illumination Fiber bundles 30a, 30b: First and second illumination fiber bundles 41: Signal processing unit 42: Device interface unit 43: Recording device 44: External interface unit 45: Multi microphone unit 46: Power supply unit 50: Light source for illumination Sections 50a, 50b: First and second illumination light source sections 51: Box body 52: Light source lamp 3,54 ... reflection mirror

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 4, 2002 (2002.2.4)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0018

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The image input units 15a, 15b, 15c...
.. Are arranged in the spherical omnidirectional image capturing unit 20 shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E so that omnidirectional images can be captured. Are arranged radially. Microphones 21 are arranged at intervals of 60 degrees around the equatorial plane of the spherical omnidirectional image capturing unit 20. This microphone 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a configuration in which audio is recorded in multiple channels as described later, and is reproduced according to the direction of the video being viewed at the time of reproduction. In addition, the omnidirectional video capturing unit 20 is supported and fixed to a base (not shown) by a support 22.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0042

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

On the other hand, on the image pickup device side, as shown in FIG. 13 , image input units 15a, 15b, 15c... So that the resolution of the image pickup device (CCD image pickup device) can be used effectively.
The image pickup devices were arranged without being limited to the spatial arrangement of. In this case, the image input unit and the lens are appropriately selected so that the shooting angle of view can cover the space without any gap. With such a configuration, the utilization efficiency of the imaging device is improved. Note that, in the case of this regular icosahedron, the image input unit is configured by a regular triangle, but similar effects can be obtained with other shapes.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 14

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/028 H04N 1/028 Z

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A multi-core structure formed by bundling a large number of optical fiber wires, an illumination fiber disposed around the multi-core structure, and a multi-core structure having the illumination fiber. An image input unit that captures an image formed at one end, a unit that bundles a plurality of the multi-core structures, an illumination fiber input unit that is formed by separating an illumination fiber from the unit, and bundling the fiber; An illumination light source unit coupled to the illumination light input unit and provided with a light source that emits an illumination light beam from an illumination fiber, and provided at each end of a multi-core structure separated from the plurality of bundled means. Means for guiding an image taken from the image input unit to the other end by a multi-core structure and reading the image by an image sensor via optical means. 2. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the image input units are arranged such that their optical axes are radial. 3. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the image input unit has a lens provided at a tip thereof. 4. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image input units are radially arranged at regular intervals in a spherical image capturing unit when viewed in latitude and longitude. 5. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the image input unit is radially arranged on each surface of an image capturing unit formed of a regular polyhedron. 6. The image input device according to claim 5, wherein the image input unit disposed in the image capturing unit made of a regular polyhedron is configured by bundling optical fiber wires into a regular triangle. 7. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the other ends of the multi-core structure are all arranged on the same plane and are arranged in a lattice. 8. The image input device according to claim 7, wherein the other end of the multi-core structure matches the mutual positional relationship with the image input units arranged radially. 9. A multi-core structure formed by bundling a large number of optical fiber strands, a plurality of sets of illumination fibers arranged around the multi-core structure and emitting different illumination light beams, An image input unit that captures an image formed at one end of a multi-core structure having fibers, a unit that bundles and bundles the multi-core structure, and separates a plurality of sets of illumination fibers from this unit.
A plurality of illumination light input units formed by bundling the fibers; and a plurality of illumination light source units coupled to the illumination light input units and separately provided with light sources that emit different illumination light beams from the illumination fibers. An image taken from the image input unit provided at each end of the multi-core structure separated from the plurality of bundled means is guided to the other end by the multi-core structure, and through optical means. An image input device, comprising: means for reading with an image sensor. 10. The image input device according to claim 9, wherein the image input units are arranged so that their optical axes are radial. 11. The image input device according to claim 9, wherein the image input unit has a lens provided at a tip thereof. 12. The image input device according to claim 9, wherein the image input units are radially arranged at regular intervals in a spherical image capturing unit when viewed in latitude and longitude. 13. The image input device according to claim 9, wherein the image input units are radially arranged on each surface of an image capturing unit composed of a regular polyhedron. 14. The image input device according to claim 13, wherein the image input unit disposed in the image capturing unit made of a regular polyhedron is configured by bundling optical fiber wires into a regular triangle. 15. The image input device according to claim 9, wherein the other ends of the multi-core structure are all arranged on the same plane and are arranged in a lattice. 16. The image input device according to claim 15, wherein the other end of the multi-core structure has a mutual positional relationship with the image input units arranged radially.