JP2007022349A - Ship front side monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device having high environment resistance and reliability under an environment condition during navigation, and saving device cost and maintenance cost, in a case that a camera portion is installed on an exposing portion of a ship as a system visually checking and monitoring a front side of a large-sized ship by a video picture. <P>SOLUTION: As a means stabilizing a picture in regard to hull rocking/tilting of the ship, a tilting stage disposed so as to independently change a tilting angle in two axial directions is used. A tilting angle detecting means about the two axial directions detects tilting of each axial direction due to tilting, thereby controlling to horizontally hold a camera stand. By applying such as a horizontally holding mechanism/control, the camera device decreased in size and weight as compared with a conventional gimbal mechanism can be structured. Consequently, a camera device mechanism and a controlling device can be collectively stored in a housing having high environment resistance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for displaying an image of a forward situation of a ship at a ship maneuvering or monitoring place.

  With the increase in size of ships, it has become difficult to secure a field of view near the bow of ships having a maneuvering place (hereinafter referred to as a bridge) at the rear of the hull, which has caused problems in navigation safety. For example, according to the “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Regulations” disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, the maximum value of the range in which the hull structure of the forward view seen from the bridge becomes an obstacle and is not directly visible from the bridge. Is stipulated. As an exception, it is recognized that a means such as an image monitor is provided and the maximum value of the directly invisible range is increased when a forward visual field can be secured. Therefore, in order to satisfy the provisions of the “Rules for Steel Ships”, a video camera is installed near the bow, and it is a device that has the function of displaying the ship's forward image captured by the camera on a monitor installed at a necessary location such as a bridge. In addition, it is strongly desired to realize a ship front monitoring system that can withstand severe environmental conditions at sea and eliminate the influence on the monitoring function such as hull shaking.

  It is desirable to install the TV camera of the ship front monitoring system on the upper part of the mast (hereinafter referred to as “foremast”) usually installed at the bow to reduce the range in which the image cannot be seen by obtaining an image from a higher position. However, on the fore mast, it is a place exposed to waves, wind and rain, seawater flying, and ship hull vibration, and the camera installed there needs to have sufficient environmental resistance to withstand the adverse environment. . Furthermore, since it is installed at a high place and maintenance is difficult, special consideration is required for durability and maintainability. Since there are many cases where it is installed on an existing fore mast, there are restrictions on the space and weight of the installation place, and there are also great restrictions on external dimensions and mounting weight. It is also essential to stabilize the image against rolling (rolling) and pitching (pitching) of the hull.

  Non-Patent Document 2 discloses an example of a ship image monitoring system. As shown in FIG. 8, the television camera shown in this document uses a gimbal device for the purpose of stabilizing the camera posture against the hull motion. A gimbal is a shaft or fulcrum that supports a large mass, and is rotatably held by a bearing provided on a support base fixed to a shaking generation source such as a hull. An object of the present invention is to block the influence of the shaking of the hull or the like on the mass and the equipment attached to the mass by the effect of the inertial force of the mass against the shaking of the hull or the like.

  In order to increase the effect of hiding the hull movement by the gimbal, a shaft and a bearing that support a relatively large mass compared to the camera that is to be kept horizontal are required. A mechanism that relies on a shaft and a bearing for support is likely to cause problems in durability and reliability in applications that are used for a long period of time under the influence of ship hull vibration, and may be frequently maintained. It is also a problem in terms of durability and reliability that the shaft and the bearing incorporated in the gimbal are often in point contact. Furthermore, since the gimbal uses the inertia of mass, it is necessary to have a certain mass or more, and not only the weight but also the shape of the frame constituting the gimbal become large. From the standpoint of improving environmental resistance, it is desirable to completely store the camera and all of its accessories in a waterproof and wave-resistant housing, but the entire gimbal mechanism is completely stored in such a housing. If so, there is a problem that the overall dimensions increase with weight.

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an example of a camera system in which all cameras and related mechanisms are housed in a housing. In the present invention, a part of the side surface of the cylindrical casing is made of a transparent material over the entire circumference, and a target image incident from the transparent portion is captured by a reflecting mirror that rotates on the circumference inside the casing, and the reflected light is further captured by a video camera. To obtain an image signal. The reflecting mirror is rotatable to an arbitrary position in the circumferential direction with respect to the cylindrical casing, can change the horizontal position of the incident external image, and can change the vertical direction position of the incident target image by changing the tilt angle. Can be selected, and tilting and turning of the camera body is not required. Therefore, there is an advantage that the overall size can be reduced. However, the images that can be monitored are limited to the field of view of the reflector, and there is a problem that the imaging range cannot be changed or expanded by zooming the camera itself.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-38375 Internet Home Page <URL http://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/Rules_Guidance/amendments/j-Amendments/04.11.15/PartW_J.pdf> Author Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism November 15, 2004 Search Date 2005 May 30 Internet Home Page <URL http://www.khi.co.jp/kpm/products/camera/> Author Kawasaki Precision Machinery, Inc. Title “Camera Stabilizer” Search Date May 30, 2005

  Excellent environmental resistance suitable for installation on exposed parts of the deck such as the ship's fore mast, durability and reliability against hull vibration, easy maintenance, and stable against hull shaking and tilting It is an object of the present invention to provide a ship forward monitoring system capable of acquiring a simple image.

  The invention described in claim 1 is a ship front monitoring system in which a TV camera is installed on an exposed deck with a good front view such as a fore mast, and a video signal photographed by the TV camera is transmitted to a ship such as a bridge. It is displayed on a video monitor provided at a place where it is controlled and monitored, and the TV camera and the operation device are integrated as a unit so that it can be used for remote control of the TV camera from the same place. The structure shall be housed in a housing so that mechanical and electrical / electronic parts are not directly exposed to the environment. The casing has a sealed structure as a whole, and a window made of a transparent material is provided on a part of the side surface. The window has a necessary size so that the television camera can capture an image to be monitored through the window.

  In the invention described in claim 1, in order to stabilize the image of the video camera with respect to the hull and tilt of the hull, the camera tilts independently about two axes orthogonal to each other as shown in FIG. Installed on a camera stand consisting of two tilt stages. Means for detecting an inclination angle of the hull about the two axes are installed on the camera base. The tilt detection means is for the camera base to detect the tilt angle from the horizontal plane with respect to each of the two axes. The tilt signal output from the tilt detection means is input to the tilt stage control means, and drives to change the tilt of the corresponding tilt stage when a deviation from a preset tilt angle occurs for each of the two axes. A correction is made so that the control signal is output to the body to return to the set tilt angle. Although the set value of the tilt angle can be variable, generally the horizontal is set as the set value. In addition, the two axes that are targets of tilt angle adjustment and tilt angle detection do not necessarily need to be orthogonal, and any angle between any axes can be freely selected as long as a known angle is maintained. Coordinate axis conversion may be performed in the tilt stage control means corresponding to the angle. In general, however, two axes that are orthogonal to each other are often selected.

  Instead of using a gimbal as a means to stabilize the image signal of the TV camera against the hull movement, a tilt stage is used and the tilt stage is held at a predetermined tilt based on the tilt signal output by the tilt detection means. By doing so, it is possible to make the configuration lighter and smaller, and it is possible to arrange the television camera and the related device as one body in a housing. Furthermore, the tilt stage is composed of a support portion and a tilt portion, and the tilt portion is tilted at a predetermined angle by moving relative to the support portion. As a mechanism for transmitting the load received by the unit to the support unit, surface contact, line contact, or contact by a plurality of points can be employed. Therefore, the camera table according to the present invention has higher durability and reliability than the case where the load to be supported is large as in the gimbal mechanism, and point contact is used to support the load. Also effective. The angle control means of the tilt stage can be collectively stored in the casing, or can be provided separately. Incorporating the tilt angle detection means, the hull vertical acceleration detection means, and the control means for controlling the tilt stage by the detection signal from the detection means, the signal of the camera device and the remote control means etc. There is an advantage that the communication is reduced and the configuration is simplified.

  The present invention accommodates components that are susceptible to environmental conditions during ship navigation, such as mechanical parts and electrical / electronic parts, as a single unit in a highly environmentally resistant chassis, and is used to correct the tilt of the camera stand against ship sway and tilt. The tilt stage has a structure with durability against vibration, and improves the durability and reliability of the ship's forward monitoring system, thereby reducing maintenance work. Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the camera and the related device of the ship forward monitoring system are reduced in size and weight, and can be easily installed on the fore mast. Moreover, since it is small and lightweight, it can be easily mounted on existing ships.

  FIG. 1 shows an arrangement for practicing the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a hull of a ship, 2 is a bridge, and 3 is a fore mast. Reference numeral 4 denotes a television camera housing, and an example of its outer shape is shown in FIG. A television camera 5 and a camera base 6 are accommodated in the housing 4. The Funabashi 2 is provided with a TV image monitor 18 and a remote control panel 19 necessary for operating the TV camera 5 and the camera stand 6 and other cameras. An image signal from the TV camera and a remote operation signal for camera operation are transmitted between the bridge, the camera, and the camera operation device via the transmission line 7. In FIG. 1, the image signal and the remote operation signal are transmitted by wire (electric wire, optical fiber, etc.), but can be replaced by a wireless signal transmission means.

  FIG. 2 shows a television camera housing case for carrying out the present invention. The housing 10 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and one of the cylindrical end surfaces is attached to the hull, and the other end surface is a part of the closed housing. A part of the side surface of the cylindrical casing is made of an environment-resistant transparent material plate and serves as a target image entrance window 11 of the camera. The transparent material is typically an acrylic plate, but is not limited thereto. The size of the window is determined corresponding to the forward monitoring range. The shape of the housing is not limited to a cylinder, and other shapes such as a truncated cone are also applicable.

  FIG. 5 is a control block diagram for maintaining the tilt of the camera base 6 according to the present invention at a desired tilt angle. The tilt detection means 15 is equipped to detect the tilt angle around each of the two tilt stages 14 (for tilt change with respect to the X axis and tilt change with respect to the Y axis) constituting the camera base. The tilt signal detected by the tilt detection means 15 is input to the X-axis tilt control block 15-1 or the Y-axis tilt control block 15-2 corresponding to the tilt stage 14 to be detected. The control block 15-1 or 15-2 compares the inclination setting values set independently of each other. When a deviation occurs, the control block 15-1 or 15-2 generates the drive output of the drive device 14-5 and turns the drive device 14-5 on. Output to drive until there is no deviation.

  The invention according to claim 2, wherein when using the weight detecting means for detecting the inclination from the vertical direction using the weight as described above, the hull is moved in the vertical direction by rolling or pitching motion of the hull. When acceleration is generated, an additional force determined by the mass of the weight and the vertical acceleration of the hull acts on the weight of the tilt detection means, and the tilt detection accuracy is lowered. Therefore, a means for detecting the acceleration of motion in the vertical direction of the hull is installed near the camera base, and the tilt detection signal from the tilt detection means installed on the two axes is corrected based on the acceleration signal from the acceleration detection means, The corrected tilt value is used as the current tilt angle of the tilt stage to obtain the camera table tilt control signal. Thereby, the accuracy of inclination correction is improved, and a more stable image can be obtained.

A control block indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5 is a portion added in the present embodiment. The inclination angle detection means is performed according to the principle shown in FIG. That is, in order to detect the angle deviation θ made with the weight built in the detection means, the mass of the weight (m) and the length of the pendulum created by the weight (l) are known. The torque around the fulcrum of the pendulum created by the weight (T) is measured. Then, the inclination angle θ is calculated by the following equation.
θ = T / mgl (where g is gravitational acceleration)
By the way, if the acceleration of the vertical motion of the hull is α, an additional force (mα) is generated in the weight in the vertical direction, and this force adds mlαθ to the torque (T) around the fulcrum of the pendulum created by the weight It becomes an error of inclination angle detection. Therefore, the error can be reduced by detecting the vertical acceleration α of the hull by the acceleration detecting means 16 and subtracting the portion corresponding to mlαθ from the torque T. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 5, a control block (21) for calculating a torque change due to vertical acceleration of the hull and correcting the tilt signal is provided, and an error in the value detected by the tilt angle detecting means due to the vertical motion of the hull is calculated. Correct and keep the tilt angle of the camera base accurately with respect to the set value.

  The invention according to claim 3. FIG. 4 shows an example of an inclined stage constituting the camera base 6. In FIG. 4, 14 is an inclined stage, 14-1 is a support part which comprises an inclination stage, and 14-2 is an inclination part which comprises the stage. An arcuate guide rail 14-3 is provided on the upper part of the support part 14-1, and supports an arcuate sliding body 14-4 provided on the lower surface of the inclined part 14-2. Tilt can be given. The driving device 14-5 attached to the support unit drives the sliding body and moves it in the arc direction. Between the guide rail 14-3 and the sliding body 14-4, a plurality of cylindrical bearings or ball bearings or other appropriate parts capable of supporting rolling friction reduction and load are inserted. Supports and tilts the load of the camera mounted on the. In FIG. 4, the guide rail 14-3 and the sliding body 14-4 are installed in parallel to the horizontal direction, but can also be installed in the vertical direction, and the friction between the guide rail and the sliding body. It is also possible to use air bearings, magnetic reaction forces, etc. to reduce

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which the camera stage can be tilted independently with respect to two orthogonal axes (referred to as an X axis and a Y axis) in the horizontal plane by combining the tilt stages described above. The tilt stage 14 (around the X axis) is a tilt stage provided to provide tilt with respect to the X axis. An inclined stage (around the Y axis) is stacked on the upper surface of the inclined portion of the inclined stage around the X axis so that the rotation axis is perpendicular to the inclined stage around the X axis to give an inclination with respect to the Y axis. It is done. A camera is attached to the upper surface of the tilt stage 14 around the Y axis. With such a configuration, it is possible to configure a camera base that can change the inclination independently with respect to the X and Y axes. In FIG. 3, the tilt stage 14 for tilt change with respect to the X axis is arranged below and the Y axis with respect to the tilt stage 14 is overlaid thereon.

  The invention according to claim 4. In FIG. 2, the window 11 is provided with a nozzle 12 for cleaning the window by jetting water to the outer surface of the window. A pipe (not shown) having a valve 13 for supplying water to the nozzle 12 is provided. Wash water is connected to the main housing by piping from other places. The valve 13 can be operated from a bridge or the like and can be remotely operated from a monitoring place. Further, if necessary, a cleaning air nozzle, valve, and piping are provided, and cleaning is performed by ejecting air to the outer surface of the window 11 (cleaning air-related nozzles, valves, etc. are not shown). The cleaning air nozzle, the air supply, etc. are arranged in the same manner as the cleaning water and are remotely operated in the same manner.

  The invention according to claim 5. The above-mentioned window 11 cleaning water or cleaning air can be piped from another supply source in the ship, but when supply from the ship is difficult, a supply unit comprising a water tank, a pump, an air compressor, etc. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the storage box 4 is installed in or near the storage housing 4.

The invention according to claim 6. By incorporating one or both of the TV camera turning means 16 and the tilting means 17 at an appropriate location of the camera base 6 according to the present invention, the viewing direction in the horizontal plane or the vertical plane of the TV camera 5 is set from a remote location. it can. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a camera base incorporating camera turning means and tilting means.

The invention according to claim 7. The television camera according to the present invention that can be zoomed is applied. Thereby, it is possible to cover a wide monitoring range from a long distance to a short distance.

  The invention according to claim 8. Although ship front monitoring is necessary at night and when the field of view is restricted by fog or the like, it may be difficult to obtain an image with a normal television camera. By applying a night vision camera capable of acquiring an image even in a bad field of view due to nighttime or fog, the present camera device can be used even in the case of poor visibility.

  The invention according to claim 9. Hull inclination data and hull acceleration data are important as data for monitoring the operational state of a ship, but there are many ships that do not have facilities for constantly acquiring and monitoring these data. Since the camera device according to the present invention includes either or both of the means for detecting the hull inclination and the hull vertical motion acceleration at the camera device mounting position, the detection signal from these detection means is transmitted to a remote place to detect the hull motion. Information can also be displayed on the monitor. The data display means can be displayed on the front monitoring image display monitor according to the present invention, or can be displayed by other display means. It is also possible to display and monitor as a part of inboard data by combining with a system that handles the entire inboard data. When the on-board entire data handling system constitutes a wireless or wired LAN, the detection means is connected to the LAN as a terminal according to the form of LAN data media (form such as wired or wireless).

  In the situation where the size of the ship is increasing and the route is congested, it is increasingly important to detect the presence of other ships and floating objects on the bridge at an early stage from the viewpoint of improving safety. The realization of the device has great significance. The device of the present invention, which pays special attention to the ship environment and can realize a small shape and light weight, facilitates the additional installation on existing ships as well as newly built ships. High availability.

It is a layout view showing the overall layout of the apparatus of the present invention. It is an external view which shows the housing of the camera apparatus by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the camera apparatus by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mechanism of the inclination stage which comprises the camera stand by this invention. It is a control block diagram of camera stand tilt control and hull vertical motion acceleration correction control according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation of the inclination-angle detection means by this invention. It is the block diagram which incorporated the turning means and the tilting means in the camera stand by this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the camera stand by the conventional gimbal mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ship's hull 2 Ship's bridge 3 Fore mast 4 Television camera housing 5 TV camera 6 Camera stand 7 Transmission line 10 Housing 11 Target image entrance window 12 Nozzle 13 Valve 14 Tilt stage 14-1 Tilt stage support 14-2 Inclined part of tilting stage 14-3 Guide rail 14-4 Sliding body on arc 14-5 Drive unit 15 Inclination detecting means 15-1 X-axis tilt control block 15-2 Y-axis tilt control block 16 Camera turning means 17 Camera tilt Means 18 Front monitor 19 Camera remote control panel 20 Hull vertical acceleration detection means 21 Hull vertical acceleration correction control block

Claims (9)

A ship forward monitoring system that displays an image of a situation in front of a ship photographed by a TV camera as an image on a monitor installed at a ship operating place or a monitoring place, or both a ship operating place and a monitoring place,
A camera base having means for independently adjusting an inclination angle around two different axes inside a housing having a window of which a part of a side surface is made of a transparent material;
A television camera mounted on the camera stand so that the outside of the housing can be photographed through a window made of a transparent material of the housing;
A television camera device storing a means for detecting a hull inclination angle around the two axes;
Means for controlling the tilt angle adjusting means constituting the camera base based on the tilt angle signal detected by the hull tilt angle detecting means to control the tilt angle of the television camera to be kept at a preset angle; A ship front monitoring system consisting of A ship forward monitoring system that displays an image of a situation in front of a ship photographed by a TV camera as an image on a monitor installed at a ship operating place or a monitoring place, or both a ship operating place and a monitoring place,
A camera base having means for independently adjusting an inclination angle around two different axes inside a housing having a window of which a part of a side surface is made of a transparent material;
A television camera mounted on the camera stand so that the outside of the housing can be photographed through a window made of a transparent material of the housing;
A television camera device containing a means for detecting a hull inclination angle around the two axes and a means for detecting a vertical acceleration of the hull at the camera stand installation location;
After correcting the tilt angle signal detected by the hull tilt angle detection means with the value of the hull vertical acceleration obtained from the hull vertical acceleration detection means, a camera stand is constructed based on the corrected tilt angle signal. A ship forward monitoring system comprising: means for controlling the inclination angle of the means for changing the inclination angle, and performing control for maintaining the inclination angle of the television camera at a preset angle.   3. A camera base having means for independently adjusting tilt angles about two different axes according to claim 1 or 2, which is a tilt stage comprising a support portion and a tilt portion, and an upper surface of the support portion has an arc shape. The guide shaft of the support portion is provided on the lower surface of the inclined portion, and the guide shaft is slid on the guide rail on the upper surface of the support portion. The ship front monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one set is provided for each set, and they are stacked.   A window that is a part of the side surface of the casing and is made of a transparent member according to claim 1 is provided with a nozzle that cleans the casing outer surface of the window by ejecting fresh water or compressed air, or fresh water and compressed air. 4. The ship front monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein opening and closing of the nozzles can be remotely operated from a ship maneuver or a monitoring place.   5. The ship according to claim 4, wherein the fresh water or compressed air supply means for cleaning the window made of a transparent member on the side surface of the chassis is integrally incorporated in the camera apparatus chassis for the ship forward monitoring system. Forward monitoring system.   6. The television camera according to claim 1, wherein the television camera is provided with means for tilting and turning the visual field center line, and the tilting and turning operations can be remotely operated from a ship maneuver or a monitoring place. The ship front monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   7. The ship front monitoring according to claim 1, wherein the television camera is provided with a zoom means, and the zoom operation can be remotely operated from a ship maneuver or a monitoring place. system.   8. The ship front monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the television camera is a night vision camera.   9. All or part of the hull inclination angle signal detected by the hull inclination angle detection means and all or part of the hull acceleration signal detected by the hull vertical direction acceleration detection means in claim 1 to claim 8, wired or wirelessly. In order to have a hull motion monitoring function by displaying the values of these detection signals on a monitor installed at the same place and transmitted to the ship maneuvering or monitoring place, or both the ship maneuvering and monitoring place by the signal medium of 9. A ship front monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the ship forward monitoring system is configured.

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