JP2007166372A - Camera actuation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera actuation device which is relatively compact and can be reduced in cost and can lessen power consumption of an electromagnetic force activating device. <P>SOLUTION: The camera actuation device comprises a base to place a camera device incorporating a communication means for communicating an acquired imaging signal on, a support member so arranged as to face the base, a universal joint arranged between the base and the support member, and an electromotive force activating device consisting of an electromagnet and a permanent magnet which are arranged in the base and the support member. In part of the base, a balancer is attached to the support member side of a joint portion of the universal joint with the joint portion as a center (that is, to the opposite side of the camera device with the joint portion as a center). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera operating position where a camera direction of a surveillance camera, a portable camera, or the like is operated.

  For example, in the case of a surveillance camera, it is provided on a fixed base so that the angle of the camera direction or the rotation direction with respect to the horizontal plane is adjusted. A plane parallel to the installation surface is a plane, and the rotation angle in the plane is called the pan angle, and the angle with respect to the plane is called the tilt angle.

  A conventional two-axis movable type camera operating device is configured such that another one-axis movable mechanism is mounted on a turntable. That is, the structure is combined in two stages.

  Patent Document 1 describes the above-described pan angle adjustment mechanism. That is, in Patent Document 1, a base fixed to an installation surface on which a surveillance camera is installed, and an attachment to which the camera is attached and held on the base so as to be rotatable in a plane substantially parallel to the installation surface. A base, a rotating magnet fixed to the mounting base and having multiple poles alternately arranged in the direction of rotation of the mounting base, and a rotational force applied to the mounting base by excitation at a position that can be opposed to the magnetic pole of the rotating magnet. A monitoring camera device comprising a plurality of electromagnets for providing an angle adjustment mechanism for adjusting the angle of the optical axis of the camera with respect to an installation surface by manual operation. Yes. As described in this document, it is known that the angle adjustment between the pan angle and the tilt angle is performed by a mechanical mechanism using a drive source such as a motor. In this case, the operations of the X axis and the Y axis are combined in two steps in the camera direction.

  Patent Document 2 urges the in-pipe monitoring camera attached to the in-pipe travel machine body through a universal joint so that the orientation can be freely changed so that the posture is directed in a certain direction in cooperation with the universal joint. A shape memory alloy is provided across the camera and the fuselage to provide a spring that extends between the fuselage and the camera and changes the orientation of the camera in a pre-stored direction against the biasing force of the spring. An attitude control device for an in-pipe monitoring camera provided with an energization operation device provided at at least three locations in the circumferential direction of the joint and configured to regenerate the memory shape of the shape memory alloy by resistance heat accompanying energization thereto. ing.

In Patent Document 3, a surveillance camera that is attached to an installation member such as a support column standing on the ground or a wall of a building and that can be horizontally swiveled is installed in a protective housing, and the surveillance camera is used as the protective housing. A surveillance camera device is described, which is provided with a universal joint mechanism that can be hung in a state that allows free tilting in the vertical direction due to its own weight.
The applicant of the present application has previously proposed a camera operating device having the contents shown in Patent Document 4.

JP-A-10-271364 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-23959 JP 2005-217964 A JP 2005-284212 A

  It is often required to adjust the tilt angle, i.e., the angle of the camera in the X and Y axis directions relative to the plane. In this case, the adjustment of the pan angle, that is, the rotation angle is not an important factor. In various cameras as well as surveillance cameras, when the angle is adjusted in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, those that are adjusted manually are not used when frequent adjustments are made after installation. . Also, in the case of a mechanical mechanism combined in two steps in the camera direction, when speed is required such as following the tracking of a moving body, the protrusion is increased by increasing the size (increasing power) and the number of parts. However, there is a problem that the cost becomes high because the configuration becomes complicated and the control becomes complicated.

  As shown in Patent Document 4, the inventors of the present application are to perform angle adjustment in the X-axis and Y-axis directions by a one-stage system, which makes it relatively small in size from the installation angle. We proposed a camera operating device that has low projecting amount, low component count, simple control system, low cost, and improved tracking.

  The camera device is configured to support a movable base for installing a camera, a support member that supports a central point of the movable base, and is fixed to the installation base, and can hold the movable base substantially in a plane with respect to the installation base. A plane holding means, a plurality of electromagnets of three or more arranged on the movable base so as to face the movable base, and a direction facing each of these electromagnets, and arranged on the movable base in the camera direction The magnets are fixed and magnetic force control means for controlling the magnetic force of each electromagnet, that is, repulsive force, is provided.

  According to this camera operating device, the camera operating device having the above-described configuration is provided, and the angle adjustment in the X-axis and Y-axis directions can be performed by a one-stage system (configuration). The amount of protrusion from the installation surface is small, the number of parts is small, the control system is simple, and the cost can be reduced, and the versatility with excellent tracking performance can be achieved.

  The inventors of the present application have come to recognize that further research can provide a better camera operating device if the consumption of electric power used for the electromagnetic force acting device can be reduced.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a camera operating device that is relatively small in size and can be reduced in cost, and that can reduce the consumption of electric power used in the electromagnetic force acting device.

The present invention provides a base on which a camera and communication means for communicating an imaging signal acquired by the camera are placed, a support member disposed to face the base, and between the base and the support member In a camera operating device comprising a universal joint provided, and an electromagnetic force acting device comprising an electromagnet and a permanent magnet provided on the base and the support member,
A balancer, which is a part of the base and has a balancer attached to the support member side (that is, on the opposite side of the camera with the joint portion as the center) with respect to the joint portion of the universal joint as a center. An actuating device is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the position of the center of gravity acting on the base can be adjusted, it is relatively small, and the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts, and the power used for the electromagnetic force acting device can be reduced. It is possible to provide a camera operating device that can reduce consumption. Furthermore, since the center of gravity can be set at or near the joint and the movable body can be held at this position, the power consumption can be further reduced.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the camera operating device described above, the balancer is a center-of-gravity adjusting member configured to set a position of the center of gravity acting on the base in the joint portion. Mera actuator is configured.

  The base has a base portion on which the camera and the communication means are placed and an integral structure with the base portion, and the camera device, the communication means, a part of the support member, the universal joint, and the electromagnetic force The camera operating device is configured by an outer shell that includes the working device therein.

  Further, the camera operating device is configured in which the balancer is attached to the inside of the outer shell.

  The outer shell may have a spherical outer surface except for a portion through which the support member penetrates.

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

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a camera operation device, that is, a so-called camera attitude control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

  In these drawings, the camera operating device 100 captures an image and an imaging signal attached to the base 1, the shaft 2 as a support member, the universal joint 3 provided between the base 1 and the shaft 2, and the base 1. It comprises a camera device 4 comprising transmission means and an electromagnetic force acting device 5 provided for controlling the attitude of the base 1 between the base 1 and the shaft 2.

  The base 1 has a camera device 4 mounted thereon, and in the case of the present embodiment, includes a flat disk-shaped base base 11 and an outer shell 12 attached thereto.

  The outer shell 12 has a substantially spherical shape except for a portion (through portion 13) through which the shaft 2 passes, and an acrylic cover 14 is provided at the tip portion. From another viewpoint, the base 1 is configured by attaching the base 11 to the inside of the outer shell 12. The base 11 is set slightly above the center inside the outer shell 12.

  Inside the outer shell 12, a camera device 4 including a circuit board 15, a CCD 16, and a lens 17 is placed on the base table 11. A camera is constituted by the CCD 16 and the lens 17, and a signal of the captured image is transmitted from the circuit board 15 to the outside. That is, the circuit board 15 drives the CCD 16 to receive an image signal and transmit it to the outside.

  An acrylic cover 14 provided on the outer shell 12 is disposed around the lens 17.

  One end portion of the shaft 2 passes through the through portion 13 and is positioned in the outer shell 12, and an electromagnet holding portion 22 is formed at the tip portion in parallel with the universal joint holding portion 21 and the base base 11. .

  Between the universal joint holding part 21 and the lower surface of the base 11, a universal joint 3 composed of a member A 23 and a member B 24 is provided. The joint portion of the universal joint 3 is set at a substantially central point of the spherical outer shell 12.

  The electromagnet holding portion 22 is provided with a plurality of (eg, three, four) electromagnets 31 at equal intervals. A permanent magnet 32 extending in the direction of the joint portion on the inner surface of the outer shell 12 and in the vicinity of the penetrating portion 13 is provided so as to face the electromagnet 31 slightly apart. The electromagnet 31 and the permanent magnet 32 constitute the electromagnetic force acting device 5. In this example, the electromagnet 31 is provided in the electromagnet holding portion 22 and the permanent magnet 32 is provided in the outer shell 12 in configuring the electromagnetic force acting device 5. On the contrary, the electromagnet 31 is provided in the outer shell 12 and the electromagnet. The permanent magnet 32 may be attached to the holding portion 32. In this case, the electromagnet holding part 22 becomes a permanent magnet holding part.

  A base 1 comprising a base 11 and an outer shell 12, a circuit board 15, a camera device 4 comprising a CCD 16 and a lens 17, an acrylic cover 14 forming a part of the outer shell 12, a permanent magnet 31 and a member A23 constituting the universal joint 3. The center of gravity of the movable body calculated from the weight of each part of the movable body and the moment with respect to the joint is formed in the joint. Considering the friction in the joint, it is not necessary to be a mathematical joint fulcrum, and it may be in the vicinity including the joint.

  In this way, by shifting (ie, adjusting) the center of gravity to the shaft side below the base 1 (that is, the side opposite to the camera device 4 with the joint portion as the center), the electromagnetic body device controls the posture of the movable body with respect to the shaft 2. Power can be reduced. That is, the power consumption of the electromagnetic force action measure 5 can be reduced. In particular, the power consumption can be made extremely small by matching the center of gravity with the joint portion.

  In this case, the outer shell 12 is spherical, which not only makes the entire apparatus compact, but is advantageous for reducing power consumption. However, the shape of the outer shell 12 is not limited to a spherical shape, and may be elliptical or rectangular.

  It is assumed that the position of the center of gravity cannot be set at the joint by only the weight of the permanent magnet 32. In this case, the weight is added to the permanent magnet 32. Therefore, in this case, the device determined by the permanent magnet 32 and the weight functions as a balancer. Thus, the balancer is a gravity center position adjusting member. The weight described above may be integrated with the permanent magnet 32 or may be a separate body. Further, when the permanent magnet 32 is attached to the base base 11, the weight of the upper portion of the movable body is increased, so that the balancer attached to the lower portion of the base 1, that is, the outer shell 12, is increased accordingly. It will be. Thus, if the permanent magnet 32 is made to function also as a balancer, the apparatus can be further downsized. The position and weight of the balancer can be calculated immediately.

  In the above-described embodiment, a spring mechanism having a small force may be provided in addition to the electromagnetic action device.

  A control method will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the magnetic force control unit 40 includes a CPU as an arithmetic processing unit, and the CPU includes a processing unit 41, a storage unit 42, an input unit 43, and an output unit 44. The storage means 42 stores, in the form of a map, current values to be applied to the electromagnet A, electromagnet B, electromagnet C, and electromagnet D with respect to the set tilt angle with respect to the camera direction. The CPU inputs a command value for tilting the camera to the input means 43 by an operation signal from the camera operator or by an operation signal by a technique given in advance to an image obtained by the camera. In this case, a gradient signal from a gradient sensor mounted on the base 11 may be input, or the gradient based on the previous calculation result is stored in the storage means 42, and this gradient is used as the gradient signal. May be used as The CPU uses the processing means 41 to calculate the set value inclination angle with respect to the camera direction based on the command value and the inclination signal. When the inclination angle to be set is obtained, the current value applied to the electromagnet A, electromagnet B, electromagnet C, and electromagnet D is calculated from the data stored in a map form in the storage means 42 and the result is output to the output means 44. . A control signal for each electromagnet is output from the output means 44 in the form of a current value. A different magnetic force, that is, repulsive force, acts on each electromagnetic force acting mechanism due to different current values. In the case of tracking in the horizontal (X-axis) direction, a current that causes a repulsive force to the permanent magnet is supplied to the electromagnet A that uses the A and C electromagnets. The permanent magnet that receives the force pushes up the movable base, and the movable base tilts around the fulcrum to change the shooting direction of the camera mounted on the base. On the contrary, the base is inclined to the opposite side by passing a current through C. Similarly, the vertical (Y-axis) direction is moved by a combination of B and C electromagnets. The springs attached to the four movable bases are attached for returning to the origin, and act so that the movable base returns to the origin (toward the front) when there is no current to the permanent magnet. As a result, the X-axis tilt + Y-axis tilt control can be performed as described above.

  In this example, the means using the map has been described, but a biaxial tilt sensor may be attached to perform feedback control.

  When performing such control, it is possible to control the position of the center of gravity with the addition of the balancer. In particular, by setting the position of the center of gravity to the joint part or the vicinity of the joint part, it is possible to control with extremely low power. .

  A base 1 on which a camera device 4 including a communication unit that communicates acquired image signals is placed; a shaft 2 that is a support member disposed to face the base 1; and between the base 1 and the shaft 2 A camera operating device comprising a universal joint provided on the base 1 and an electromagnetic force acting device 5 comprising an electromagnet and a permanent magnet provided on the base 1 and the shaft 2, comprising a base 1, an outer shell 2, and a camera device 4. The movable body is constituted by the member A23 and the permanent magnet 32, and is formed on a part of the base 1, particularly in the outer shell 12, with the joint portion of the universal joint as the center, and on the shaft side (ie, the joint portion as the center). The camera operating device 100 is configured such that a balancer constituted by a part of the electromagnetic force acting device 5, for example, the permanent magnet 32 or the permanent magnet 32 and the weight, is attached to the opposite side of the camera device 4. It is. The center of gravity of the movable body is preferably set at the joint or in the vicinity of the joint.

The external view of the Example of this invention. Sectional drawing of FIG. The block diagram of a control apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Base, 2 ... Shaft, 3 ... Universal joint, 4 ... Camera apparatus, 5 ... Electromagnetic force action apparatus, 11 ... Base stand, 12 ... Outer shell, 13 ... Penetration part, 14 ... Acrylic cover, 15 ... Circuit board, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 ... CCD, 17 ... Lens, 21 ... Universal joint holding part, 22 ... Electromagnet holding part, 23 ... Member A, 24 ... Member B, 100 ... Camera actuator.

Claims (6)

A base on which a camera device including communication means for communicating acquired imaging signals is placed, a support member disposed opposite to the base, and a free space provided between the base and the support member In a camera operating device comprising a joint, and an electromagnetic force acting device comprising an electromagnet and a permanent magnet provided on the base and the support member,
A camera operation characterized in that a balancer is attached to a part of the base, with the joint portion of the universal joint as a center, on the support member side of the joint portion (that is, on the opposite side of the camera device with the joint portion as a center). apparatus.   2. The base according to claim 1, wherein the base is configured integrally with a base portion on which the camera device is placed, and the base portion includes the camera device, a part of the support member, the universal joint, and the electromagnetic force acting device. And a camera operating device comprising an outer shell adapted to be included in the camera.   3. The camera operating device according to claim 2, wherein the balancer is attached inside the outer shell.   3. The camera operating device according to claim 2, wherein the outer shell has a spherical outer surface except for a portion through which the support member passes.   2. The camera operating device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the balancer is a permanent magnet. 6. The camera operating device according to claim 1, wherein the balancer is a center-of-gravity position adjusting member configured to set a center-of-gravity position acting on the base in the joint portion.

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