JP2005229363A - Radio image communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio image communication apparatus which has reduced power consumption in encoding processing or decoding processing of image data. <P>SOLUTION: The radio image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and compresses image data generated from images photographed by an image input part 102, in an encoding processing part 105 and transmits the image data by radio, and the radio image communication apparatus is provided with: a power supply voltage monitoring part 108 for detecting drop of a battery voltage caused by reduction of a residual capacity of the battery; and a main control part 101 for reducing the number of frames to be encoded to reduce encoding processing when the drop of the battery voltage is detected by the power supply voltage monitoring part 108. Thus, the power consumption is reduced to prolong a battery driving time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and performs image data communication using wireless communication.

In recent years, the number of devices that handle moving images on mobile phones and IP cameras has increased. Since the amount of data is large as it is for image communication, the image data is compressed and transmitted in accordance with standards such as JPEG and MPEG, and when received, the compressed data is decompressed and restored to the original data. Action is required. Since these operations require the power of a CPU or the like, a battery-driven wireless image communication apparatus such as a mobile phone or a self-moving IP camera is a considerable burden in terms of power consumption (for example, Patent Documents). 1).
JP-A-6-152765

  The magnitude of power consumption in image transmission / reception is a big problem in terms of driving time for battery-powered wireless image communication devices such as mobile phones and self-moving mobile IP cameras. In conventional wireless image communication devices, There has been a problem that power consumption in data encoding or decoding is large.

  This wireless image communication apparatus is required to reduce the power consumption in the encoding process or decoding process of image data and to extend the battery driving time (battery driving time).

  In order to satisfy this requirement, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless image communication apparatus capable of reducing power consumption in image data encoding processing or decoding processing.

  In order to solve this problem, a wireless image communication apparatus according to the present invention is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. If the battery voltage drop is detected by the power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects the battery voltage drop when the remaining battery level is low, the encoding is performed by reducing the number of frames to be encoded. It has a main feature of having a main control unit that reduces processing.

  As a result, a wireless image communication apparatus capable of reducing power consumption in the image data encoding process is obtained.

  A wireless image communication apparatus according to the present invention is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and that wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by compressing the encoded image data by an encoding processing unit. A power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a drop in battery voltage when the battery voltage decreases, and a reduction in the battery voltage in the power supply voltage monitoring unit reduces the number of frames of the image to be encoded. By having the control unit, it is possible to reduce the encoding process by reducing the number of frames of the image to be encoded, so that it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the encoding process and to extend the battery driving time. Effects can be obtained.

  Furthermore, a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from an image captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, when the remaining battery level is low By having a power supply voltage monitoring unit for detecting a voltage drop and a main control unit for reducing the encoding process by reducing the color data of the image to be encoded when the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the color data of the image, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from an image captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, when the remaining battery level is low By having a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a voltage drop and a main control unit that reduces the number of pixels of an image to be encoded and reduces the encoding process when a battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of pixels of the image, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the encoding process and to obtain the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended.

  In addition, the main control unit has a decoding processing unit that decompresses the received image and a display unit that displays the decompressed image, and changes the number of frames of the image to be transmitted according to the frame rate of the received image. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of image frames, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  The main control unit further includes a decoding processing unit that decompresses the received image and a display unit that displays the decompressed image. The main control unit changes the resolution of the transmission image in accordance with the resolution of the received image. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the encoding process and to obtain the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, it has a decoding processing unit that expands the received image and a display unit that displays the expanded image, and the main control unit reduces the decoding process by arbitrarily reducing the frame of the received image, Since it is possible to reduce the decoding process by arbitrarily reducing the frame of the received image, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the decoding process and to obtain the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from an image captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, when the remaining battery level is low By having a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a voltage drop and a main control unit that changes the frame rate of an image to be transmitted according to the battery voltage drop when the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit Since the encoding process can be reduced by lowering the frame rate of the image to be transmitted according to the drop in battery voltage, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended. Effects can be obtained.

  In addition, a drive time measuring unit that measures the accumulated drive time is provided instead of the power supply voltage monitoring unit, and the main control unit operates according to the accumulated drive time, so that when the accumulated drive time reaches a predetermined time, Since the control unit can perform the first, second, third, or seventh operation, the encoding process can be reduced, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended. The advantageous effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

  Furthermore, a moving unit comprising a motor and wheels is provided, the driving time measuring unit measures the total driving time of the motor and the total driving time of the entire system, and the main control unit is the total driving time of the motor or the total driving time of the entire system. Accordingly, the main control unit performs the first, second, third, or seventh operation when the accumulated driving time of the motor or the accumulated driving time of the entire system reaches a predetermined time. Therefore, the encoding process can be reduced, power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and an advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encode processing unit, and a speed measurement unit that measures a moving speed, and a measurement By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by changing the number of frames of the transmission image according to the moving speed, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of frames of the transmission image according to the moving speed. Thus, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended is obtained.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and that wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input section and that is compressed by an encoding processing section, and that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication apparatus By having a measurement unit and a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by changing the number of colors of the transmission image according to the measured moving speed, the encoding process is performed by reducing the number of colors of the transmission image according to the moving speed. Therefore, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and that wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input section and that is compressed by an encoding processing section, and that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication apparatus By having a measurement unit and a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by changing the resolution of the transmission image according to the measured moving speed, the encoding process is reduced by reducing the resolution of the transmission image according to the moving speed. Therefore, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and that wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input section and that is compressed by an encoding processing section, and that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication apparatus There was a change in the image by having a measurement unit and a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by encoding and transmitting the image only when there is a change in the image when a stop is detected in the speed measurement unit Since the encoding process can be reduced by encoding and transmitting the image only at the time, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit and wirelessly transmits the extracted arbitrary region. By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the frame rate of the area other than the area, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the frame rate of the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. The power consumption in the process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended is obtained.

Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit and wirelessly transmits the extracted arbitrary region. By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the number of colors in the area other than the area, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors in the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. The power consumption in the process can be reduced, and the advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended is obtained.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit and wirelessly transmits the extracted arbitrary region. By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the resolution of the area other than the area, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution of the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. The advantageous effect that power consumption can be reduced and battery driving time can be extended is obtained.

  Furthermore, a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects the remaining battery level is provided, and the main control unit changes the size of an arbitrary area to be extracted according to the remaining battery level, so that the above extraction is performed according to the remaining battery level. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing an arbitrary area to be performed, the advantageous effect that the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, a speed measuring unit that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication device is provided, and the main control unit changes the size of an arbitrary area according to the measured moving speed, thereby extracting the above according to the measured moving speed. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing an arbitrary area to be performed, the advantageous effect that the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and wirelessly transmits the image data into a plurality of blocks. A region of n target blocks having a small average luminance change by having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the number of frames of the n target blocks having a smaller average luminance change than the set minimum luminance change amount. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of frames, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and wirelessly transmits the image data into a plurality of blocks. By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the number of colors in the area of n target blocks whose average luminance change is smaller than the set minimum luminance change amount, n target blocks whose average luminance change is small Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors in this area, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the encoding process and to obtain an advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and wirelessly transmits the image data into a plurality of blocks. By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the number of colors in the area of n target blocks whose average brightness change is larger than the set minimum brightness change amount, n target blocks whose average brightness change is large Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors in this area, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the encoding process and to obtain an advantageous effect that the battery driving time can be extended.

Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and wirelessly transmits the image data into a plurality of blocks. An area of n target blocks having a small average luminance change by having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the resolution of the area of n target blocks having a smaller average luminance change than the set minimum luminance change amount Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution, the advantageous effect that the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and wirelessly transmits the image data into a plurality of blocks. A region of n target blocks having a large average luminance change by having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the resolution of the region of n target blocks having a larger average luminance change than the set minimum luminance change amount Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution, the advantageous effect that the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended can be obtained.

  In addition, the main control unit includes a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects the remaining battery level, and the main control unit changes the number of target blocks according to the detected remaining battery level to thereby detect the target block according to the detected remaining battery level. Therefore, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of the power consumption, so that the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, the wireless image communication apparatus is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit. By having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by performing the encoding process only for the block that has been changed, the encoding process can be reduced by performing the encoding process only for the block that has changed. As a result, the battery driving time can be extended.

  Furthermore, it has a motor control unit that controls a motor that changes the pan and tilt of the camera as an image input unit that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data generated from the image acquired by the image input unit. A battery-powered wireless image communication device that compresses and transmits wirelessly by an encoding processing unit, encodes and transmits only a newly appearing region by pan and tilt operations, and also displays images before pan and tilt operations By combining the shifted image and the newly received image to reduce the encoding process and the decoding process, the main control unit reduces the encoding process and the newly received image. Since the decoding process can be reduced, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery is driven. Advantageous effect between can be extended can be obtained.

  The present invention achieves the object of reducing the power consumption in the encoding process or decoding process of image data by reducing the encoding process or decoding process by reducing the number of frames of an image to be encoded or decoded.

A first invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and wirelessly transmits the image data. If the battery voltage drop is detected by the power supply voltage monitoring unit and the power supply voltage monitoring unit detects the battery voltage drop when the remaining battery level is low, the number of frames of the image to be encoded is reduced. The main control unit reduces the encoding process, and the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of frames of the image to be encoded, so the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, It has the effect | action that a battery drive time can be extended.

  A second invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. If the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit, and the power supply voltage monitoring unit detects a drop in battery voltage when the remaining battery level is low, the color data of the image to be encoded is reduced. And a main control unit that reduces the encoding process. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the color data of the image, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery is driven. It has the effect of extending the time.

  A third invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. If the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit, and the power supply voltage monitoring unit detects the battery voltage drop when the battery level is low, the number of pixels in the image to be encoded is reduced. And a main control unit that reduces the encoding process. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of pixels of the image, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery is driven. It has the effect of extending the time.

  A fourth invention made to solve the above-described problem has a decoding processing unit that decompresses a received image and a display unit that displays the decompressed image, and the main control unit receives the frame rate of the received image. The number of frames of the image to be transmitted is changed according to the number of frames, and the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of frames of the image, so the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery drive It has the effect of extending the time.

  A fifth invention made to solve the above problems has a decoding processing unit for expanding a received image and a display unit for displaying the expanded image, and the main control unit sets the resolution of the received image. The resolution of the transmitted image is changed accordingly, and the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution of the image, so the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended. Has the effect of being able to.

  A sixth invention made to solve the above-described problem has a decoding processing unit that decompresses a received image and a display unit that displays the decompressed image, and the main control unit displays a frame of the received image. It is intended to reduce the decoding process by arbitrarily reducing it, and since it can reduce the decoding process by arbitrarily reducing the frame of the received image, the power consumption in the decoder process can be reduced, It has the effect | action that a battery drive time can be extended.

  A seventh invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit, and transmits the image wirelessly. A power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a drop in battery voltage when the remaining battery level is low, and an image that is transmitted in response to a drop in battery voltage when a battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit And a main controller that changes the frame rate of the image, and the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the frame rate of the image to be transmitted according to the drop in battery voltage, so the power consumption in the encoding process Can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended.

  An eighth invention made to solve the above-described problem includes a drive time measuring unit that measures the cumulative drive time instead of the power supply voltage monitoring unit, and the main control unit operates according to the cumulative drive time. Since the main control unit can perform the first, second, third or seventh operation when the cumulative drive time reaches a predetermined time, the encoding process is reduced and the encoding is performed. Power consumption in processing can be reduced, and battery operation time can be extended.

  A ninth aspect of the invention made to solve the above-mentioned problems includes a moving unit composed of a motor and wheels, a driving time measuring unit measures the total driving time of the motor and the total driving time of the entire system, and the main control unit The main control unit is configured to operate in accordance with the total drive time of the motor or the total drive time of the entire system. Since the first, second, third or seventh operation can be performed, the encoding process can be reduced, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended.・ Has an effect.

  A tenth invention made to solve the above problem is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. In addition, a speed measuring unit that measures the moving speed and a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by changing the number of frames of the transmission image according to the measured moving speed. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of frames of the transmission image, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended.

  An eleventh invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and transmits it wirelessly by an encoding processing unit. And a speed measuring unit that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication apparatus, and a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by changing the number of colors of the transmission image according to the measured moving speed. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors of the transmission image according to the moving speed, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended. Have.

  A twelfth invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from an image captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. The speed measurement unit that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication device, and the main control unit that reduces the encoding process by changing the resolution of the transmission image according to the measured moving speed, Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution of the transmission image in accordance with the moving speed, power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended.

  A thirteenth invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. A speed measurement unit that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication device, and a main control that reduces the encoding process by encoding and transmitting an image only when there is a change in the image when a stop is detected in the speed measurement unit Since the encoding process can be reduced by encoding and transmitting the image only when there is a change in the image, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, It has the effect | action that a battery drive time can be extended.

A fourteenth invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. The main control unit reduces the encoding process by extracting an arbitrary area and reducing the frame rate of the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the frame rate, power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be extended.

  A fifteenth invention made to solve the above-mentioned problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. The main control unit reduces the encoding process by extracting an arbitrary area and reducing the number of colors of the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended.

  A sixteenth invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit, and transmits it wirelessly after being encoded by an encoding processing unit. The main control unit reduces the encoding process by extracting an arbitrary area and reducing the resolution of the area other than the extracted arbitrary area, and the resolution of the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the power consumption, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended.

  A seventeenth invention made to solve the above problems includes a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a remaining battery level, and the main control unit determines a size of an arbitrary region to be extracted according to the remaining battery level. Because it is possible to reduce the encoding process by reducing the area to be extracted according to the remaining battery level, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be reduced. It has the function and effect that can be extended.

  An eighteenth aspect of the invention made to solve the above problem includes a speed measuring unit that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication apparatus, and the main control unit sets a size of an arbitrary area according to the measured moving speed. Since it is possible to reduce the encoding process by reducing the area to be extracted according to the measured moving speed, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery driving time can be reduced. It has the function and effect that can be extended.

  A nineteenth invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and transmits it wirelessly by an encoding processing unit. A main control unit that divides the image into a plurality of blocks and reduces the encoding process by reducing the number of frames of the n target blocks whose average luminance change is smaller than the arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount; Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of frames in the area of the n target blocks having a small average luminance change, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended. It has the action and effect of being able to.

A twentieth invention made to solve the above problem is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. A main control unit that reduces the encoding process by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the number of colors in the area of n target blocks whose average luminance change is smaller than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors in the area of the n target blocks having a small average luminance change, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery This has the effect of extending the driving time.

  A twenty-first invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. A main control unit that reduces the encoding process by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the number of colors in the area of the n target blocks having an average luminance change larger than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors in the area of the n target blocks having a large average luminance change, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced, and the battery This has the effect of extending the driving time.

  A twenty-second invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. And dividing the image into a plurality of blocks, and having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by reducing the resolution of the area of the n target blocks whose average luminance change is smaller than the arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount; Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution of the area of n target blocks having a small average luminance change, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended. It has the action and effect of being able to.

  A twenty-third invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery, compresses image data generated from video captured by an image input unit, and wirelessly transmits the compressed image data. A main control unit that divides the image into a plurality of blocks and reduces the encoding process by reducing the resolution of the area of n target blocks having an average luminance change larger than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount; Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the resolution of the area of the n target blocks having a large average luminance change, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended. It has the action and effect of being able to.

  A twenty-fourth invention made to solve the above-described problem includes a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a remaining battery level, and the main control unit changes the number of target blocks according to the detected remaining battery level. Since the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of target blocks according to the detected remaining battery level, the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended. It has the action and effect of being able to.

  A twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, which has been made to solve the above problems, is a wireless image communication apparatus which is driven by a battery and which compresses image data generated from a video photographed by an image input unit by an encoding processing unit and transmits it wirelessly. The main control unit reduces the encoding process by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks and performing the encoding process only on the changed block. The encoding process is performed only on the changed block. Therefore, the encoding process can be reduced, so that the power consumption in the encoding process can be reduced and the battery driving time can be extended.

A twenty-sixth aspect of the invention made to solve the above problems includes a motor control unit that controls a motor that changes pan and tilt of a camera as an image input unit that captures a subject and obtains an image, and the image input unit A battery-powered wireless image communication device that compresses image data generated from video captured by an encoding processing unit and transmits it wirelessly, and encodes only the newly appearing region by pan and tilt operations. And having a main control unit that reduces the encoding process and the decoding process by synthesizing the shifted image obtained by shifting the image before the pan and tilt operation and the newly received image, The encoding process and decoding process can be reduced by combining the shift image and the newly received image. It is possible to reduce the power consumption in the sense, it has the action and effect that it is possible to extend the battery life.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 101 is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 102 is an image input unit composed of an image sensor, a lens, and the like, and 103 is data for reducing image data generated by the image input unit 102. A processing unit 104 is an image data storage unit that stores input image data, 105 is an encoding processing unit that compresses image data, and 106 is encoding data that temporarily stores image data compressed by the encoding processing unit 105. A storage unit 107 is a wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless data, and 108 is a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a power supply voltage (battery voltage).

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus of FIG.

  First, the user arbitrarily sets a value of M that is the number of frames to be deleted in advance. The power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 constantly or periodically monitors the power supply voltage. When the power supply voltage is higher than a predetermined threshold value, all the image data captured by the image input unit 102 is encoded by the encoding processing unit 105 and wireless communication unit In step 107, the data is transmitted. When it is detected that the remaining battery level is low and the power supply voltage is lower than the predetermined threshold (S1), the main control unit 101 shifts to the low power consumption mode, and substitutes 0 for the variable N (S2). Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 102, and the data processing unit 103 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 104 (S3). If the main control unit 101 compares the variable N with the set value M (S4), the data processing unit 103 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 104 to the encoding processing unit 105, and the encoding processing unit 105 The data is compressed and stored in the encoded data storage unit 106 (S6). The main control unit 101 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 106 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 107. The wireless communication unit 107 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S7). If the variable N is not the same as the set value M (S4), the variable N is incremented by 1 (S5) and the next image is captured (S3). The frame rate of the image to be transmitted changes depending on the set value of M.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the number of encoding processes is reduced (the frame rate of the image to be transmitted is reduced) when the remaining battery level is low, so that the power used can be reduced. Can do. In addition, a plurality of power supply voltage threshold values are set, the power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 monitors the power supply voltage, and when the power supply voltage reaches each threshold value, the value of M is changed to reduce the remaining battery level. Thus, the frame rate can be gradually lowered as the power supply voltage is lowered. Thereby, the drive time after the remaining amount of the battery is reduced can be further extended.

(Embodiment 2)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the configuration shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to this embodiment.

The power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 constantly or periodically monitors the power supply voltage. When the power supply voltage is higher than a predetermined threshold, all the image data captured by the image input unit 102 is encoded by the encoding processing unit 105, and wireless communication is performed. This is transmitted by the unit 107. When it is detected that the remaining battery level is low and the power supply voltage is lower than the predetermined threshold value (S11), the main control unit 101 shifts to a low power consumption mode, and image data from the video captured by the image input unit 102 is displayed. The data processing unit 103 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 104 (S12). The data processing unit 103 performs processing to reduce the number of colors of image data for one frame stored in the image data storage unit 104 (S13), and passes the data to the encoding processing unit 105. The encoding processing unit 105 performs data compression processing and stores the data in the encoded data storage unit 106 (S14). The main control unit 101 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 106 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 107. The wireless communication unit 107 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S15).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors of the image data to be encoded, so that the power used can be reduced. In this embodiment, the case where the data processing unit 103 reduces the number of colors has been described. However, the data processing unit may perform conversion to reduce the resolution of the image, thereby reducing the data amount and reducing the encoding process. it can. In addition, a plurality of power supply voltage threshold values are set, the power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 monitors the power supply voltage, and when the power supply voltage reaches each threshold value, the number of colors and the resolution are changed to thereby change the remaining battery level. The number of colors and resolution gradually decrease as the power supply voltage decreases and the power supply voltage decreases. As a result, the encoding process can be further reduced, and the driving time after the remaining battery level is reduced can be further extended.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, 201 is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 202 is an image input unit composed of an image sensor, a lens, and the like, and 203 is data for reducing image data generated by the image input unit 202. A processing unit 204 is an image data storage unit that stores input image data, 205 is an encoding processing unit that compresses image data, and 206 is an encoding data that temporarily stores image data compressed by the encoding processing unit 205. A storage unit, 207 is a wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless data, 208 is a reception data storage unit that stores image data received by the wireless communication unit 207, and 209 is a decompression of compressed image data to display data. A decoding processing unit 210 and an image output unit for displaying an image composed of a liquid crystal or the like.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus of FIG.

  First, image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 202, and the data processing unit 203 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 204 (S21). The main control unit 201 detects the frame rate of the received image (S22), and if the reception frame rate is smaller than the transmission frame rate (S23), the data processing unit 203 uses the method described in the first embodiment to detect the frame. The data is reduced and passed to the encoding processing unit 205 (S24). The encoding processing unit 205 performs data compression processing and stores the data in the encoded data storage unit 206 (S25). The main control unit 201 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 206 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 207. The wireless communication unit 207 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S26). The main control unit 201 detects the frame rate of the received image (S22), and if the received frame rate is equal to or higher than the transmission frame rate, the image processing unit 205 compresses the image data at the same frame rate (S25). The wireless communication unit 207 modulates and transmits the data (S26).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by reducing the transmission frame rate in accordance with the reception frame rate, the remaining battery level on the image transmission side is reduced, and the image frame rate is reduced as in the first embodiment. If it is dropped, the decoding process of the image data can be reduced by reducing the reception frame rate from the other party, and the power consumption can be reduced. In addition, detecting the number of colors or resolution of the received image data and changing the number of colors or resolution of the transmitted image according to the value can similarly reduce the decoding process on the other side, reducing power consumption. can do.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 6, 301 is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 302 is an image input unit composed of an image sensor, a lens, and the like, and 303 is data for reducing image data generated by the image input unit 302. A processing unit 304 is an image data storage unit that stores input image data, 305 is an encoding processing unit that compresses image data, and 306 is encoding data that temporarily stores image data compressed by the encoding processing unit 305. A storage unit, 307 is a wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless data, and 308 is a drive time measurement unit that measures drive time.

  In the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above, the driving time measuring unit 308 measures the accumulated time that the power is turned on, and when the driving accumulated time becomes longer than a certain time, the wireless image communication according to the first embodiment. As in the operation of the apparatus, the mode is switched to a mode in which the frame rate is reduced and image communication is performed. As described above, when the accumulated driving time becomes longer, it is determined that the possible driving time for the battery has decreased, and by reducing the image quality, it is possible to extend the driving time after the remaining battery level is reduced.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a modification of the wireless image communication apparatus of FIG. 6, and shows a self-moving wireless image communication apparatus that has a motor and wheels and can move by itself.

  In FIG. 7, 401 is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 402 is an image input unit that includes an image sensor, a lens, and the like, and 403 is data that reduces image data generated by the image input unit 402. The processing unit 404 is an image data storage unit that stores input image data, 405 is an encoding processing unit that compresses image data, and the like 406 is encoding data that temporarily stores image data compressed by the encoding processing unit 405. A storage unit, 407 is a wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless data, 408 is a drive time measurement unit that measures drive time, 409 is a motor that moves wheels, and 410 is a motor control unit that controls the operation of the motor 409.

  In the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above, the drive time measuring unit 408 measures the time during which the power is turned on (normal drive time) as in the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus in FIG. At the same time, the motor driving time is measured, and the motor driving time is converted into a normal driving time in consideration of the electric power consumption of the motor, and is totaled. When the total drive time becomes longer than a certain time, the frame rate is reduced as in the first embodiment, and the mode is switched to the image communication mode. As described above, in the case of a mobile wireless image communication apparatus, the driving time varies depending on the frequency of use of the motor. Therefore, the battery driving time is monitored and the time is taken into account, so that the battery remaining amount can be determined more accurately. be able to.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

In FIG. 8, 501 is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 502 is an image input unit that includes an imaging device, a lens, and the like, and 503 is data that reduces image data generated by the image input unit 502. A processing unit, 504 is an image data storage unit that stores input image data, 505 is an encoding processing unit that compresses image data, and 506 is encoding data that temporarily stores image data compressed by the encoding processing unit 505. A storage unit, 507 is a wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless data, 508 is a speed detection unit that includes a sensor that detects the number of rotations of the motor 509, 509 is a motor that drives wheels, and 510 is an operation of the motor 509. It is a motor control part to control.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus of FIG.

  First, the user arbitrarily sets a value of M that is the number of frames to be deleted in advance. 0 is substituted into the variable N (S31), image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 602, and the data processing unit 503 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 504 (S32). The main control unit 501 detects the movement speed by the speed detection unit 508, and if the movement speed is slower than a certain speed (S33), the data processing unit 503 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 504 to the encoding processing unit 505. The encoding processing unit 505 performs data compression processing and stores it in the encoded data storage unit 506 (S36). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S37). If the moving speed is higher than a certain speed (S33), the main control unit 501 compares the variable N with the set value M and if they are the same (S34), the data processing unit 503 stores the image data stored in the image data storage unit 504. Is transmitted to the encoding processing unit 505, and the encoding processing unit 505 performs data compression processing and stores it in the encoded data storage unit 506 (S36). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S37). If the variable N is not equal to the set value M (S34), the variable N is incremented by 1 (S35), and the next image is captured (S32).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the moving speed is high, the number of encoding processes is reduced (the frame rate of the image to be transmitted is reduced), so that the power used can be reduced. .

(Embodiment 6)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 502, and the data processing unit 503 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 504 (S41). The main control unit 501 detects the movement speed by the speed detection unit 508, and if the movement speed is slower than a certain speed (S42), the data processing unit 503 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 504 to the encoding processing unit 505, The encoding processing unit 505 performs data compression processing and stores the data in the encoded data storage unit 506 (S44). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S45). If the moving speed is faster than a certain speed (S42), the data processing unit 503 reduces the number of colors of the image data stored in the image data storage unit 504 (S43) and passes it to the encoding processing unit 505. The encoding processing unit 505 Compression processing is performed and the encoded data storage unit 506 stores the compressed data (S44). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S45).

  Note that instead of reducing the number of colors by the data processing unit 503, the encoding process may be reduced by reducing the number of pixels, or by reducing both the number of colors and the number of pixels.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the moving speed is fast, the load of the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the number of colors and / or the number of pixels, so that the power used can be reduced. Can do.

(Embodiment 7)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is the configuration shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

  Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 502, and the data processing unit 503 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 504 (S51). The main control unit 501 detects the movement speed by the speed detection unit 508. If the movement is in progress (S52), the data processing unit 503 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 504 to the encoding processing unit 505 to perform the encoding process. The unit 505 performs data compression processing and stores it in the encoded data storage unit 506 (S54). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S55). If it is in the stop state (S52), the main control unit 501 compares the image captured this time with the image captured last time and if there is a change in the image (S53), the data processing unit 503 stores it in the image data storage unit 504. The image data is transferred to the encoding processing unit 505, and the encoding processing unit 505 performs data compression processing and stores the data in the encoded data storage unit 506 (S54). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S55). If there is no change in the image (S53), the next image is captured (S51) and the same processing is performed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the encoding process is not performed unless the movement is stopped and the image is changed, the frame rate of the transmission image can be reduced, and the number of encoder processes can be reduced. It can reduce, and the electric power to be used can be reduced.

(Embodiment 8)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is an image diagram showing a frame.

First, the user arbitrarily sets a value of M in advance. Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 102, and the data processing unit 103 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 104 (S61). 0 is substituted for the variable N (S62), the data processing unit 103 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 104 to the encoding processing unit 105, and the encoding processing unit 105 performs a data compression process to perform the encoding data storage unit. It stores in 106 (S63). The main control unit 101 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 106 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 107. The wireless communication unit 107 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S64).

  The next image is captured by the image input unit (S65). If the variable N and the set value M are the same (S66), 0 is substituted for the variable N (S62), and the encoding process (S63) is performed as described above. ) And wirelessly transmit (S64). If the variable N is not the same as the set value M (S66), the data processing unit 103 compares it with the previous image, and a portion (white portion) having a large change as shown in the image diagram of FIG. Extracted and stored again in the image data storage unit 104 (S67). The variable N is incremented by 1 (S68), and only the extracted target area is subjected to the encoding process (S63) and wirelessly communicated (S64).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the encoding process can be reduced by reducing the frame rate of the area other than the target area AR, and the power consumption can be reduced. In addition to reducing the frame rate of the area other than the extracted target area, the encoding process may be reduced by reducing the number of colors or the number of pixels.

(Embodiment 9)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the user arbitrarily sets a value of M in advance. Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 102, and the data processing unit 103 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 104 (S71). 0 is substituted for the variable N (S72), the data processing unit 103 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 104 to the encoding processing unit 105, and the encoding processing unit 105 performs a data compression process to perform the encoding data storage unit. It stores in 106 (S73). The main control unit 101 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 106 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 107. The wireless communication unit 107 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S74).

  The next image is captured by the image input unit (S75). If the variable N and the set value M are the same (S76), 0 is substituted for the variable N (S72), and the encoding process (S73) is performed as described above. ) And wirelessly transmit (S74). If the variable N and the set value M are not the same (S76), the power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 detects the remaining battery level from the battery voltage (S77), and the size of the target area is prepared in advance. Is selected (S78). The data processing unit 103 extracts a portion having a large change compared to the previous image as a target region, and re-saves it in the image data storage unit 104 (S79). Only the target region extracted by adding 1 to the variable N (S80) performs the encoding process (S73) in the same manner as described above, and performs wireless communication (S74).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a portion with a large change is extracted as a target region, and only the extracted target region is encoded. Therefore, encoding processing can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced. it can.

(Embodiment 10)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the user arbitrarily sets a value of M in advance. Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 502, and the data processing unit 503 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 504 (S81). 0 is substituted for the variable N (S82), the data processing unit 503 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 504 to the encoding processing unit 505, and the encoding processing unit 505 performs a data compression process to perform the encoding data storage unit. It is stored in 506 (S83). The main control unit 501 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 506 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 507. The wireless communication unit 507 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S84).

  The next image is captured by the image input unit (S85). If the variable N and the set value M are the same (S86), 0 is substituted for the variable N (S82), and the encoding process (S83) is performed as described above. ) And wirelessly transmit (S84). If the variable N is not the same as the set value M (S86), the speed detection unit 508 detects the moving speed (S87) and selects the size of the target area from those prepared in advance (S88). . The data processing unit 503 extracts a portion having a large change compared to the previous image as a target region, and re-saves it in the image data storage unit 504 (S89). The variable N is incremented by 1 (S90), and only the extracted target region is subjected to the encoding process (S83) in the same manner as described above to perform wireless communication (S84).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a portion with a large change is extracted as a target region, and only the extracted target region is encoded. Therefore, encoding processing can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced. it can.

(Embodiment 11)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17 is an image diagram showing a frame.

  First, the user arbitrarily sets a value of M in advance. Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 102, and the data processing unit 103 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 104 (S91). 0 is substituted for the variable N (S92), the data processing unit 103 passes the image data stored in the image data storage unit 104 to the encoding processing unit 105, and the encoding processing unit 105 performs a data compression process to perform the encoding data storage unit. It stores in 106 (S93). The main control unit 101 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 106 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 107. The wireless communication unit 107 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S94).

The next image is captured by the image input unit (S95). If the variable N and the set value M are the same (S96), 0 is substituted for the variable N (S92), and the encoding process (S93) is performed as described above. ) And wirelessly transmit (S94). If the variable N is not the same as the set value M (S96),
As shown in the image diagram of FIG. 17, the image is divided into a plurality of blocks (S97), and n blocks whose average luminance change in each block is smaller than the previous image are extracted as the target area AR1, and an image data storage unit The data is stored again in 104 (S98). Only the target area AR1 extracted by adding 1 to the variable N (S99) performs the encoding process (S93) and performs wireless communication (S94).

  In the present embodiment, a block with a small average luminance change is assumed to be a target region on the assumption that the image change is small, but conversely, a block with an average luminance change larger than the arbitrarily set luminance change amount is greatly blurred. The encoding process may be reduced by reducing the frame rate as the target region assuming that the image is a target image, or by reducing the resolution and the number of colors.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the encoding process is performed only on the target area, the encoding process can be reduced and the power consumption can be reduced. Further, by reducing the resolution and the number of colors of the target area, it is possible to further reduce the encoding process and reduce power consumption.

(Embodiment 12)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG. Further, the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the present embodiment is the operation shown in FIG.

  In such a wireless image communication apparatus, the power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 constantly or periodically monitors the power supply voltage. When the remaining battery level is low and the power supply voltage monitoring unit 108 detects a voltage drop, The number n of blocks in the target area in the form 11 is reduced.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the amount of data to be encoded is reduced by changing the size of the target area according to the remaining battery level, and the remaining battery level is reduced by reducing the power consumption required for encoding. It can be operated for a longer time.

(Embodiment 13)
The configuration of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus according to the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.

  Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 102, and the data processing unit 103 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 104 (S101). Data for at least two frames can be stored in the image data storage unit, and image data for one frame captured last time remains. The data processing unit 103 divides the image into a plurality of blocks (S102), and extracts a block having a change compared to the previously captured image as a target region (S103). The main control unit 101 passes the extracted data of only the target block to the encoding processing unit 105, and the encoding processing unit 105 performs data compression processing and stores it in the encoded data storage unit 106 (S104). The main control unit 101 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 106 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 107. The wireless communication unit 107 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S105).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since only the block having a change is encoded, the encoder process can be reduced and the power consumption can be reduced.

(Embodiment 14)
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiment 14 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 19, 601 is a main control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, 602 is an image input unit composed of an image sensor, a lens, and the like, and 603 is data for reducing image data generated by the image input unit 602. A processing unit, 604 is an image data storage unit that stores input image data, 605 is an encoding processing unit that compresses image data, and 606 is encoding data that temporarily stores image data compressed by the encoding processing unit 605. A storage unit, 607 is a wireless communication unit that transmits / receives wireless data, 608 is a reception data storage unit that stores image data received by the wireless communication unit 607, and 609 decompresses the compressed image data to display data. 610 is an output data processing unit for processing the decoded image data, and 611 is a decoding processing unit 609. An output image data storage unit for storing the read data and the data processed by the output processing unit, 612 an image output unit for displaying an image composed of liquid crystal or the like, and 613 a pan / tilt motor (PAN / tilt motor). TILT motor) 614 is a motor controller that controls the motor.

  The operation of the wireless image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation at the time of data transmission, and FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation at the time of data reception.

  First, the operation during transmission will be described with reference to FIG.

  Image data is generated from the video captured by the image input unit 602, and the data processing unit 603 stores data for one frame in the image data storage unit 604 (S111). If the captured image is not an image after panning (PAN) or tilting (TILT) operation (S112), the main control unit 601 sends the image data stored in the image data storage unit 604 to the encoding processing unit 605. Then, the encoding processing unit 605 performs data compression processing and stores it in the encoded data storage unit 606 (S116). The main control unit 601 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 606 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 607. The wireless communication unit 607 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S117). If the captured image is an image after the PAN or TILT operation (S112), the angle of PAN or TILT is detected (S113), and the direction of PAN or TILT is detected (S114). The data processing unit extracts only the newly appearing region by the PAN or TILT operation, and passes the data to the encoding processing unit 605 (S115). The encoding processing unit 605 performs data compression processing and stores the data in the encoded data storage unit 606 (S116). The main control unit 601 reads the compressed image data from the encoded data storage unit 706 and passes it to the wireless communication unit 607 together with data indicating PAN and TILT information. The wireless communication unit 607 modulates the received data and transmits it wirelessly (S117).

  Next, the operation during reception will be described with reference to FIG.

When the image data is received, the received data is stored in the received data storage unit 608 (S121). The received image is decoded by the decoding processing unit and stored in the output image data storage unit 611 (S122). The main control unit 601 detects whether the data is image data after the PAN or TILT operation from the received data (data including the PAN and TILT data together with the image data), and normal image data that is not the PAN or TILT operation If so (S123), the output data processing unit 610 reads the image data from the output image data storage unit 611 and displays it on the image output unit 612 (S126). If the received image is image data after the PAN or TILT operation (S123), the output data processing unit 610 shifts the previous image stored in the output image data storage unit 611 by the same angle in the opposite direction to PAN or TILT ( In S124, the received image is combined (S125) and displayed on the image output unit 612.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when PAN / TILT is performed, only the area newly appearing by PAN / TILT is encoded and transmitted, rather than encoding all image data for one frame. Processing can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced. Also, by combining a shifted image that is shifted by the same angle in the opposite direction to PAN or TILT and a newly received image, the processing can be reduced and the power consumption can be reduced compared to decoding all the image data for one frame. it can.

  The present invention relates to a wireless image communication apparatus that is driven by a battery and communicates image data wirelessly, and can reduce power consumption in image data encoding or decoding.

1 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiments 1, 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13 of the present invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus of FIG. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 2 of this invention. Block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus of FIG. Block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a modification of the wireless image communication apparatus of FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to Embodiments 5, 6, 7, and 10 of the present invention. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless image communication apparatus of FIG. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 6 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 7 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 8 of this invention. Image of frame The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 9 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 10 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 11 of this invention. Image of frame The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless image communication apparatus by Embodiment 13 of this invention. Block diagram showing a wireless image communication apparatus according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention. Flow chart showing operation during data transmission Flow chart showing the operation when receiving data

Explanation of symbols

101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601 Main control unit 102, 202, 302, 402, 502, 602 Image input unit 103, 203, 303, 403, 503, 603 Data processing unit 104, 204, 304, 404, 504, 604 Image data storage unit 105, 205, 305, 405, 505, 605 Encoding processing unit 106, 206, 306, 406, 506, 606 Encoding data storage unit 107, 207, 307, 407, 507, 607 Wireless communication unit 108 Power supply voltage monitoring unit 208, 608 Received data storage unit 209, 609 Decoding processing unit 210, 612 Image output unit 308, 408 Drive time measurement unit 409, 509 Motor 410, 510, 613 Motor control unit 508 Speed detection unit 614 Pan / Tilt motor (PA N / TILT motor)
610 Output data processing unit 611 Output image data storage unit

Claims (26)

A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a drop in battery voltage when the remaining battery level is low, and the number of frames of an image to be encoded is reduced when the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit. And a main control unit that reduces the encoding process. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a drop in battery voltage when the remaining battery level is low, and color data of an image to be encoded is reduced when the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit. And a main control unit that reduces the encoding process. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a drop in battery voltage when the remaining battery level is low, and the number of pixels of the image to be encoded is reduced when the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit. And a main control unit that reduces the encoding process.   A decoding processing unit that decompresses the received image; and a display unit that displays the decompressed image, wherein the main control unit changes the number of frames of the image to be transmitted according to the frame rate of the received image. The wireless image communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   A decoding processing unit that decompresses the received image; and a display unit that displays the decompressed image, wherein the main control unit changes the resolution of the transmission image in accordance with the resolution of the received image. The wireless image communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   A decoding processing unit that decompresses the received image; and a display unit that displays the decompressed image, wherein the main control unit arbitrarily reduces the frame of the received image to reduce the decoding process. The wireless image communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a drop in battery voltage when the remaining battery level is low, and a transmission in response to the battery voltage drop when the battery voltage drop is detected in the power supply voltage monitoring unit And a main controller that changes a frame rate of the image to be transmitted.   4. A driving time measuring unit for measuring a cumulative driving time is provided in place of the power supply voltage monitoring unit, and the main control unit operates according to the cumulative driving time. Alternatively, the wireless image communication apparatus according to claim 7.   A driving unit including a motor and wheels, the driving time measuring unit measures the total driving time of the motor and the total driving time of the entire system, and the main control unit is configured to measure the total driving time of the motor or the entire system. 9. The wireless image communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the wireless image communication apparatus operates in accordance with a cumulative drive time. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image communication apparatus comprising: a speed measuring unit that measures a moving speed; and a main control unit that reduces encoding processing by changing the number of frames of a transmission image according to the measured moving speed. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image comprising: a speed measuring unit that measures a moving speed of a wireless image communication device; and a main control unit that reduces encoding processing by changing the number of colors of a transmission image according to the measured moving speed. Communication device. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image communication comprising: a speed measurement unit that measures a moving speed of a wireless image communication apparatus; and a main control unit that reduces encoding processing by changing a resolution of a transmission image according to the measured moving speed. apparatus. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A speed measurement unit that measures the moving speed of the wireless image communication device, and a main control unit that reduces the encoding process by encoding and transmitting an image only when there is a change in the image when a stop is detected in the speed measurement unit And a wireless image communication apparatus. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image communication apparatus comprising: a main control unit that extracts an arbitrary area and reduces an encoding process by reducing a frame rate of an area other than the extracted arbitrary area. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from a video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image communication apparatus, comprising: a main control unit that extracts an arbitrary area and reduces the encoding process by reducing the number of colors in the area other than the extracted arbitrary area. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image communication apparatus, comprising: a main control unit that extracts an arbitrary area and reduces an encoding process by reducing a resolution of an area other than the extracted arbitrary area.   The power supply voltage monitoring part which detects the residual amount of the said battery is provided, The said main control part changes the magnitude | size of the said arbitrary area | region extracted according to the residual quantity of the said battery. The wireless image communication apparatus according to any one of the above.   17. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a speed measuring unit that measures a moving speed of the wireless image communication apparatus, wherein the main control unit changes a size of the arbitrary area according to the measured moving speed. The wireless image communication apparatus according to any one of the above. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A main control unit that reduces an encoding process by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the number of frames of n target blocks whose average luminance change is smaller than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount. Wireless image communication device. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A main control unit that reduces an encoding process by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the number of colors in an area of n target blocks having an average luminance change smaller than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount; A wireless image communication device. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A main control unit that reduces an encoding process by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the number of colors in an area of n target blocks having an average luminance change larger than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount; A wireless image communication device. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A main control unit that reduces an encoding process by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the resolution of an area of n target blocks whose average luminance change is smaller than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount. Wireless image communication device. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from a video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A main control unit that reduces an encoding process by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks and reducing the resolution of an area of n target blocks having an average luminance change larger than an arbitrarily set minimum luminance change amount, Wireless image communication device.   The radio according to claim 23, further comprising a power supply voltage monitoring unit that detects a remaining amount of the battery, wherein the main control unit changes the number of the target blocks according to the detected remaining amount of the battery. Image communication device. A wireless image communication device that is driven by a battery and wirelessly transmits image data generated from video captured by an image input unit and compressed by an encoding processing unit,
A wireless image communication apparatus, comprising: a main control unit that reduces an encoding process by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks and performing an encoding process only on a changed block. A motor control unit that controls a motor that changes the pan and tilt of a camera as an image input unit that captures a subject and obtains an image, and encodes image data generated from the image obtained by the image input unit A battery-driven wireless image communication device that compresses and transmits wirelessly by a processing unit,
Only the area newly appearing in the pan and tilt operation is encoded and transmitted, and the encoded image is synthesized by combining the shifted image obtained by shifting the image before the pan and tilt operation with the newly received image. A wireless image communication apparatus comprising a main control unit for reducing decoding processing.

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